Bacone school
Encyclopedia
The Bacone style or Bacone school of painting
, drawing
, and printmaking
is a Native American
Flatstyle art movement, primarily from the mid-20th century in Oklahoma
. This art movement bridges traditional tribally-specific pictorial painting and carving traditions towards an intertribal Modernist
style of easel painting.
, an Indian college in Muskogee, Oklahoma
, this style is also influenced by the art programs of Chilocco Indian School
, north of Ponca City, Oklahoma
, and Haskell Indian Industrial Training Institute
, in Lawrence, Kansas
. This area features a mix of Southeastern, Prairie, and Central Plains tribes. Tribes from these regions each have their own traditions of pictorial representation, whether in carving or painting; however, removal
to Indian Territory
in the 19th century disrupted many traditional art practices. Access to Western art materials gave Native artists a new means of self-expression and history recording.
Acee Blue Eagle
(1907-1959) helped shape the Bacone style. Being Muscogee Creek, Pawnee, and Wichita
, he used Southeastern Woodland and Central Plains influences in his work, which frequently portrayed cultural or historic information about his tribes in a stylized, narrative form. Blue Eagle served as director of Bacone's art department from 1935-1939. Woody Crumbo
succeeded him in 1938. 1938 is the year artist Ruthe Blalock Jones
gives for the establishment of the Bacone School of Indian painting, while some would give the year 1935.
The Bacone style differs from the two other prevalent flat styles of Native painting of the time: Southern Plains style and the Studio style. The Southern Plains style had its origins in traditional hide painting and Winter count
s. After the decline of buffalo herds in the late 19th century, Plains painting evolved into Ledger art
, which, under the stewardship of such artists as Silver Horn
(1860/1-1940, Kiowa
), evolved into easel art, and gained international fame with the Kiowa Five
. The Southern Plains style is the most dynamic, action-based of these mid-20th century painting styles. The Studio style, as taught at the Santa Fe Indian School
, built upon the accomplishments of the San Ildefonso Pueblo school of painters and Hopi
painters such as Fred Kabotie
, who were successful easel artists in the 1910s and 1920s in Arizona
and New Mexico
. These artists drew upon Pueblo mural painting and pottery painting traditions, and their work often features pastoral scenes in muted colors. Collectively, these three Flatstyle movements were sometimes derided by Native artists in the 1960s as "Bambi Art"–being too nostaliagic, sentimental, and limited in scope.
. Casein
on illustration board was a popular medium, as well as gouache
and watercolor. Technical skill in draftsmanship was emphasized, as was ethnographic accuracy of subjects portrayed. Paintings were aesthetically pleasing, with contours of a certain hue often surrounded by outlines of lighter tints, to emphasize the spiritual nature of the subject. Figures were brilliantly colored with backgrounds of a "subdued palettes of greens, blues, and browns," as Ruthe Blalock Jones writes. Blue in particular is a color representing sorrow, loss, and memory for some Southeastern tribes, and is often a preferred background color. Implied narrative gave the Bacone style a sense of drama.
of Tulsa, Oklahoma
helped foster the development of the Bacone style with its Indian Annual competitive art show from 1947 to 1957. The Five Civilized Tribes Museum of Muskogee, Oklahoma
and the Cherokee Heritage Center
of Park Hill, Oklahoma
both have annual arts shows with categories specifically for this style of art (the Cecil Dick
award and the Jerome Tiger
award, respectively). The Gilcrease Museum
in Tulsa, Oklahoma
and National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City
have extensive collections of Bacone School art.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
, and printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
is a Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Flatstyle art movement, primarily from the mid-20th century in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. This art movement bridges traditional tribally-specific pictorial painting and carving traditions towards an intertribal Modernist
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
style of easel painting.
Origin
Named for Bacone CollegeBacone College
Bacone College is a private four-year liberal arts college in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Founded in 1880 as the Indian University by Almon C. Bacone, Bacone College is the oldest continuously operated institution of higher education in Oklahoma...
