Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians & Western Art
Encyclopedia
The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is located in downtown Indianapolis
, Indiana
, and houses an extensive collection of Native American art
, as well as Western American paintings and sculptures collected by buinessman and philanthropist Harrison Eiteljorg (1903-1997). The museum houses one of the finest collections of Native contemporary art in the World.
which also houses the neighboring Indiana State Museum
, the Indianapolis Zoo
, the White River Gardens
, NCAA Hall of Champions
, Victory Field
and Military Park. The museum offers free parking to its visitors in the White River State Park Garage.
The Gund
Gallery has an appreciable collection of paintings and bronzes by: Frederic Remington
and Charles Russell
. It also has paintings by: George Winter
, Thomas Hill
, Albert Bierstadt
, Charles King
, and Olaf Seltzer. In another room, there is a large collection of paintings by New Mexico-associated painters such as: Joseph Sharp
, Victor Higgins, Ernest Blumenschein ("Penitentes"), John Sloan, and Georgia O'Keefe ("Taos Pueblo").
The new galleries include two galleries dedicated to the museum extensive contemporary art collection. The collection includes works by T.C. Cannon, Kay WalkingStick
, Andy Warhol
and many more. The other gallery added in the expansion is the Gund Gallery of Western Art. This gallery is dedicated to the 57-piece collection of traditional Western art donated to the museum by the George Gund Family.
The Sky City Cafe offers a Southwestern fare.
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, and houses an extensive collection of Native American art
Native American art
Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present...
, as well as Western American paintings and sculptures collected by buinessman and philanthropist Harrison Eiteljorg (1903-1997). The museum houses one of the finest collections of Native contemporary art in the World.
Museum
The museum is currently part of Indianapolis's White River State ParkWhite River State Park
White River State ParkDesignationState ParkLocationIndianapolis, Indiana USANearest CityIndianapolis, IndianaArea Date of Establishment1979Governing Body...
which also houses the neighboring Indiana State Museum
Indiana State Museum
The Indiana State Museum is a museum located within White River State Park in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The museum houses exhibits on the history of Indiana from prehistoric times up to the present day. It has one of the four IMAX theaters in the state of Indiana.-History:The museum was started...
, the Indianapolis Zoo
Indianapolis Zoo
The Indianapolis Zoo in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, first opened to the public in 1964. Its current home in White River State Park was opened in 1988 with a size of . The zoo hosts more than a million visitors each year and plays a role in worldwide conservation and research, including...
, the White River Gardens
White River Gardens
The White River Gardens are botanical gardens located adjacent to the Indianapolis Zoo at 1200 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana. The gardens are a part of the White River State Park....
, NCAA Hall of Champions
NCAA Hall of Champions
The NCAA Hall of Champions is a museum, exhibition center, and conference center that is located adjacent to the national office of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in White River State Park in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States...
, Victory Field
Victory Field
Victory Field is the name of the current minor league baseball park that is the home of the Indianapolis Indians of the International League. It is located in Indianapolis, Indiana....
and Military Park. The museum offers free parking to its visitors in the White River State Park Garage.
The Gund
George Gund (philanthropist)
George Gund II was an American banker, business executive, and real estate investor who lived in Cleveland, Ohio in the early and middle part of the 20th century...
Gallery has an appreciable collection of paintings and bronzes by: Frederic Remington
Frederic Remington
Frederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U. S...
and Charles Russell
Charles Marion Russell
Charles Marion Russell , also known as C. M. Russell, Charlie Russell, and "Kid" Russell, was an artist of the Old American West. Russell created more than 2,000 paintings of cowboys, Indians, and landscapes set in the Western United States, in addition to bronze sculptures...
. It also has paintings by: George Winter
George Winter (artist)
George Winter was an English-born American artist who was noted for his portraits of Native Americans and other figures of the American frontier.-Biography:...
, Thomas Hill
Thomas Hill
-People:In the arts:* Thomas Hill , American actor* Thomas Hill , English gardening author* Thomas Hill , principle clarinetist with the Boston Philharmonic and member of the Boston Chamber Music...
