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Elizabeth (“Lizzie”) Hickox (1872-1947) specialized in the “trinket basket” form, producing small and delicate pieces with high, slender knobs on the lids. The baskets that she, along with her second daughter Louise (1896-1962), produced for the curio trade have the distinction of being among the finest and most individualized twined baskets known from California. Apart from the technical achievement, her work I distinguished by a reversed approach of subtle complexity that was appreciated by California’s premier basketry dealer, Grace Nicholson, who established a patronage agreement with Elizabeth Hickox in 1908.
Unlike most other curio trade weavers, Hickox maintained the complex contrasts of technique) shifting from plain twining to three-strand twining or lattice twining) and design in secondary or bordering areas that were common on two indigenous forms, the gambling trays and dress caps. Hickox also added design areas on the top of the knob and on the bottom interior of the basket. Because designs show up only on the finished surface in fine Lower Klamath twining, Hickox, for this latter feature, had to turn the basket over when she finished the base, and viewers had to remove the lid to appreciate the interior. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
Exhibition History"American Treasures from the Fenimore Art Museum," The Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL, February 11, 2004 – April 16, 2004.
ProvenanceGrace Nicholson (6733), Pasadena, California, ca. 1918; John Rauzy, Folsom, California; Larry Wendt, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyHumbolt State University. Elizabeth Conrad Hickox: Baskets from the Center of the World. Arcata, CA: Reese Bullen Gallery, Humbolt State University, 1991, p. 66, fig. 20, p. 62.
Penney, David W. and George C. Longfish. Native American Art. Hugh Lauter Levin Assoc., 1995, p.188.
Vincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.61.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.256-257.
Murdock, Michelle, ed. 50 at 20: Masterpieces of American Indian Art from the Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2015, p. 25.
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. 282.
Artist
Elizabeth Conrad Hickox
(1872 - 1947, Wiyot/Karuk)
Basket
Datec. 1918
DimensionsOverall: 4 3/4 × 3 3/4 × 4 3/4 in. (12.1 × 9.5 × 12.1 cm)
Object numberT0135a-b
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextLower Klamath River weavers (Hupa, Yurok, Karok, Tolowa, Wiyot, and others) used twining techniques to construct a wide variety of highly decorated utilitarian baskets for food-related activities as well as baby carriers and caps. When the curio demand rose in the late 1880s and early 1890s, they developed newer forms including placemats, wall hangings, covered bottles, and lidded “trinket baskets,” the last specifically designed for display on shelves and mantels in Euro-American homes.Elizabeth (“Lizzie”) Hickox (1872-1947) specialized in the “trinket basket” form, producing small and delicate pieces with high, slender knobs on the lids. The baskets that she, along with her second daughter Louise (1896-1962), produced for the curio trade have the distinction of being among the finest and most individualized twined baskets known from California. Apart from the technical achievement, her work I distinguished by a reversed approach of subtle complexity that was appreciated by California’s premier basketry dealer, Grace Nicholson, who established a patronage agreement with Elizabeth Hickox in 1908.
Unlike most other curio trade weavers, Hickox maintained the complex contrasts of technique) shifting from plain twining to three-strand twining or lattice twining) and design in secondary or bordering areas that were common on two indigenous forms, the gambling trays and dress caps. Hickox also added design areas on the top of the knob and on the bottom interior of the basket. Because designs show up only on the finished surface in fine Lower Klamath twining, Hickox, for this latter feature, had to turn the basket over when she finished the base, and viewers had to remove the lid to appreciate the interior. (From the Catalog of the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 2nd ed.)
Exhibition History"American Treasures from the Fenimore Art Museum," The Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL, February 11, 2004 – April 16, 2004.
ProvenanceGrace Nicholson (6733), Pasadena, California, ca. 1918; John Rauzy, Folsom, California; Larry Wendt, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyHumbolt State University. Elizabeth Conrad Hickox: Baskets from the Center of the World. Arcata, CA: Reese Bullen Gallery, Humbolt State University, 1991, p. 66, fig. 20, p. 62.
Penney, David W. and George C. Longfish. Native American Art. Hugh Lauter Levin Assoc., 1995, p.188.
Vincent, Gilbert T. Masterpieces of American Indian Art. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995, p.61.
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.256-257.
Murdock, Michelle, ed. 50 at 20: Masterpieces of American Indian Art from the Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2015, p. 25.
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. 282.
On View
On view
