Oscar Howe (Mazuha Hokshina or "Trader Boy", May 13, 1915 – October 7, 1983) was a Yanktonai Dakota artist from South Dakota, who became well known for his casein and tempera paintings. He is credited with influencing contemporary Native American art, paving the way for future artists. His art style is marked by bright color, dynamic motion and pristine lines.
Early life and education
Oscar Howe was born in 1915 in Joe Creek, South Dakota His Dakota name was Mazuha Hokshina, or "Trader Boy." Descended from hereditary chiefs, he belonged to the Yanktonai band of Dakota people. He attended the Pierre Indian School (a boarding school) in South Dakota in 1933. He attended Bacone College, where his classmates included Terry Saul, and Walter Richard “Dick” West Sr.
After working for several years and serving in World War II, Howe went to college on the GI Bill, earning his B.A. degree at Dakota Wesleyan University in 1952. Having worked as an artist for more than a decade, he also taught as Artist-in-Residence. He received his M.F.A. at the University of Oklahoma in 1954.
Howe met his future wife Heidi Hampel in Germany while serving overseas during World War II. He was discharged in 1945 and returned to the United States. After winning the Grand Purchase Prize in 1947 at the Indian Art Annual, sponsored by Philbrook Art Center, he had enough funds to send for Heidi to come to the United States, and they married. In 1948 they had a daughter, Inge Dawn, their only child.
Art career
Howe's early paintings are similar to other work produced by the Santa Fe Indian School. Later he developed a distinctive style of his own. Howe began with traditional Sioux "straight line" painting, based on hide and later ledger paintings of the 19th century. It was "an artistic form which symbolizes truth or righteousness." Through his art, he wanted to portray the contemporary realities of his tribal culture.
In 1971, he was appointed Lecturer to the Near East and South Asia by the United States Department of State. He presented programs during his tour in nine countries.
Two exhibition spaces are dedicated to showing his work: the Oscar Howe Art Gallery at the Dakota Discovery Museum in Mitchell, and the Oscar Howe Gallery at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.
From April 17, 2007, to February 17, 2008, an exhibit of Oscar Howe's work was on display at the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings. Most of these works were done in casein paint. There were also works in graphite on paper and sculpture of stone and bronze on display.
Oscar Howe Elementary School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is named after him.
A yearly lecture is held in his honor at the University of South Dakota.
The Oscar Howe Memorial Association at the University of South Dakota is named after him and is dedicated to promoting research and educational projects in Native American art. The Oscar Howe Memorial Association also sponsors the USD Summer Art Institute, the Oscar Howe Archive Project, the Oscar Howe Memorial Lecture and the Robert Penn Northern Plains Contemporary Indian Art Collection.
From March 11 to September 11, 2022, an exhibition of Oscar Howe's work was on display at the George Gustav Heye Center, the New York branch of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian.