Stephen Mopope
Encyclopedia
Stephen Mopope was a Kiowa
painter, dancer, and flute player of Spanish
descent, from Oklahoma
. He was the most prolific member of the Kiowa Five
. Qued Koi was his Kiowa name, which translates as "Painted Robe," and is sometimes spelled, "Wood Coy." His maternal grandfather was Appiatan, a famed Kiowa warrior, and his great-uncles were Silver Horn
and Oheltoint (Ohettoint), both of whom were accomplished artists. Oheltoint was one of the Fort Marion ledger artists
. Mopope's paternal grandfather was a Spanish captive, adopted by Kiowa chief Many Bears.
When Mopope was young child, his relatives observed him drawing pictures in the sand, so the artists in his family taught him how to paint on hides in the traditional manner. His grandmother was also instrumental in his early education.
In 1916, Mopope attended St. Patrick's Indian Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma
, where he received further art instruction under Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw
nun. In a move that contradicted US federal policy at the time, Susan Peters, the Kiowa agency field matron, arranged for Mrs. Willie Baze Lane, an artist from Chickasha, Oklahoma
, to teach painting classes for young Kiowas in Anadarko. Recognizing the talent of some of the young artists, Peters convinced Swedish-American artist, Oscar Jacobson, director of the University of Oklahoma
's School of Art to accept the Kiowa students into a special program at the school.
, James Auchiah
, Jack Hokeah
, Stephen Mopope, Lois Smoky
, and Monroe Tsatoke
. James Auchiah was the last to join the group at OU in 1926.
In 1928, the Kiowa Five made their debut into the international fine arts world, when they participated in the First International Art Exposition in Prague
, Czechoslovakia. Dr. Jacobson arranged for their work to be shown in several other countries and for Kiowa Art, a portfolio of pochoir prints artists' paintings to be published in France.
He joined the Native American Church
and created stylized paintings that combined ceremonial implements with religious imagery. Besides being a visual artist, he was a highly accomplished dancer and flute-player.
Today Mopope's granddaughter, Vanessa Jennings is an award-winning Kiowa beadworker and traditional artist.
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...
painter, dancer, and flute player of Spanish
Spanish American
A Spanish American is a citizen or resident of the United States whose ancestors originate from the southwestern European nation of Spain. Spanish Americans are the earliest European American group, with a continuous presence since 1565.-Immigration waves:...
descent, from 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...
. He was the most prolific member of 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:...
Early life
Stephen Mopope was born on 27 August 1898 near the Redstone Baptist Mission on the Kiowa Reservation in Indian TerritoryIndian 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...
. Qued Koi was his Kiowa name, which translates as "Painted Robe," and is sometimes spelled, "Wood Coy." His maternal grandfather was Appiatan, a famed Kiowa warrior, and his great-uncles were 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...
and Oheltoint (Ohettoint), both of whom were accomplished artists. Oheltoint was one of the Fort Marion ledger artists
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...
. Mopope's paternal grandfather was a Spanish captive, adopted by Kiowa chief Many Bears.
When Mopope was young child, his relatives observed him drawing pictures in the sand, so the artists in his family taught him how to paint on hides in the traditional manner. His grandmother was also instrumental in his early education.
In 1916, Mopope attended St. Patrick's Indian Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma
Anadarko, Oklahoma
Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County.-Early History:Anadarko got its name when its post office was established in 1873...
, where he received further art instruction under Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
nun. In a move that contradicted US federal policy at the time, Susan Peters, the Kiowa agency field matron, arranged for Mrs. Willie Baze Lane, an artist from Chickasha, Oklahoma
Chickasha, Oklahoma
Chickasha is a city in and the county seat, business and employment center of Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 15,850 at the 2000 census. Chickasha is home to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma and hosts an annual Festival of Light celebration located at...
, to teach painting classes for young Kiowas in Anadarko. Recognizing the talent of some of the young artists, Peters convinced Swedish-American artist, Oscar Jacobson, director of the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
's School of Art to accept the Kiowa students into a special program at the school.
Kiowa Five
The Kiowa Five included six artists: Spencer AsahSpencer Asah
Spencer Asah was a Kiowa painter, one of the Kiowa Five, from Oklahoma.-Early life:Spencer Asah was born around 1905 in Carnegie, Oklahoma. His Kiowa name was Lallo . His father was a buffalo medicine man. His father provided Asah extensive cultural information that he later used in his art.Asah...
, James Auchiah
James Auchiah
James Auchiah was a Kiowa painter, one of the Kiowa Five, from Oklahoma.-Early life:James Auchiah was born in on 17 November 1906 in Oklahoma Territory, near present day Meers and Medicine Park, Oklahoma...
, Jack Hokeah
Jack Hokeah
Jack Hokeah was a Kiowa painter, one of the Kiowa Five, from Oklahoma.-Early life:Jack Hokeah was born around 1900 or 1902 in western Oklahoma. He was orphaned at a very young age and raised by his grandmother. His grandfather was the Kiowa warrior, White Horse.Hokeah attend St...