, Albert Bierstadt
Albert Bierstadt
Albert Bierstadt was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. In obtaining the subject matter for these works, Bierstadt joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion...
, Charles King
Charles King
-Academics:* Charles King , former president of Columbia University* Charles King , Georgetown University professor and author* Charles Spencer King ,Baba Awo and author-Arts:...
, and Olaf Seltzer. In another room, there is a large collection of paintings by New Mexico-associated painters such as: Joseph Sharp
Joseph Sharp
Joseph Sharp was an early settler of New Jersey, landowner, supporter of education, an iron manufacturer, an industrialist; his mill provided flour to American Troops in the War of 1812.-Influence on education:...
, Victor Higgins, Ernest Blumenschein ("Penitentes"), John Sloan, and Georgia O'Keefe ("Taos Pueblo").
Expansion
In June 2005 the museum opened an extensive expansion that doubled the public space of the museum by adding three new galleries, the Sky City Cafe, an education center, outdoor gardens, and event space.The new galleries include two galleries dedicated to the museum extensive contemporary art collection. The collection includes works by T.C. Cannon, Kay WalkingStick
Kay WalkingStick
Kay WalkingStick is a Native American painter and educator. She is enrolled in the Cherokee Nation and is also of Scotch-Irish and Ho-Chunk descent. She currently resides in New York and was a Professor of Art at Cornell University from 1988-2005....
, Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
and many more. The other gallery added in the expansion is the Gund Gallery of Western Art. This gallery is dedicated to the 57-piece collection of traditional Western art donated to the museum by the George Gund Family.
The Sky City Cafe offers a Southwestern fare.
Fellowship
The museum offers the prestigious Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art biannually to recognize the some of the most innovative and influential contemporary Native artists active today. Eiteljorg fellows include:- Rick BartowRick BartowRick Bartow is a Native American artist of Wiyot and Yurok heritage. He works in sculpture, print, etching, ceramics, mixed media, and painting.-Early life:...
, Yurok painter and mixed media artist(2001) - Corky Clairmont, Salish-KootenaiConfederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead NationThe Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation are the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles Tribes. The Flatheads lived between the Cascade Mountains and Rocky Mountains. The Salish initially lived entirely east of the Continental Divide but established their...
printmaker and installation artist (2003) - Gerald ClarkeGerald Clarke (artist)Gerald Clarke is a sculptor, installation, and conceptual artist from the Cahuillia Band of Mission Indians. His work often reflects on and questions current issues in Native America and the United States, as well as his personal life....
, CahuillaCahuillaThe Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
sculptor (2007) - Lorenzo ClaytonLorenzo ClaytonLorenzo Clayton is a contemporary Navajo sculptor, printmaker, conceptual and installation artist. His artwork is notable for exploring the concepts of spirituality through abstract art.-Background:...
, NavajoNavajo peopleThe Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
printmaker (1999) - Dana ClaxtonDana ClaxtonDana Claxton is a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux filmmaker, photographer and performance artist. Her work looks at stereotypes, historical context and gender studies of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, specifically those of the First Nations...
, Lakota performance and installation artist (2007) - Jim DenomieJim DenomieJim Denomie is an Ojibwe painter. He is known for his colorful, at times comical, looks at United States history and Native Americans.-Early life:...
, Ojibwe painter (2009) - Bonnie DevineBonnie DevineBonnie Devine is an Ojibway installation artist, performance artist, sculptor, curator, and writer from Toronto, Ontario. She is currently the Interim Director of the Aboriginal Visual Cultural Program and Associate Professor in the faculties of Art and Liberal Studies at the Ontario College of Art...
, Ojibwe-Serpent River First NationSerpent River First NationThe Serpent River First Nation, a signatory to the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850, is an Anishinaabe First Nation in the Canadian province of Ontario, located midway between Sault Ste...
(2011) - Joe FeddersenJoe FeddersenJoe Feddersen is a Colville sculptor, painter, photographer and mixed-media artist. He is known for creating artworks strong in geometric patterns reflective of what is seen in the environment, landscape and his Native American heritage....
