Monroe Tsatoke
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Monroe Tsatoke (1904–1937) was a
Kiowa Kiowa ( ) or Cáuigú () people are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe and an Indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colora ...
painter and a member of the Kiowa Six from
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
.Watson, Mary Jo
Tsatoke, Monroe (1904-1937)
. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' (Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009)


Early life

Monroe Tsatoke was born on 29 September 1904 in
Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as ...
, near present-day Saddle Mountain, Oklahoma. Tsatokee, which means "Hunting Horse", was his Kiowa name. His father was also named Tsatokee, and was a Kiowa scout. His grandmother was a European-American captive.Lester, 571 Tsatoke never received art instruction until Susan Peters, the Kiowa agency field matron, arranged for Mrs. Willie Baze Lane, an artist from
Chickasha, Oklahoma Chickasha is a city in and the county seat of Grady County, Oklahoma, Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,051 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 0.1% increase from 2010. The city is named for and strongly ...
, to teach painting classes for young Kiowas in Anadarko. Recognizing the talent of some of the young artists, Peters convinced Swedish-American artist, Oscar Jacobson, director of the
University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...
's School of Art, to accept the Kiowa students into a special program at the school,Pochoir prints of ledger drawings by the Kiowa Five, 1929.
''Smithsonian Institution Research Information System.'' (retrieved 29 April 2009)
in which they were coached and encouraged by
Edith Mahier Edith Mahier (1892 – 1967) was an American artist and art instructor who was instrumental in helping develop the talent of the Kiowa Six during their studies at the University of Oklahoma. In 1941, she won the commission to complete the United ...
.


Kiowa Six

The Kiowa Six included six artists: Spencer Asah, James Auchiah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Lois Smoky Kaulaity, and Monroe Tsatoke. James Auchiah was the last to join the group at OU in 1926. The Kiowa Six's first major breakthrough into the international fine arts world occurred at the 1928 First International Art Exposition in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, Czechoslovakia. Dr. Jacobson arranged for their work to be shown in several other countries and for ''Kiowa Art'', a portfolio of pochoir print artists' paintings, to be published in France.


Individual pursuits

Tsatoke took additional art classes at Bacone College and worked at Indian City USA in Anadarko as a guide. In 1924, Tsatoke married Martha Koomsa. The couple had four children; Jewell, Lee Monette, Ross Maker, and John Thomas. Lee Tsatoke also became a respected Kiowa artist. Monroe and Martha lived in
Red Rock, Oklahoma Red Rock ( pronounced , meaning "Rock Red town") is a town in northern Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 283 at the 2010 census, a decline from 293 at the 2000 census. The headquarters of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indi ...
. Besides painting, Tsatoke also farmed, sang at Kiowa ceremonials and participated in fancy war dance. Tsatoke was diagnosed with tuberculosis and joined the
Native American Church The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Syncretism, syncretic Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native Americans in the United States, Native American beliefs and eleme ...
. He painted about his religious experiences and is credited with creating stylized representations of symbols associated with the Church, such as the water, birds, and feathers.


Public collections

Tsatoke's work can be found in the following public art collections: *Anadarko City Museum *
Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...
* Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, Duncan, OK * Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art * The George Gustav Heye Center *
Gilcrease Museum Gilcrease Museum, also known as the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, is a museum northwest of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma housing the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art of the American West, as well as a gr ...
* Museum of the Great Plains *
Heard Museum The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...
*Indian Arts and Crafts Board,
US Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating t ...
* Joslyn Art Museum * McNay Art Museum *
Museum of Northern Arizona The Museum of Northern Arizona is a museum in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States, established as a repository for Indigenous material and natural history specimens from the Colorado Plateau. The museum was founded in 1928 by zoologist Dr. Harol ...
, Katherine Harvey Collection * Museum of New Mexico *Millicent Rogers Museum *
Oklahoma Historical Society The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma. ...
*Oklahoma Museum of Natural History *
Philbrook Museum of Art Philbrook Museum of Art is an art museum with expansive formal gardens located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The museum, which opened in 1939, is located in a former 1920s villa, "Villa Philbrook", the home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his ...
*Seminole Public Library * Woolaroc MuseumLester, 572


Death

In 1934, the Oklahoma Historical Society commissioned Tsatoke to paint several murals. Although ill with tuberculosis, he worked on the murals until his death.Jacobson House Native Art Center: About the Kiowa Six
''Jacobson House Native Art Center.'' (retrieved 21 July 2020)
Tsatoke died on 3 February 1937 from tuberculosis at the age of 32 years.


Notes


References

*Lester, Patrick D. ''The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters''. Norman and London: The Oklahoma University Press, 1995. . *Swan, Daniel C. ''Peyote Religious Art: Symbols and Faith and Belief.'' Jackson, University of Mississippi Press, 1999. . *Wyckoff, Lydia L., ed. ''Visions and voices : Native American painting from the Philbrook Museum of Art''. Tulsa, OK: Philbrook Museum of Art, 1996. .


External links


Jacobson House Native Art Center: About the Kiowa Six


{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsatoke, Monroe Kiowa people Native American painters Painters from Oklahoma People from Kiowa County, Oklahoma 1904 births 1937 deaths Native American Church People from Anadarko, Oklahoma People from Noble County, Oklahoma