Basketry has been woven into the rich tapestry of Native American cultures for centuries. Native American basket weavers have transformed twigs, grasses, roots, ferns, and bark into works of art that are unsurpassed for their beauty and technological skill. The Clark Field collection at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is recognized as one of the most comprehensive basketry collections in North America.
What started as a hobby for Clark Field, a Tulsa businessman, the collecting of Native American basketry soon became an obsession resulting in a collection of more than one thousand baskets. Field's goal to "collect authentic specimens of baskets made for actual use by all basket-making tribes" resulted in a collection of extraordinary baskets that tell of the remarkable adaptability of native peoples and how basketry enabled many of their traditions and values to continue.
Following Clark Field's travels in his endeavor to amass his collection, we learn about the weavers and their baskets from eight major cultural areas: the Southwest, California, the intermountain West (including the Great Basin and Plateau), the Northwest Coast, Arctic and Subarctic, Prairie and Plains, the Eastern Woodlands (including the Northeast and Great Lakes), and the Southeast. A color map in each chapter enhances the description of the area and its indigenous cultures, historical information, and a discussion of basket weavers, including some interviews with weavers and/or their families.
