Indigenous war painting of the Plains : an illustrated history / Arni Brownstone ; foreword by Lindsay M. Montgomery ; afterword by Dana Claxton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brownstone, Arni, 1947- author.

Contributor:

Montgomery, Lindsay M. (Lindsay Martel), writer of foreword.

Claxton, Dana, writer of afterword.

Series:

Civilization of the American Indian series ; v. 283.

The civilization of the American Indian series ; volume 283

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indian painting--Great Plains--History--Pictorial works.

Indian painting.

Picture-writing, Indian--History--Pictorial works.

Picture-writing, Indian.

Indians of North America--Wars--Great Plains--Pictorial works.

Indians of North America.

Hides and skins--Painting--Great Plains--History--Pictorial works.

Hides and skins.

Hides and skins--Painting.

Indians of North America--Wars.

Great Plains.

Genre:

History

Illustrated works

Pictorial works

Illustrated works.

Physical Description:

xii, 286 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), maps (some color) ; 29 x 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, [2024]

Summary:

"A detailed study from the northern to southern plains of iconic autobiographical Plains Indian war paintings, generally found on animal hide robes, shirts, tipi covers, and tipi liners"-- Provided by publisher.

"In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains practiced an archival art -- narrating war exploits in large-scale paintings executed on animal hide robes, shirts, tipi covers, and tipi liners. Essentially autobiographical, the paintings were worn and lived in by the men whose war exploits they portrayed, and were made to be "read" by the public at large. Executed in a pictorial narrative style and documenting actual events, these paintings blend visual art and history. 'Indigenous War Painting of the Plains' is the first comprehensive look at this important North American art form, covering the full corpus of war paintings from fourteen tribes across the plains. Two impediments have previously made such a book impractical: photography alone falls short of rendering war paintings for the printed page, and only about half of the surviving works have reliable documentation on their cultural origins. Arni Brownstone surmounts these difficulties by producing precise electronic redrawings and by using well-documented paintings to inform poorly documented examples, bolstered by a careful examination of collection histories. Featuring some 300 photographs and electronic redrawings, the book focuses on 83 paintings organized into four chapters covering the paintings of tribes associated with a specific geographical sphere of artistic influence. Four appendixes feature paintings combined with "translations" by Indigenous collaborators who had intimate knowledge of the depicted events. Offering vivid access to the key works of war painting preserved in 37 museums throughout North America and Europe, 'Indigenous War Painting of the Plains' illuminates distinctions between painting styles of different tribes, reveals how they influenced one another and changed over time, and conveys a deep understanding of how war painting developed in relation to profound social changes in Plains Indian cultures."-- Taken from Description on publisher website viewed August 20, 2024.

Contents:

Foreword / by Lindsay M. Montgomery

Northwest

West-Central

Central-East

South

Robes of unlikely indigenous origins

Afterword / by Dana Claxton

Appendixes. Introduction: Pictorial translations

Appendix A: Translation of Bear Chief's tipi cover

Appendix B: Translation of Sharp's robe

Appendix C: Translation of Four Bears's robe

Appendix D: Translation of a Crow robe

Appendix E. Materials and techniques in Plains war painting.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Brownstone, Arni, 1947- Indigenous war painting of the Plains.

ISBN:

9780806193649

0806193646

OCLC:

1405846764