, Colville Confederated Tribes printmaker (2001) - Harry FonsecaHarry FonsecaHarry Eugene Fonseca was an American artist. He was born in Sacramento, California.Harry Fonseca was of Nisenan Maidu, Hawaiian, and Portuguese heritage. He studied art at California State University Sacramento with Native-American artist Frank LaPena but quit the program to pursue his own vision...
, MaiduMaiduThe Maidu are a group of Native Americans who live in Northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the drainage area of the Feather and American Rivers...
-NisenanNisenanThe Nisenan, also known as the Southern Maidu and Valley Maidu, are one of many native groups of the Central Valley. The name Nisenan, derives from the ablative plural pronoun nisena·n, "from among us"...
painter (2005) - Skawennati Fragnito, MohawkMohawk nationMohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
(2011) - Jeffrey GibsonJeffrey GibsonJeffrey Gibson is a Choctaw-Cherokee painter and sculptor. He is known for his landscape-like artworks and his unique use of silicon and urethane foam.-Early life:...
, Mississippi Band Choctaw-CherokeeCherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
painter and installation artist (2009) - Faye HeavyshieldFaye HeavyShieldFaye HeavyShield is a Kainai-Blood sculptor and installation artist. She is known for her repetitive use of objects and writing to create large scale, often minimalist, site-specific installations.Background=...
, Kainai installation artist (2009) - John Hoover, Aleut sculptor (2005)
- Robert HouleRobert HouleRobert Houle is a Saulteaux First Nations artist, curator, critic, and educator. Houle has had an active curatorial and artistic practice since the mid 1970s...
, SaulteauxSaulteauxThe Saulteaux are a First Nation in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.-Ethnic classification:The Saulteaux are a branch of the Ojibwe nations. They are sometimes also called Anihšināpē . Saulteaux is a French term meaning "people of the rapids," referring to...
painter (2003) - Allan HouserAllan HouserAllan Capron Houser or Haozous a Chiricahua Apache sculptor from Oklahoma. He was one of the most renowned Native American painters and Modernist sculptors of the 20th century....
, Chiricahua Apache sculptor (2001) - Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Iñupiaq-Athabascan painter and sculptor (2007)
- James LavadourJames LavadourJames Lavadour is a Walla Walla painter and printmaker. Co-Founder of the Crow's Shadow Institute of the Arts, he is known for creating large panel sets of landscape paintings....
, Walla WallaWalla Walla (tribe)Walla Walla |Native American]] tribe of the northwestern United States. The reduplication of the word expresses the diminutive form. The name "Walla Walla" is translated several ways but most often as "many waters."...
painter - Truman LoweTruman LoweTruman Lowe is a Ho-Chunk sculptor and installation artist living in Wisconsin. A professor of fine art at the University of Wisconsin, Lowe is the former curator of contemporary art at the National Museum of the American Indian...
, Ho-ChunkHo-ChunkThe Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....
conceptual artist and curator (1999) - James LunaJames LunaJames Luna is a Pooyukitchum and Mexican-American performance artist and multimedia installation artist, living on the La Jolla Indian Reservation in California.-Background:...
, Luiseño performance artist (2007) - Teresa Marshall, Mi'kmaq conceptual artist (2001)
- Larry McNeil, Tlingit-Nisgaa photographer (2007)
- Alan Michelson, MohawkMohawk nationMohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
(2011) - George MorrisonGeorge Morrison (artist)George Morrison was an American landscape painter and sculptor. His Indian name was Wah Wah Teh Go Nay Ga Bo .-Early life and education:...
, Ojibwe abstract expressionist painter and sculptor (1999) - Nadia Myre, Algonquin multidisciplinary artist (2003)
- Nora Naranjo-MorseNora Naranjo-MorseNora Naranjo-Morse is a Native American potter and poet. She currently resides in Espanola, New Mexico just north of Santa Fe and is a member of the Santa Clara Pueblo...
, Santa Clara Pueblo ceramicist (2003) - Marianne Nicholson, Kwakwaka’wakw photographer and painter (1999)
- Shelley NiroShelley NiroShelley Niro is a Mohawk filmmaker and visual artist from New York and Ontario.-Background:Shelley Niro was born in Niagara Falls, New York in 1954 and grew up on the Six Nations Reserve, near Brantford, Ontario, Canada. She is a member of the Turtle Clan. Niro graduated from the Ontario College...
