Nespelem art was both a movement and

art colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission ...

focused on Native Americans, located in the

Nespelem River The Nespelem River is a northern tributary of the Columbia River, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is completely contained within Okanogan County and the Colville Indian Reservation. The name "Nespelem" is said to come from the Indian word ...

area of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, home to the

Colville Confederated Tribes The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in Washington state, U.S. It is inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which are federally recognized. Established in 1872, the reservation ...

. Established around 1937, artists were called upon to record Native American culture and the history of a group of significant individuals involved with American Indian events of the late 19th-century Northwest. Unlike many artists in western Washington and Oregon, who emphasized Asian and Pacific Coast Native genres, the Nespelem artists drew attention to the past, present, and future of endangered

Interior Salish The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main branches of the Salishan language family, the other being Coast Salish. It can be further divided into Northern and Southern subbranches. The first Interior Salish people encountered by Ameri ...

culture. These elements combined to create an ideal setting for artists to capture memorable scenes for future generations. The colony was founded by Worth Griffin and

Clyfford Still Clyfford Still (November 30, 1904 – June 23, 1980) was an American Painting, painter, and one of the leading figures in the first generation of Abstract Expressionists, who developed a new, powerful approach to painting in the years immediat ...

, who created the first extensive visual record of the

Nespelem people The Nespelem people belong to one of twelve aboriginal Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation in eastern Washington. They lived primarily near the banks of the Nespelem River, an Upper Columbia River tributary, in an area now kno ...

. Griffin and Still admitted 15 to 20 students at a time into the colony, of whom some were professionals. They put in exhaustive hours during the week on portraits and landscapes, then sketched at

Grand Coulee Grand Coulee is an ancient river bed in the U.S. state of Washington. This National Natural Landmark stretches for about southwest from Grand Coulee Dam to Soap Lake, being bisected by Dry Falls into the Upper and Lower Grand Coulee. Geo ...

on weekends. Finished works went in many directions, including some bequeathed to the

Washington State Historical Society The Washington State Historical Society is the historical society of the U.S. state of Washington. Based in Tacoma, it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is a trustee agency of the state. It was founded in 1891. The board of trustees of the society inc ...

References

External links

via ritzcom.net 1930s establishments in Washington (state) 20th-century art groups American art movements Native American arts organizations American artist groups and collectives Native Americans in Washington (state) Artists from Washington (state)

References

Further reading

External links