Painted Hide

Date1900-1925

DimensionsOverall: 52 × 88 × 2 in. (132.1 × 223.5 × 5.1 cm)

Object numberT0364

Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw

Photograph by Richard Walker

Label TextChief Washakie (1798-1900) was a celebrated warrior, Shoshone leader, and painter of hides. This hide was painted in his memory by his nephews, Isaac, Theodore, and Woodrow Washakie. An American flag waves over a gathering that includes warriors, singers and other members of a Shoshone community. An American bald eagle also flies overhead. When traditional warrior dances, such as the Sun Dance, were banned by the U. S. government in 1883, many Native Americans utilized the American flag to placate federal authorities as to their allegiance. In this image the American flag and flagpole share similarities in function, colors, and designs with the traditional Sun Dance pole, a sacred tree.
Exhibition HistoryMuseum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, MA, December 6, 1994 - May 2, 1995.

The Rockwell Museum, Corning, NY, May 29, 1997 - January 8, 1998.
ProvenanceMorning Star Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyLavitt, Wendy. Animals in American Folk Art. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990, p.226. Morning Star Gallery.

Herbst, Toby, and Joel Kopp. The Flag in American Indian Art. Cooperstown, NY: New York State Historical Association, 1993, pp. 118-119, pl. 121.

Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.165.

Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 178.

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