The Plains Indians of North America have a long tradition of chronicling their lives pictorially, but in the mid-19th century, as a result of increased contact with soldiers and settlers moving west, they acquired a new medium for their visual histories. Using pen, pencil and watercolour, they began to draw in the bound ledgers commonly used for inventory by traders and military officers. Serving as the catalogue for a travelling exhibition starting at The Drawing Center in New York City, this book examines the entire range and history of the drawings made by Lakota, Cheyenne, Kiowa and Arapaho during the reservation era. It presents in colour about 150 drawings by 36 different artists, accompanied by individual commentaries and eight essays, together with statements by four contemporary American Indian artists.
 Sell Back Your Copy for $23.55
Whether you buy it used on Amazon for $124.00 or somewhere else, you can sell it back through our Book Trade-In Program at the current price of $23.55.
Used Price$124.00
Trade-in Price$23.55
Price after
Trade-in$100.45 |
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
The truly remarkable aspect of this book concerns its methodology. Berlo (Native American art, Univ. of Missouri, St. Louis) manages to bring together multiple viewpoints that enlarge this subject, opening it out to a richer social and historical context. Based on an engaging exhibition organized by the Drawing Center, New York, and the American Federation of Arts, the volume offers essays, artists' statements, and catalog entries that more fully illuminate the work of 36 Plains Indian artists. Although there have been several publications on those Plains Indian ledger drawings created while the artists were in federal prisons, this book covers the reservation period, when the richest work was produced. The picture that emerges is a more fully realized perspective on what this art meant to its creators. This study offers a vigorous examination of narrative Native American art in transition and contains a wealth of new, and even previously unknown, details on Plains Indian drawing. An essential acquisition for academic collections where Native American culture and art intersect.?Paula A. Baxter, NYPL
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Whereas their forebears traditionally drew on buffalo hides, nineteenth-century Plains Indians transferred this artistic genre onto inventory ledger books that were often already filled with lists in spidery writing. Earlier winter accountings of events, which is what the drawings are, depicted victories and continuing struggle, but those from this period illustrate an accelerating spiral of loss and defeat. A line of uniformed Indian prisoners is shown being photographed, while another is being pressed through military drills. Still, there is also transcription of traditional ways, such as the Caddo stomp dance, the Kiowa honoring song, and the sun dance. Excellent scholarly introductions set the historical and artistic contexts for the colorplates of the drawings. An especially interesting section provides commentary by four contemporary Native American artists on the ongoing influence of these seemingly childlike sketches. Patricia Monaghan
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Superb Reference Work,
By Mike Blake (Derbyshire, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Plains Indian Drawings 1865-1935 (Hardcover)
This really is a "must-have" book for anyone interested in the details of what Plains Indians wore. It contains hundreds of wonderful full colour plates of Ledger Drawings by Plains Indians of Plains Indians. The production values of the book are also very high indeed, so that it is not only a marvellous reference work, it is also beautiful to look at and to hold. The standard of scholarship of the accompanying text is also excellent. As an author and artist, I found it truly inspirational. The only possible criticism is that more of the Ledger Drawings themselves were not reproduced, because the references to them are tantalising.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Book Nitty-Gritty,
By Theseus "theseus" (US of A) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Plains Indian Drawings 1865-1935 (Hardcover)
A quality piece of work from Abrams. Cloth over hardback boards with a sewn binding on heavy stock. In dustjacket. Large format, 240 pp, 4 pounds. Illustrations throughout, about 70% of them in color.
8 Essays, 4 Artist Statements, Index. An 8 page Bibliography. TABLE OF CONTENTS Drawing and Being Drawn In: The Late 19th Century Plains Graphic Artist and the Intercultural Encounter Encyclopedias of Experience: A Curatorial Dialogue on Drawing and Drawing Books Structure and Meaning in Cheyenne Ledger Art A Brief History of Lakota Drawings 1870-1935 In a Place of Writing The Subtle Art of Resistance: Encounter and Accommodation in the Art of Fort Marion Narrative and Landscape in the Drawings of Etahdleuh Doanmoe The Ledger of Book Drawings in 20th Century Native American Art Artist Statements: Colleen Cutschall, Edgar Heap of Birds, Jane Ash Poitras, Francis Yellow Catalogue (151 pp): Arapaho, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Lakota Bibliography Index
5.0 out of 5 stars
Natuve American Ledger Art,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Plains Indian Drawings 1865-1935 (Hardcover)
As an artist interested in Native American Ledger Art, I have look through many of the books available on the subject. This book has the best collection of different tribes and artists. I am not aware of another book that could serve as well as a resource for the art and a history of ledger art.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
