Moses Stranger Horse (1890–1941) was a

Brulé The Sicangu are one of the seven ''oyates'', nations or council fires, of Lakota people, an Indigenous people of the Northern Plains. Today, many Sicangu people are enrolled citizens of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Indian Reservation ...

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

realist painter from the

Rosebud Indian Reservation The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as th ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

.Lester, 532

Background

A Brulé Lakota from Rosebud, Stranger Horse was born outside of Wood, South Dakota in 1890.Wilson, 136 In 1911, he was taken to Pennsylvania to attend

Carlisle Indian Industrial School The United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, generally known as Carlisle Indian Industrial School, was the flagship Indian boarding school in the United States from its founding in 1879 to 1918. It was based in the histo ...

.Libhart, 30 There he received art lessons from

Angel De Cora Angel De Cora Dietz (1871–1919) was a Winnebago painter, illustrator, Native American rights advocate, and teacher at Carlisle Indian School. She was a well-known Native American artist before World War I. Background Angel De Cora, also writ ...

,Holm, 99 the accomplished

Ho-Chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hocąk, Hoocągra, or Winnebago are a Siouan languages, Siouan-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois ...

painter, whose philosophy was that Native peoples could both maintain cultural pride and a place in mainstream society through art. Stranger Horse joined the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

and was stationed in Paris during World War I. After the war, he stayed on in Paris to pursue his artistic studies. He learned realistic oil painting techniques.

Art career

Returning to South Dakota, Stranger Horse painted dramatic landscapes of his own homelands, sometimes with images of early Lakota people. Native cowboys and ranch hands were also favorite subjects. Besides working in oils, Stranger Horse also drew. He traveled throughout the United States, demonstrating his painting skills at fairs and rodeos. Stranger Horse would perform feats of dexterity, such as painting with both hands simultaneously or painting with the canvas upside-down. He exhibited his work at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

and gave public painting demonstrations. His artist name was "Sundown." His work was celebrated by both European-American audiences as well as Native audiences.Libhart, 20

Death and legacy

Stranger Horse died in 1941 at the Rosebud Reservation. His work is in the collection of Red Cloud Heritage Center in Pine RidgeWilson, 162 and the Journey Museum in

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek (South Dakota), Rapid Creek, where the settlement deve ...

. "With all the progressive adventuresomeness inherent in the character of the western Sioux, Stranger Horse took the first bold step of any modern Sioux artists to intentionally and completely master what was still the foreign art forms of the white man."

Notes

References

* Holm, Tom
''The Great Confusion in Indian Affairs: Native Americans & Whites in the Progressive Era''.
Austin: University of Texas Press, 2005. (retrieved through Google Books, 13 August 2009) * Lester, Patrick D. ''The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters''. Norman: Oklahoma University Press, 1995. . * Libhart, Myles. ''Contemporary Sioux Painting''. Rapid City, SD: Indian Arts and Crafts Board, 1970. ASIN B001Y46FHS * Wilson, Diane
''Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past''.
St. Paul, MN: Borealis Books, 2006. (retrieved through Google Books, 13 August 2009) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stranger Horse, Moses Rosebud Sioux people Native American painters 1890 births 1941 deaths Artists from South Dakota Carlisle Indian Industrial School alumni People from Mellette County, South Dakota United States Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from South Dakota Native American United States military personnel 20th-century American painters American male painters Native American male artists 20th-century American male artists Lakota male artists Lakota artists