Elizabeth Conrad Hickox (1872/5–July 19, 1947) was a Wiyot master

basket weaver Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

and was considered one of the finest basket-weavers of her time. Her baskets differ from other

Lower Klamath Lower may refer to: * Lower (surname) * Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) * Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also *Nizhny Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни ...

baskets through her own unique use of shape, technique, color scheme and design.Delia Sullivan, Heritage Capital Corporation, 2009
Heritage Auctions American Indian Art Auction Catalog #6029, Dallas, TX
Retrieved August 25, 2016, see page 42

Early life

Elizbeth Conrad Hickox's birth year has been given as 1872 and 1875. Hickox's mother was Wiyot and her father, European-American. It was reported that Hickox's mother, Polly, had been abducted by her later husband, Charles Conrad. When Elizabeth was in her teens, she married Frank Merrill (

Karuk The Karuk people are an indigenous people of California, and the Karuk Tribe is one of the largest tribes in California. Karuks are also enrolled in two other federally recognized tribes, the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Ran ...

), and they had two children together, Jessie and Bruce. She later married Luther Hickox in 1895. Luther Hickox owned a

gold mine Gold Mine may refer to: * Gold Mine (board game) *Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena *"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album ''ADHD'' See also * ''Gold'' (1974 film), based on the novel ''Gold Mine'' by Wilbur Smith * Gold mining *G ...

, was a part owner of a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

and later became a justice of the peace. The couple enjoyed a high social status among the Karuk people, as well as financial security. Hickox lived along the Salmon River in Northern California.

Artwork

Hickox used various materials to weave her baskets including grape root twining, white bear grass (''Xerophyllum tenax''), dyed

Woodwardia ''Woodwardia'' is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, in the suborder Aspleniineae (eupolypods II) of the order Polypodiales. Species are known as chain ferns. The genus is native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of the North ...

fern, black

maidenhair fern ''Adiantum'' (), the maidenhair fern, is a genus of about 250 species of ferns in the subfamily Vittarioideae of the family Pteridaceae, though some researchers place it in its own family, Adiantaceae. The genus name comes from Greek, meaning ...

and dyed

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethiz ...

quills. She tended to use the fern ''

Adiantum aleuticum ''Adiantum aleuticum'', the western maidenhair fern or Aleutian maidenhair, is a species of deciduous fern in the genus ''Adiantum''. Description ''A. aleuticum'' typically grows about 18-30 inches tall and wide. The fronds grow tall, and are f ...

'', a dark material in contrast to the porcupine quills dyed yellow with ''

Letharia vulpina ''Letharia vulpina'', commonly known as the wolf lichen (although the species name ''vulpina'', from ''vulpine'' relates to the fox), is a fruticose lichenized species of fungus in the family Parmeliaceae. It is bright yellow-green, shrubby and ...

''. The choice to mostly use dark materials contrasted with the yellow was her own choice, and not subject to marketplace demands. Between 1911 and 1934, she made about five baskets a year. Hickox and her daughter, Louise, weaved and sold their baskets to

Grace Nicholson Grace Nicholson (December 31, 1877 – August 31, 1948) was an American art collector and art dealer, specializing in Native American and Chinese handicrafts. The space she originally designed for her shop is now home to the USC Pacific Asia M ...

, who continued to buy their work even during the Great Depression. Though Hickox was Wiyot, Nicholson marketed her baskets as "

" because they lived in the Karuk area. Before Hickox met Nicholson, she had already chosen to create

fine-art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork. ...

baskets. After Nicholson stopped purchasing baskets in 1934, Hickox continued to weave "for pleasure, utility and gift-giving." In 2020, the art of Hickox was exhibited in the exhibition ''Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists'' at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Death

Hickox died on July 19, 1947.

Public collections

Elizabeth Hickox's baskets can be found in numerous public collections, including the following: *

Autry Museum of the American West The Autry Museum of the American West is a museum in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to exploring an inclusive history of the American West. Founded in 1988, the museum presents a wide range of exhibitions and public programs, including le ...

(Southwest Museum of Los Angeles) *

Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With encyclopedic collections of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums between ...

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

the

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art Mississippi's first art museum, the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is located in Laurel, Mississippi, United States. It was founded in 1923 in memory of Lauren Eastman Rogers. The museum has an extensive collection of Native American baskets. It al ...

, *

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the largest natural and historical museum in the western United States. Its collections include nearly 35 million specimens and artifacts and cover 4.5 billion years of history. This large coll ...

. * Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University *

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neighb ...

Notes

References

* * * Yohe, Jill; Greeves, Teri (2019). ''Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists''. University of Washington Press. .

External links

Elizabeth Hickox Treasure Basket
(video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hickox, Elizabeth 1870s births Year of birth uncertain 1947 deaths Wiyot people 20th-century American artists 20th-century American women artists American basket weavers American women basket weavers Weavers from California People from Siskiyou County, California Native American women artists 20th-century Native American artists 20th-century Native American women