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Tomorrow, the Portland Art Museum will open the first major retrospective on Yanktonai Dakota artist Oscar Howe (1915–1983). Organized in partnership with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in New York, Dakota Modern: The Art of Oscar Howe will be on view until May 14, 2023.
The exhibit includes more than 60 paintings by Howe, which are being lent by museums, historical institutions, and private collections (many have never been showcased publicly). Historic photographs, film and graphics will give the exhibit context and furnish biographical information about Howe.
“Howe is known both for his bold, modernist approach as a painter and for his defense of the rights of Native artists to choose their own artistic paths,” the museum stated in a press release. “In an incredibly powerful modernist depiction of his Dakota heritage, Oscar Howe brought Indigenous tradition to life with his use of bright color, dynamic motion and pristine line.”
The museum is complementing Dakota Modern with the concurrent site-specific installation They Come From Fire (on view through Feb. 23, 2023) by artist Jeffrey Gibson (a Mississippi Band Choctaw). Gibson is seen as an heir to Howe’s legacy.
“These exhibitions shine a spotlight on two important Native American artists, as well as the broad and lasting impact Oscar Howe has had on modern and contemporary art,” the museum said. “Through community partnerships and public programs, the Museum is amplifying the contributions and perspectives of both Howe and Gibson, as well as the many Native American artists and communities living and working in the Pacific Northwest.”