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Dakota Modern: The Art of Oscar Howe

Abstract painting of five native dancers
Umine Dance, 1958. Casein and gouache on paper, mounted to board, 18 x 22 in., Garth Greenan Gallery, New York.
Oct 29, 2022 - May 14, 2023
Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR
General Accessibility

Overview

Dakota Modern: The Art of Oscar Howe introduces new generations to one of the twentieth century’s most innovative Native American painters. Howe (1915–1983) committed his artistic career to the preservation, relevance, and ongoing expression of his Yanktonai Dakota culture. He proved that art could be simultaneously modern and embedded in customary Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Sioux) culture and aesthetics—to him there was no contradiction. Howe challenged the art establishment’s preconceptions and definitions of Native American painting. In doing so, he catalyzed a movement among Native artists to express their individuality rather than conforming to an established style. This legacy of innovation and advocacy continues to inspire generations of Native artists to take pride in their heritage and resist stereotypes.

Dakota Modern traces more than forty years of the artist’s career and development from early conventional work created while in high school in the 1930s through the emergence in the 1950s and 1960s of his innovative and abstract approach to painting.

“Dakota Modern makes the case for Howe as a nationwide household name and for the longevity of his work, which feels relevant today.”

Lizzie Acker, The Oregonian

Organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and the Portland Art Museum. Curated by Kathleen Ash-Milby, Curator of Native American Art at the Portland Art Museum. Major support provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Additional support provided by the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. Support for the Portland Art Museum installation provided by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, grant MA-249741-OMS-21.

Resources

Accessible exhibition texts and labels
Artist Oscar Howe sitting on a ladder in front of a wall of his paintings.
Oscar Howe, seated in front of a selection of his paintings at South Dakota State University. March 30, 1958. Oscar Howe papers, Richardson Collection, Archives and Special Collections, University Libraries, University of South Dakota, courtesy of the Oscar Howe Family.
Dakota Modern Activity Guide
Download
Abstraction after Wakapana painting by Oscar Howe
Abstraction after Wakapana (detail), 1973. Casein on paper, 24 7/8 x 20 3/16 in. Oscar Howe Family Collection, University Art Galleries, University of South Dakota, HF OH 1, courtesy of the Oscar Howe Family
Dakota Modern Image Slideshow
View resource
Painting of a Native elder talking to a group of Native children sitting around a blanket
Dakota Teaching, ca. 1951. Gouache on paper, 14 x 21 in. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Museum purchase, 1951.8. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Museum purchase, 1951.8. Courtesy of the Oscar Howe Family.
Children’s Books by Indigenous Authors
View resource

Acknowledgements

Lead Corporate Sponsor

  • Bank of America Foundation

Major Sponsors

  • Ameriprise Financial 
  • The Standard
  • Greg and Cathy Tibbles

Sponsors

  • The Boeing Company
  • Ed Cauduro Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation
  • Janet H. Geary and John Miller
  • William G. Gilmore Foundation
  • Melvin Mark Brokerage Company
  • Caryll and Norman F. Sprague, Jr. Foundation
  • Pat and Trudy Ritz
  • Bob and Liz Warren

Supporters

  • Joe and Cathleen Karcher
  • KeyBank
  • Wells Fargo Foundation

Support for this exhibition is also provided by the Maribeth Collins Exhibition Endowment Fund.

Friends

  • Froelick Gallery