Sioux Eagle Dancer

Sioux Eagle Dancer

1954
Artist
Oscar Howe, Yanktonai Dakota, American, 1915-1983
Born: Crow Creek Reservation, SD
Work Locations: Vermillion, SD
Culture
Yanktonai | Lakota | Ochethi Sakowin (Sioux)
Object
painting
Medium
casein, damar, paper
Accession Number
1954.261
Credit Line
Santa Fe Railroad Purchase Award, Fourth Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Indian Painting

Oscar Howe (Yanktonai Dakota, 1915-1983), Sioux Eagle Dancer, 1954. Casein and damar paint on paper; 20 x 22 1/2  in. Denver Art Museum: Santa Fe Railroad Purchase Award, Fourth Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Indian Painting, 1954.261. Courtesy Estate of Oscar Howe

Dimensions
height: 19 7/8 in, 50.4825 cm; width: 22 1/2 in, 57.15 cm; mat height: 30 in, 76.2000 cm; mat width: 40 in, 101.6000 cm
Inscription
"Oscar Howe", bottom right in red Verso: Blue ink "# / 206 Sioux Eagle Dancer / By Oscar Howe Price _ $100.00" BRC black ink: PS- 32G
Department
Native Arts
Collection
Indigenous Arts of North America
Oscar Howe challenged the definitions of Indian art with his unique and innovative style of creating figures in motion. By using lines and planes to emphasize movement, Howe both shocked and excited the Indian art world in the 1950s. Although some critics dismissed his work as derivative of European cubism, Howe maintained that his inspiration was firmly rooted in historic Sioux abstractions— such as those found in beadwork—as well as his own artistic creativity.
Known Provenance
Oscar Howe [1915-1983], Vermillion, SD, (entered into DAM’s Fourth Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Indian Painting), 1954; Denver Art Museum, via the Santa Fe Railroad Award, 1954.
Exhibition History
  • “Jeffrey Gibson: Like A Hammer” — Denver Art Museum, 5/13/2018 – 8/12/2018