"Winold Reiss: Native American Portraits"
2000-07-21 until 2000-09-10
Frye Art Museum
Seattle, WA, USA

German-born Winold Reiss (1886-1953) studied art in Munich before moving his family to the United States in 1913 to fulfill his dream of painting American Indians. Settling in New York, the artist quickly established a reputation as a teacher and designer. Eventually, Reiss was commissioned by the Great Northern Railway to produce portraits of members of the Blackfeet Confederacy. Beginning in 1927 and continuing for almost three decades, his vibrant images of Northwest Native Americans were used on countless posters, menus, calendars, cards, and advertisements produced by the railway.

Many of the sitters became close friends, and the Blackfeet elders dubbed Reiss Ksistakpoka, or Beaver Child. The artist's identification with his sitters continued even after his death when his ashes were scattered at the reservation near Browning, Montana, in 1954.

This exhibition is the second in a series that features artists once active in the Northwest, whose works deserve to be reconsidered. A full-color illustrated catalogue, with an essay by historian Scott J. Tanner, is available in the museum store.

IMAGE:
Winold Reiss,
Eagleribs,
pastel on paper.
All rights reserved.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of Washington

Other Important Exhibitions in Seattle