Acee Blue Eagle was a Pawnee-Creek artist, poet, dancer, teacher, and celebrity. The papers relate to both Blue Eagle's personal and professional life. Also included are some materials of Blue Eagle's friend Mae Abbott and a collection of art by other Indians.
Scope and Contents:
This collection reflects the life and work of Acee Blue Eagle, internationally famed Indian artist of Oklahoma. Identified for his brilliant paintings of tribal ceremonies, legend and dance, Blue Eagle's work is represented in numerous private collections and museums both in this country and abroad.
A portion of the papers contains correspondence. Fan mail written by school children to Chief Blue Eagle of the Chief Blue Eagle television program is included. Letters regarding Blue Eagle's participation in Indian festivals and events, art shows and exhibitions, speaking engagements on Indian life and culture are found in the collection. Personal correspondence is included; most frequent correspondents are Devi Dja, Mae Abbott, and Charles E. Pond. There are approximately 100 letters from Devi Dja, approximately 90 to or from Mae Abbott, and approximately 36 from Charles E. Pond. Some letters addressed to these individuals from other friends and acquaintances are also within this collection.
Photographs comprise a large portion of the Blue Eagle collection. Included are not only portraits of the artist himself and photographs of his art work, but a large number of prints of Blue Eagle in full costume and other Indians engaged in tribal ceremonies, identified by tribe, whenever possible. Photographs of Mae Abbott, Devi Dja and the latter's Balinese dance troupe are identified. A file of negatives is arranged in the same subject order as the prints. Newspaper and magazine clippings regarding Blue Eagle's work and activities are also included in the collection. These clippings have not been arranged. In addition, Mae Abbott's recipes and notes for her cookbook, wood blocks, greeting cards and other miscellaneous publications can be found in the collection. These items have been sorted but not arranged.
Within the collection are also over 600 pieces of artwork. A good number are by Blue Eagle while most are by other Native artists. Artists whose are work are represented in the collection include Fred Beaver, Harrison Begay, Archie Blackowl, Woodrow Crumbo, Allan Houser, Ruthe Blalock Jones, Quicy Tahoma, Pablita Verde, and members of the Kiowa Five (Spencer Asah, James Auchiah, Stephen Mopope, Monroe Tsatoke).
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged into six series: 1) Personal; 2) Collections; 3) Artwork; 4) Television; 5) Correspondence; 6) Photographs.
Biographical / Historical:
Acee Blue Eagle was an artist, poet, dancer, teacher, and celebrity. Born Alex C. McIntosh in 1907, Blue Eagle attended Indian schools in Anadarko, Nuyaka, and Euchee, Oklahoma, and the Haskell and Chilocco Indian schools. Advanced study came at Bacone Indian College and the University of Oklahoma. At the latter, he studied with Oscar B. Jacobson. Privately he studied with Winold Reiss. Discrepancies exist in the records regarding his early life: born in either Anadarko or Hitchita, Oklahoma; he's cited as both Pawnee-Creek and 5/8 Creek without any Pawnee blood; his mother is either Mattie Odom, the first wife of Solomon McIntosh or Ella Starr, McIntosh's second wife.
A prolific painter who, for the sake of authenticity, carried out research in libraries and museums, Blue Eagle was an outstanding American Indian artist of the 1930s-1950s. His paintings hung in many exhibits, including the Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts, 1932-1933; International Art Exhibition of Sport Subjects at Los Angeles, 1932; Chicago Century of Progress Exposition, 1934; a one-man show at the Young Galleries in Chicago; National Exhibition of Art at the Rockefeller Center in New York, 1936; a one-man show at the Washington, D.C., Arts Club, 1936; Museum of Modern Art, 1941; Northwest Art Exhibition at Spokane, Washington, 1944; a one-man show at the Gilcrease Institute in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1953; An Exposition of American Indian Painters in New York, 1955; and a one-man show at the Philbrook Art Center in Tulsa, 1957. Between 1946 and 1965, over fifty galleries hung his paintings. Some pieces are among the permanent holdings of many institutions.
In 1934, Blue Eagle joined the Work Projects Administration (WPA) Public Works of Art Project, painting murals in public buildings. In 1935 at Oxford University, he participated in a program of the International Federation of Education and lectured on Indian art. A tour of Europe followed. He taught at Bacone Indian College from 1935-1938 where he founded the art program and became Director of Art. He also taught at the University of Kansas extension division in 1949 and Oklahoma State Technical College beginning in 1956. During World War II, he served in the United States Army Air Force; and, following the war, he spent a few years attempting to get into the movies. During 1946-1952, he was married to his second wife, a famous Balinese dancer, Devi Dja, and became involved in her career, an involvement that was briefly reflected in his art. However, Dja and Blue Eagle divorced and Blue Eagle lived with Mae Wadley Abbott for the last years of his life. During the 1950s, he had a television show for children on a Tulsa-Muskogee station. Acee Blue Eagle died on June 18, 1959 of a liver infection.