, an Indian college in Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
, this style is also influenced by the art programs of Chilocco Indian School
Chilocco Indian Agricultural School
Chilocco Indian School was an agricultural school for Native Americans located in north-central Oklahoma from 1884 to 1980. It was located approximately 20 miles north of Ponca City, Oklahoma and seven miles north of Newkirk, Oklahoma, near the Kansas border....
, north of Ponca City, Oklahoma
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Ponca City is a small city in Kay and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which was named after the Ponca Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma, it lies approximately south of the Kansas border, and approximately east of Interstate 35. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the...
, and Haskell Indian Industrial Training Institute
Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University is a tribal university located in Lawrence, Kansas, for members of federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States...
, in Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
. This area features a mix of Southeastern, Prairie, and Central Plains tribes. Tribes from these regions each have their own traditions of pictorial representation, whether in carving or painting; however, removal
Indian Removal
Indian removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
to Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
in the 19th century disrupted many traditional art practices. Access to Western art materials gave Native artists a new means of self-expression and history recording.
Acee Blue Eagle
Acee Blue Eagle
Acee Blue Eagle , also named Alex C. McIntosh, Chebon Ahbulah , and Lumhee Holot-Tee , was a Muscogee Creek-Pawnee-Wichita artist, educator, dancer, and flute player.-Background:...
(1907-1959) helped shape the Bacone style. Being Muscogee Creek, Pawnee, and Wichita
Wichita (tribe)
The Wichita people are indigenous inhabitants of North America, who traditionally spoke the Wichita language, a Caddoan language. They have lived in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas...
, he used Southeastern Woodland and Central Plains influences in his work, which frequently portrayed cultural or historic information about his tribes in a stylized, narrative form. Blue Eagle served as director of Bacone's art department from 1935-1939. Woody Crumbo
Woody Crumbo
Woodrow "Woody" Crumbo was an American Indian artist, flautist, and dancer of Potawatomi descent. As an independent prospector, he found one of the largest beryllium veins in the nation. His paintings are held by several prominent museums, including the Smithsonian Institution and the...
succeeded him in 1938. 1938 is the year artist Ruthe Blalock Jones
Ruthe Blalock Jones
Ruthe Blalock Jones is an award-winning Delaware-Shawnee-Peoria painter and printmaker from Oklahoma.-Background:Ruthe Blalock Jones was born on June 8, 1939 in Claremore, Oklahoma. Her parents are Joe and Lucy Parks Blalock. Her tribal name is Chulundit.She earned an associates degree from Bacone...
gives for the establishment of the Bacone School of Indian painting, while some would give the year 1935.
The Bacone style differs from the two other prevalent flat styles of Native painting of the time: Southern Plains style and the Studio style. The Southern Plains style had its origins in traditional hide painting and Winter count
Winter count
Winter counts are pictorial calendars or histories in which tribal records and events were recorded. The Blackfeet, Mandan, Kiowa, Lakota, and other Plains tribes used winter counts extensively...
s. After the decline of buffalo herds in the late 19th century, Plains painting evolved into Ledger art
Ledger Art
Ledger Art is a term for Plains Indian narrative drawing or painting on paper or cloth. Ledger art was primarily from the 1860s to about 1900, although some of the old style drawing continues to the 1930s. There is also a contemporary group of accomplished Native American artists who work in the...
, which, under the stewardship of such artists as Silver Horn
Silver Horn
Silver Horn or Haungooah was a Kiowa Ledger Artist from Oklahoma.-Background:Silver Horn was born circa 1860 and was a member of the Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma. His Kiowa name, Haungooah, refers to sunlight reflecting off a buffalo horn, making it gleam like a polished, white metal...
(1860/1-1940, Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
), evolved into easel art, and gained international fame with the Kiowa Five
Kiowa Five
The Kiowa Five or Kiowa Six is a group of six Kiowa artists from Oklahoma in the 20th century. They were Spencer Asah, James Auchiah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Lois Smoky, and Monroe Tsatoke.-Background:...
