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Artist (1872 - 1947, Wiyot/Karuk)

Basket

Datec. 1920
DimensionsOverall (With Lid): 3 3/8 × 3 3/8 in. (8.6 × 8.6 cm)
Object numberT0815a-b
Credit LineGift of Mr. Michael Engl
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextElizabeth Hickox’s command of aesthetics and her great technical abilities are clearly visible in this basket. Lidded baskets of various sizes were a specialty that she developed and represent perhaps her greatest work. Her classic designs, composed of yellow motifs on a black background, were achieved by overlaying the foundation with yellow-dyed porcupine quills and black maidenhair fern stems. In 1908 Hickox began to weave exclusively for Grace Nicholson, a Pasadena art dealer who specialized in Native American basketry. This professional arrangement continued until 1934.
Exhibition History"Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.

"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY, October 13, 2018 - December 31, 2018.

"As They Saw It: Women Artists Then & Now," Springfield Museums, Michele and Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA, October 14, 2023 - January 14, 2024; Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, April 1, 2024 - September 2, 2024.
ProvenanceMichael Engl, Sun Valley, Idaho
Bibliography"Tenth Anniversary of the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art, 1995-2005" in Heritage magazine, 2005, vol 20. pg. 39.

Fognell, Eva. “Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection.” Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 110.

Berlo, Janet, and Ruth Phillips. “Native North American Art.” 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press 2015. First edition 1988. p.160, fig. 4.29.

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
Basket
Louise Bernice Hickox
c. 1915
Basket
Elizabeth Conrad Hickox
c. 1918
Basket
Chilcotin
c. 1880-1890
Basket
Nellie Harris
c. 1912
Basket
Chumash
c. 1800
Basket
Yavapai
1915-1920
Basket
Maggie Mayo James
c. 1915-1925
The Ferns
Scees Bryant Possock
c. 1904
Basket
Panamint-Shoshone
c. 1910
Berry Basket
Tlingit
c. 1910
Gambling Tray
Klamath/Modoc
1890-1900
Basket
Attu
1890-1910

5798 STATE HIGHWAY 80
COOPERSTOWN NY, 13326
607-547-1400

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