Sources Consulted
Martindale, Rob. Muskogee Paying Tribute to Blue Eagle. Biographical/Genealogical data, Box 1, Acee Blue Eagle Collection, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
West, Juanita W. 1967. Acee Blue Eagle: A.C. McIntosh. Biographical/Genealogical data, Box 1, Acee Blue Eagle Collection, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
1907 -- Born August 17, 1907 on the Wichita Reservation, north of Anadarko, Oklahoma
1928 -- Graduated Chilocco High School
1929-1934 -- Attended Bacone College, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State Tech
1935 -- Toured United States and Europe giving lecture-exhibition program, "Life and Character of the American Indian"
1935-1938 -- Established and headed art department at Bacone College at Muskogee
1936 -- Exhibited at the National Exhibition of Art, Rockefeller Center, New York
1942-1945 -- World War II, U.S. Air Force (Army)
1947-49 -- Free-lance work in New York and Chicago
1951-52 -- Artist-in-residence at Oklahoma Tech
1950-54 -- Conducted TV program, Muskogee, OklahomaToured U.S. West Coast exhibiting and lecturing about ways to improve TV programs for children
1958 -- Named Indian-of-the-Year by the American Indian Expostion at Anadarko, Oklahoma
1959 -- Died June 18, 1959
Related Materials:
Other materials relating to Acee Blue Eagle at the National Anthropological Archives include correspondence in the Solomon McCombs papers, 1914-1972, and correspondence with Betty Meilink under Manuscript 2011-20.
Provenance:
Acee Blue Eagle's private papers and collection of paintings were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Mrs. Mae Abbott of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Restrictions:
There are no restrictions on access.
Rights:
Literary property rights to unpublished material in the collection in the National Anthropological Archives has been given to the public.
This collection consists of seven 8 x 10" black and white photographic prints. The photographs were taken by Walter Hazelton in 1936 during visits to Kewa, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, and Zuni Pueblos, all in New Mexico.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of seven 8 x 10" black and white photographic prints. The photographs were taken by Walter Hazelton in 1936 during visits to Kewa, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, and Zuni Pueblos, all in New Mexico. Notable images include outdoor portraits of Pueblo artists Clyde Tsethlika, Julian Martinez, and Maria Martinez. Other images include outdoor prints of structures at San Ildefonso Pueblo, the interior of a house at Kewa Pueblo, and a pottery salesman selling his wares at Santa Clara Pueblo. Image titles created by Walter Hazelton.
Arrangement:
The materials in this collection are organized into folders, and arranged by image number: (P28591-P28597).
Biographical / Historical:
Walter Hazelton (1882-1963) was born in Illinois, and later moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where he worked as an interior decorator and was an avid photographer. He was a member of the Omaha Camera Club, ultimately winning several awards for his portraits. He died in Omaha in 1963 and was buried there.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Fred Hazelton in 2003.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.
Topic:
Indians of North America -- New Mexico Search this
Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Walter Hazelton photograph collection, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Full video record created for the Office of Museum Programs, Smithsonian Institution, documenting a demonstration of San Ildefonso blackware pottery making techniques by Maria Martinez' family members at the Renwick Gallery of Art, Washington.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Local Number:
HSFA 1986.11.10
Provenance:
Transferred from the Smithsonian Office of Museum Programs via the National Anthropological Archives in 1986.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
The Indian Arts and Crafts Board accession records collection includes documents and photographs related to works of art accessioned into the IACB collection from it's inception in 1935 to 1999. The collection also includes docuements related to objects accessioned into the IACB's run Southern Plains Indian Museum. The collection is nearly comprehensive and includes works of art from Alaska Native artists to Catawba pottery, and includes artwork from several renowned artists including, Maria Martinez (San Ildefonso Pueblo), James Kivetoruk Moses (Inupiaq), and Don Morse "Lelooska" Smith (Cherokee).
Scope and Contents:
The records in this collection consist of the original accession records for the Indian Arts and Crafts Board Headquarters Collection. The bulk of the records are made up of original catalog cards, purchase orders, invoices, and correspondence between artists, IACB field representatives, commercial entities, and various directors of the IACB, including Robert G. Hart. There is also documentation detailing purchases and transactions with the IACB's Southern Plains Indian Museum of objects that are housed within that institution. Additionally, the records include brochures, business cards, object tags and labels, object lists and descriptions, newspaper clippings, journal articles, negatives, photographs, and slides. Objects that were stolen during a 1980 theft in Washington, D.C. are noted within the records as well. Artists that can be found within the records include, Papovi Da, Allan Houser, Oscar Howe, Fred Kabotie, Julian Martinez, Maria Martinez, James Kivetoruk Moses, Ronald Senungetuk, Don Morse Smith (Lelooksa) Pablita Velarde, Amos Wallace, Lincoln Wallace, and many other prominent artists.