, MohawkMohawk nationMohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
photographer, beader, filmmaker, installation artist (2001) - Edward Poitras, Gordon First NationGordon First NationThe George Gordon First Nation is located near the village of Punnichy, Saskatchewan, in Canada. The First Nation has a population of 2,774 people, 1,060 of whom live on-reserve and 1,714 who live off-reserve. Elected Chief Glen Pratt leads the First Nation...
painter (2009) - Wendy Red Star, Crow NationCrow NationThe Crow, also called the Absaroka or Apsáalooke, are a Siouan people of Native Americans who historically lived in the Yellowstone River valley, which extends from present-day Wyoming, through Montana and into North Dakota. They now live on a reservation south of Billings, Montana and in several...
installation artist (2009) - Rick Rivet, SahtuSahtuThe Sahtú are an Aboriginal peoples of Canada Dene people living in the vicinity of Great Bear Lake , Northwest Territories, Canada...
-MétisMétisA Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
mixed media painter (1999) - Tanis Marie S'eiltin, Tlingit sculptor and installation artist (2005)
- Susie Silook, Siberian YupikSiberian YupikSiberian Yupiks, or Yuits, are indigenous people who reside along the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in the far northeast of the Russian Federation and on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. They speak Central Siberian Yupik , a Yupik language of the Eskimo–Aleut family of languages.They were also...
-Iñupiaq carver and sculptor (2001) - Duane Slick, Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in IowaSac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in IowaThe Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa is one of three federally recognized Native American tribe of Sac and Meskwaki peoples. Their name for themselves is Meshwaki. They are Algonquian peoples and Eastern Woodland culture....
painter (2011) - Jaune Quick-to-See SmithJaune Quick-To-See SmithJaune Quick-To-See Smith is a Native American contemporary artist. Notably her work is held in the collections of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Museum of Modern Art in New York City.- Biography :Born in 1940...
, FlatheadConfederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead NationThe Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation are the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles Tribes. The Flatheads lived between the Cascade Mountains and Rocky Mountains. The Salish initially lived entirely east of the Continental Divide but established their...
printmaker, collage, mixed media artist (1999) - C. Maxx Stevens, 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...
sculptor and installation artist (2005) - Hulleah TsinhnahjinnieHulleah TsinhnahjinnieHulleah Tsinhnahjinnie is a Seminole-Muscogee-Diné photographer, curator, and educator living in Davis, California.-Background:Hulleah J...
, DinéDine-People named Dine:* Jim Dine , an American pop artist* S. S. Van Dine, an art critic and author* Tom Dine, an American government worker-Other meanings:* Beit ed-Dine, a town in Lebanon* Diné, name for the Navajo Nation in the Navajo language...
-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...
-Muscogee photographer (2003) - Anna Tsouhlarakis, DinéDine-People named Dine:* Jim Dine , an American pop artist* S. S. Van Dine, an art critic and author* Tom Dine, an American government worker-Other meanings:* Beit ed-Dine, a town in Lebanon* Diné, name for the Navajo Nation in the Navajo language...
-Muscogee Creek (2011) - Kay WalkingStickKay WalkingStickKay WalkingStick is a Native American painter and educator. She is enrolled in the Cherokee Nation and is also of Scotch-Irish and Ho-Chunk descent. She currently resides in New York and was a Professor of Art at Cornell University from 1988-2005....
, 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...
painter - Marie WattMarie WattMarie Watt is a contemporary artist living and working in Portland, Oregon. Part Seneca, Watt has created work centered on contemporary Native American themes.-Background:...
, Seneca NationSeneca nationThe Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
installation artist and printmaker (2005) - Will Wilson, DinéDine-People named Dine:* Jim Dine , an American pop artist* S. S. Van Dine, an art critic and author* Tom Dine, an American government worker-Other meanings:* Beit ed-Dine, a town in Lebanon* Diné, name for the Navajo Nation in the Navajo language...
photographer (2007)