Lot 1100

Oscar Howe (1915-1983, Yanktonai Dakota), "Sioux Singer," 1962

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Lot 1100
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Oscar Howe (1915-1983, Yanktonai Dakota), "Sioux Singer," 1962
Oscar Howe (1915-1983, Yanktonai Dakota), "Sioux Singer," 1962
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Oscar Howe (1915-1983, Yanktonai Dakota), "Sioux Singer," 1962

Estimate: $150,000 - $250,000

Starting Bid: $75,000

(0 Bids)
by John Moran Auctioneers
June 30, 2026 10:00 AM PDT
Live Auction
145 East Walnut Avenue
Monrovia, CA, US 91016

Oscar Howe
(1915-1983, Yanktonai Dakota)
"Sioux Singer," 1962
Casein on paper
Signed lower right: Oscar Howe

  • Provenance:
    The artist
    Private collection, purchased directly from the above in Mitchell, SD, 1965
    Private collection, Chicago, IL, gift from the above, 1965
    Private collection, Virginia, acquired from the above by descent
  • Dimensions: Image: 21" H x 28.5" W; Sheet: 22.5" H x 30.125" W
  • Medium: Casein on paper
  • Notes:
    This lot is accompanied by the original typed letter from Oscar Howe regarding the shipment of "Sioux Singer," in which he goes into detail about the medium, signature, and other information related to the work. The letter is signed in blue ink by Oscar Howe and is dated March 4, 1963. Also accompanying the letter is the original corresponding envelope in which it was housed.

    Additionally, this work is accompanied by a transcription created by the current owners (husband and wife) of "Sioux Singer," documenting a conversation with the husband's mother, the previous owner of the work before it was passed down to them, regarding how she came to know Oscar Howe and acquire some of his artworks. Lastly, copies of additional supporting documentation accompany this lot.

    In 1958, the Yanktonai Dakota artist Oscar Howe submitted his painting "Umine Wacipi" ("War and Peace Dance") to the Annual Indian Art competition at the Philbrook Art Center. Bold, abstract, and highly experimental, the work departed drastically from the stylistic conventions that had come to define "traditional Indian" painting within the exhibition. Rather than adhering to the flat colors and illustrative compositions associated with the "Studio Style," in which he trained during his early years at the Santa Fe Indian School, Howe employed fractured forms and dynamic movement to create a strikingly modern visual language rooted in Dakota cultural expression. The jurors rejected the painting, claiming it did not conform to their guidelines. In response, Howe wrote a letter to the museum's curator of Native American art, Jeanne Snodgrass, defending both his artistic vision and the broader creative autonomy of Indigenous artists. As Howe asserted, "There is much more to Indian Art than pretty, stylized pictures… Are we to be held back forever with one phase of Indian painting, with no right for individualism, dictated to as the Indian always has been, put on reservations, and treated like a child, and only the White Man knows what is best for him? Now, even in Art" (Dockstader et al., 1982, p. 19). His words not only articulated a powerful challenge to the restrictive expectations placed upon Native artists, but also addressed the political and governmental treatment of Native people more broadly, marking a pivotal moment in the emergence of a modern, self-determined vision of Indigenous art.

    Born on May 13, 1915, on a reservation in South Dakota, Oscar Howe showed an early affinity for art. Often discouraged by his parents, he nonetheless grew closer to art, especially after a severe skin condition forced him indoors for extended periods. Howe later attended the Pierre Indian School, operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, where he endured harsh treatment, and his health challenges only intensified. Returning to the reservation to recover physically and mentally, he spent many hours with his grandmother, Shell Face, who taught him tribal symbols, designs, cultural traditions, and stories of their ancestors. These lessons became deeply ingrained in Howe, providing a wellspring of inspiration that he would draw upon throughout his life, and which profoundly shaped his artistic sensibility.

    Howe later received formal training at the Santa Fe Indian School under Dorothy Dunn, gaining technical foundations while encountering the rigid "Studio Style," characterized by flat, stylized depictions of ceremonial and historical subjects. Yet this style proved too limiting for his imaginative ambition. Even as a student, Howe absorbed modernist currents circulating in the broader American art world, integrating principles of abstraction and expressive linework with motifs drawn from Dakota culture. This synthesis of tradition and innovation would define his artistic trajectory and set him apart from his contemporaries. He found himself at the intersection of two worlds: the presentation of traditional cultural forms and inspiration from modernist and Romanticist currents, reflecting the social and political transformations of the era.

    Howe created casein paintings from 1955 to 1978, and "Sioux Singer," 1962, exemplifies the artist's mature visual language, characterized by angular, faceted forms, vivid color relationships, and a sophisticated synthesis of abstraction and representation. At the center of the composition sits a singer holding a traditional instrument, his figure constructed from overlapping geometric planes that dissolve the boundaries between subject and environment. Rather than pursuing strict naturalism, Howe fragments and reassembles form, creating a rhythmic composition that conveys sound, movement, and spiritual presence. Brilliant reds, blues, yellows, and turquoise tones animate the surface, while sharp diagonals and interlocking shapes generate a sense of visual energy that echoes the performative act of singing itself. Drawing upon Dakota cultural traditions while embracing modernist abstraction, "Sioux Singer" demonstrates Howe's ability to transform Indigenous subjects into a highly personal and innovative artistic language.

    Throughout his career, Howe's contributions were widely recognized. He taught at the University of South Dakota, shaping generations of artists, while relentlessly championing the modernist innovation that would come to define his legacy.

    Today, Oscar Howe's work resonates as a powerful testament to artistic independence and cultural pride. His paintings do more than depict figures or events; they evoke the enduring vitality of Dakota traditions while affirming the place of Indigenous voices within modern art. In "Sioux Singer," Howe transforms a moment of musical expression into a dynamic and visually compelling composition, capturing both the individuality of the performer and the broader cultural significance of song within Dakota life. Through works such as this, Howe's voice remains vibrant, asserting the enduring significance of Native American art and the transformative power of creativity untethered by convention.
  • Condition: Overall good appearance. The colors vibrant. The full sheet with deckled edges. The sheet with unpainted margins beyond the image that reveal some of the artist's precise, underlying, original guidelines. Old adhesive staining attendant with previous masking tape, and rows of slight impressions with related pinpoint-sized holes, presumably from previously stapling (skillfully done), all along each edge of the unpainted margins, not affecting the image, and possibly in the hand of the artist. Very unobtrusive, occasional specks of sheen, only visible in raking light, near the extreme outer edges of the upper and lower image. The sheet is loose, secured to the back mat with four clear archival corners.

    Framed under glass: 32.5" H x 39.625" W x 2" D

    Condition reports are offered as a courtesy and are typically published in Moran's catalogue or can be made available upon request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of others. Buyers are responsible for determining to their own satisfaction the true nature and condition of any lot prior to bidding. Though buyers are not legally required to inspect lots prior to purchase, failure to do so may constitute a waiver of complaint that an item was not delivered in a condition equal to the existent condition at the auction.

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