. The Southern Plains style is the most dynamic, action-based of these mid-20th century painting styles. The Studio style, as taught at the Santa Fe Indian School
Santa Fe Indian School
The Santa Fe Indian School is a secondary school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. It was founded in 1890 as a boarding school for Native American children from the state's Indian pueblos. But in the course of its history, the school has also served as a major cultural catalyst for the...
, built upon the accomplishments of the San Ildefonso Pueblo school of painters and Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
painters such as Fred Kabotie
Fred Kabotie
Fred Kabotie was a celebrated Hopi painter, silversmith, and educator.-Background and education:Fred Kabotie was born into a highly traditional Hopi family at Songo`opavi, Second Mesa, Arizona, Kabotie. His father belonged to the sun clan and he belonged to the Bluebird Clan...
, who were successful easel artists in the 1910s and 1920s in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. These artists drew upon Pueblo mural painting and pottery painting traditions, and their work often features pastoral scenes in muted colors. Collectively, these three Flatstyle movements were sometimes derided by Native artists in the 1960s as "Bambi Art"–being too nostaliagic, sentimental, and limited in scope.
Style and media
Both Blue Eagle's and Crumbo's their styles were influenced by the streamlined, bold look of Art DecoArt Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
. Casein
Casein
Casein is the name for a family of related phosphoprotein proteins . These proteins are commonly found in mammalian milk, making up 80% of the proteins in cow milk and between 60% and 65% of the proteins in human milk....
on illustration board was a popular medium, as well as gouache
Gouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
and watercolor. Technical skill in draftsmanship was emphasized, as was ethnographic accuracy of subjects portrayed. Paintings were aesthetically pleasing, with contours of a certain hue often surrounded by outlines of lighter tints, to emphasize the spiritual nature of the subject. Figures were brilliantly colored with backgrounds of a "subdued palettes of greens, blues, and browns," as Ruthe Blalock Jones writes. Blue in particular is a color representing sorrow, loss, and memory for some Southeastern tribes, and is often a preferred background color. Implied narrative gave the Bacone style a sense of drama.
Development
The Philbrook Museum of ArtPhilbrook Museum of Art
The Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma is an art museum and former home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his wife Genevieve Phillips. , the museum has a staff of 60 and an operating budget of nearly $6 million....
of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
helped foster the development of the Bacone style with its Indian Annual competitive art show from 1947 to 1957. The Five Civilized Tribes Museum of Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
and the Cherokee Heritage Center
Cherokee Heritage Center
The Cherokee Heritage Center is a non-profit historical society and museum campus that seeks to preserve the historical and cultural artifacts, language, and traditional crafts of the Cherokee. The Heritage center also hosts the central genealogy database and genealogy research center for the...
of Park Hill, Oklahoma
Park Hill, Oklahoma
Park Hill is a census-designated place in southwestern Cherokee County, Oklahoma in the United States. The population was 3,936 at the 2000 census. It lies near Tahlequah, east of the junction of U.S. Route 62 and State Highway 82.-History:...
both have annual arts shows with categories specifically for this style of art (the Cecil Dick
Cecil Dick
Cecil Dick was a well-known Cherokee artist often referred to as "the Father of Cherokee Traditional Art". Cecil, born near Rose Prairie, Oklahoma, was one of the pioneers of 20th century flat-style painting among Eastern Woodland tribes in Oklahoma.In 1983 Cecil was honored for his intellectual...
award and the Jerome Tiger
Jerome Tiger
Jerome Richard Tiger was a highly influential Native American painter from Oklahoma. Tiger produced hundreds of paintings from 1962 until his death in 1967....
award, respectively). The Gilcrease Museum
Gilcrease Museum
Gilcrease Museum is a museum located northwest of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. The museum now houses the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art of the American West as well as a growing collection of art and artifacts from Central and South America...
in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
and National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
have extensive collections of Bacone School art.
Notable Bacone School artists
- Archie BlackowlArchie BlackowlArchie Blackowl was a Cheyenne painter from Oklahoma who played a pivotal role in mid-20th century Native American art.-Background:Archie Blackowl was born in Custer County, Oklahoma, on November 23, 1911 and died on September 15, 1992, in Stillwater, Oklahoma...