, Stephen Mopope, Lois Smoky
Lois Smoky
Lois Smoky Kaulaity was a Kiowa painter, one of the Kiowa Five, from Oklahoma.-Early life:Lois Smoky was born in 1907 near Anadarko, Oklahoma. Bougetah was her Kiowa name, meaning "Of the Dawn." Her father, Enoch Smoky, was the great-nephew of Kiowa Chief Appiatan.Smoky first studied art at St...
, and Monroe Tsatoke
Monroe Tsatoke
Monroe Tsatoke was a Kiowa painter, one of the Kiowa Five, from Oklahoma.-Early life:Monroe Tsatoke was born on 29 September 1904 in Oklahoma Territory, near present day Saddle Mountain, Oklahoma. Tsatokee was his Kiowa name, which meant "Hunting Horse." His father was also named Tsatokee, and was...
. James Auchiah was the last to join the group at OU in 1926.
In 1928, the Kiowa Five made their debut into the international fine arts world, when they participated in the First International Art Exposition in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czechoslovakia. Dr. Jacobson arranged for their work to be shown in several other countries and for Kiowa Art, a portfolio of pochoir prints artists' paintings to be published in France.
Individual pursuits
Mopope was commissionined to paint murals in the US Department of the Interior building in Washington, DC, along with five other Native aristists, including James Auchiah. Mopope's mural was 6 by 60 feet and portrayed a Kiowa ceremonial dance.He joined the Native American Church
Native American Church
Native American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion, originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States...
and created stylized paintings that combined ceremonial implements with religious imagery. Besides being a visual artist, he was a highly accomplished dancer and flute-player.
Today Mopope's granddaughter, Vanessa Jennings is an award-winning Kiowa beadworker and traditional artist.
Public collections
Mopope's work can be found in the following public art collections:- Anadarko City Museum
- Bank of AmericaBank of AmericaBank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
Collection, Phoenix, Arizona - Cleveland Museum of ArtCleveland Museum of ArtThe Cleveland Museum of Art is an art museum situated in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on Cleveland's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian art, the museum houses a diverse permanent collection of more than 43,000...
- Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth CollegeDartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
Collection - Fred Jones Jr. Museum of ArtFred Jones Jr. Museum of ArtThe Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art is an art museum on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, Oklahoma.-Overview:The University of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art is one of the finest university art museums in the United States. Strengths of the nearly 16,000-object permanent collection...
- The George Gustav Heye CenterThe George Gustav Heye CenterThe George Gustav Heye Center is a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City, USA. The museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution...
- Gilcrease MuseumGilcrease MuseumGilcrease 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...
- Heard MuseumHeard MuseumThe Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is a museum located in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. There is also the Heard Museum North Scottsdale branch in Scottsdale and the Heard Museum West branch in Surprise....
- Indian Arts and Crafts Board, US Department of the Interior
- McNay Art MuseumMcNay Art MuseumThe McNay Art Museum, founded in 1950 in San Antonio, is the first modern art museum in the State of Texas. The museum was created by Marion Koogler McNay's original bequest of most of her fortune, her important art collection and her 24-room Spanish Colonial Revival-style mansion that sits on ...
- Museum of Northern ArizonaMuseum of Northern ArizonaThe Museum of Northern Arizona is a museum in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, that was established as a repository for Native American artifacts and natural history specimens from the Colorado Plateau.The museum was founded in 1928 by zoologist Dr. Harold S...
, Katherine Harvey Collection - Museum of New MexicoMuseum of New MexicoThe Museum of New Mexico consists of six separate institutions in Santa Fe, New Mexico, including :* New Mexico Museum of Art* Palace of the Governors* Museum of Indian Arts & Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology* Museum of International Folk Art...
- Millicent Rogers Museum
- Oklahoma Art Center
- Oklahoma Historical SocietyOklahoma Historical SocietyThe Oklahoma Historical Society is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma....
- Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
- Oklahoma State Art Collection
- Oklahoma Science and Art Foundation, Gerrer Collection
- Peabody Essex MuseumPeabody Essex MuseumThe Peabody Essex Museum , originally the Peabody Museum of Salem and the Essex Institute, in Salem, Massachusetts is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States, and holds one of the major collections of Asian art in the US; its total holdings include about 1.3 million pieces, as...
- Philbrook Museum of ArtPhilbrook Museum of ArtThe 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....
- Southwest MuseumSouthwest MuseumThe Southwest Museum of the American Indian is a museum, library, and archive located in the Mt. Washington area of Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Autry National Center. Its collections deal mainly with the American Indian...
- Seminole Public Library
- Southern Plains Indian Museum
- University of Oklahoma, Library
- Wheelwright Museum of the American IndianWheelwright Museum of the American IndianThe Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is a museum devoted to Native American arts. It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was founded in 1937 by Mary Cabot Wheelwright, who came from Boston, and Hastiin Klah, a Navajo singer and medicine man....
- Woolaroc MuseumWoolarocWoolaroc is located in the Osage Hills of Northeastern Oklahoma on Oklahoma State Highway 123 about southwest of Bartlesville, Oklahoma and north of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Woolaroc was established in 1925 as the ranch retreat of oilman Frank Phillips...