, Southern Cheyenne - Fred BeaverFred BeaverFred Beaver was a prominent Muscogee Creek-Seminole painter and muralist from Oklahoma.-Background:Fred Beaver was born in Eufaula, Oklahoma. His Muscogee name was Ekalanee, meaning "Brown Head." He was the son of Willie Beaver and Annie Johnson, was raised in Eufaula, and attended the Eufaula...
, Muscogee Creek-SeminoleSeminoleThe Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in... - Acee Blue EagleAcee Blue EagleAcee Blue Eagle , also named Alex C. McIntosh, Chebon Ahbulah , and Lumhee Holot-Tee , was a Muscogee Creek-Pawnee-Wichita artist, educator, dancer, and flute player.-Background:...
, Muscogee Creek-Pawnee-WichitaWichita (tribe)The Wichita people are indigenous inhabitants of North America, who traditionally spoke the Wichita language, a Caddoan language. They have lived in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas... - Woody CrumboWoody CrumboWoodrow "Woody" Crumbo was an American Indian artist, flautist, and dancer of Potawatomi descent. As an independent prospector, he found one of the largest beryllium veins in the nation. His paintings are held by several prominent museums, including the Smithsonian Institution and the...
, PotawatomiPotawatomiThe Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied... - Franklin GrittsFranklin GrittsFranklin Gritts, also known as Oau Nah Jusah, or They Have Returned, was a Cherokee artist best known for his contributions to the "Golden Era" of Native American art, both as a teacher and an artist....
, CherokeeCherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family... - Albert HarjoAlbert HarjoAlbert Harjo was born on September 25, 1937, deep within the Muscogee Nation in the rural area of Hanna, Oklahoma. He is fullblood Muscogee. Albert attended Jones Academy, Hartshorne, Oklahoma then later Chilocco Indian Agricultural School, just north of Ponca City, Oklahoma...
, Muscogee Creek - Joan HillJoan HillJoan Hill , also known as Che-se-quah, is a Muscogee Creek artist of Cherokee ancestry. She is one of the most awarded women artists in the Native American art world.-Personal:...
, Muscogee Creek-CherokeeCherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family... - Ruthe Blalock JonesRuthe Blalock JonesRuthe Blalock Jones is an award-winning Delaware-Shawnee-Peoria painter and printmaker from Oklahoma.-Background:Ruthe Blalock Jones was born on June 8, 1939 in Claremore, Oklahoma. Her parents are Joe and Lucy Parks Blalock. Her tribal name is Chulundit.She earned an associates degree from Bacone...
, ShawneeShawneeThe Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
-DelawareLenapeThe Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
-PeoriaPeoria (tribe)The Peoria people are a Native American tribe. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. Historically, they were part of the Illinois Confederation.-History:... - Barbara McAlisterBarbara McAlister (opera singer)Barbara McAlister is an internationally acclaimed mezzo soprano Native American opera singer from Muskogee, Oklahoma.-Background:Barbara McAlister was born Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1941. She is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, a descendant of Old Tassel, and half German through her mother...
, Cherokee NationCherokee NationThe Cherokee Nation is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It was established in the 20th century, and includes people descended from members of the old Cherokee Nation who relocated voluntarily from the Southeast to Indian Territory and Cherokees who... - Solomon McCombs, Muscogee Creek
- Jackson NarcomeyJackson NarcomeyJackson Narcomey is a Muscogee Creek painter and printmaker, living in Oklahoma.Jackson Leon Narcomey was born on January 25, 1942 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma....
, Muscogee Creek - Terry Saul, Choctaw Nation of OklahomaChoctaw Nation of OklahomaThe Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is a semi-autonomous Native American homeland comprising twelve tribal districts. The Choctaw Nation maintains a special relationship with both the United States and Oklahoma governments...
- Jerome TigerJerome TigerJerome Richard Tiger was a highly influential Native American painter from Oklahoma. Tiger produced hundreds of paintings from 1962 until his death in 1967....
, Muscogee Creek-SeminoleSeminoleThe Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in... - Dick West, Southern Cheyenne