Arrangement:
Arranged in three series: Series 1: Original Accession Notes, Series 2: Accession Information, Series 3: Miscellaneous Accession Information. All material is arranged by catalog number and chronologically when date is known.
Biographical / Historical:
The Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB), a federal agency within the Department of the Interior, was created by Congress through the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1935. Its creation stemmed from the Indian Reorganization Act, often called the Indian New Deal, which sought to reverse assimilative government policies towards Native Americans and promote tribal self-governance.
Since its inception, the IACB has fulfilled its mission of promoting the economic development of federally recognized American Indians and Alaska Natives through the expansion of the Indian arts and crafts market by commissioning and purchasing works of art, while also supporting regional and tribal arts projects.
Initially, the IACB did not catalog works of art, and little documentation exists for some of the first objects that the entity acquired. Starting in the 1960s, the IACB began cataloguing the works of art within its collection and began acquiring objects on a grander scale, which it did throughout the 1980s.
In 2000, the IACB transferred its Headquarters Collection and associated accession documentation to the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. This collection does not include objects from the IACB's three regional museums in Oklahoma, Montana, and South Dakota.The collection contains a vast array of art from ceramics to works on paper from a diverse number of Native American artists.
Provenance:
Transferred from the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Department of the Interior, in 2000.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadbast materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Photographs depicting Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo and her family demonstrating their pottery-making techniques at the Smithsonianʹs Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC. The demonstration was held on March 31, 1978 as part of an exhibit on Pueblo pottery.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 80-4
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Additional photographs of Maria Martinez's pottery-making demonstration can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 79-18.
The Human Studies Film Archives holds videotapes and motion picture film relating to the demonstration.
Additional photographs of Maria Martinez can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 81-14 and Photo Lot 89-43.
Photo lot 80-4, Smithsonian Institution Office of Printing and Photographic Services photographs of Maria Martinez at Renwick Gallery demonstration, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The Anne Forbes collection includes documents and photographs pertaining to her research on Indian arts in the Southwest, United States conducted during 1948-1948 and revisited in 1958. The work culminated in the dissemination of a survey titled "Survey of American Indian Arts and Crafts, Southwest and Northern Plains." Forbes focused mostly on Pueblo paintings having developed personal relationships with several Pueblo painters including Joe Herrera (Cochiti Pueblo), Velino Herrera (Zia Pueblo) and Jose Rey Toledo (Jemez Pueblo).
Scope and Contents:
The bulk of the Anne Forbes collection consists of documentation concerning her survey on American Indian arts and crafts in the Southwest and Northern Plains conducted in 1948-1949 and then revisited in 1958. This includes biographical notes on individual Native artists from New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, South Dakota and California as well as notes on museum collections and art dealers whose collections and purchases included Indian art from the Southwest. Forbes also visited Pueblo schools during the 1948-1948 trip in order to examine the status of arts education and collected drawings from students as well as took careful notes on each school. Also included in the Forbes papers are the draft and final reports of Forbes' survey as well as responses to the report from prominent institutions and individuals in the Indian art world such as friend and artist Joe H. Herrera. Supporting materials to Forbes' research includes a collection of Smoke Signals newsletters from 1951 to 1965, which was published by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, brochures and pamphlets from the Bureau of Indian Affairs concerning education and the arts, and exhibition documents and catalogs from museums featuring Native artists' works from the Southwest and Northern Plains.
The photo albums titled "Indian Paintings, Pottery, Pictographs, Prehistoric Murals, Dances, Artists" and "Pueblo Indian Paintings" hold photographs collected and taken by Forbes during her research. The bulk of the photographs are of works of art and are arranged by culture group and artist. There are also a small amount of photographs of the artists themselves and their families.
Arrangement:
The Anne Forbes collection is arranged into two series. Series 1: Indian Arts Research and Supporting Documentation is arranged alphabetically by folder. Series 2: Photo Albums contains two photo albums that have been left in their original orders.
Biographical Note:
Miss Anne Forbes originated from Cambridge Massachusetts. After majoring in art from Bennington College in Vermont, Forbes pursued a Master's degree in social anthropology from Harvard University's Radcliffe College. Taking an interest in Southwest Indian Art, Forbes applied for a fellowship through the Indian Arts Fund for the summer of 1948 to study painting and other techniques used in Pueblo art. Although the fellowship lasted only a summer, Forbes spent the following year visiting various pueblos meeting native artists and purchasing original art works from them. It was at this time that Forbes befriended artists Joe Herrera (Cochiti Pueblo), Velino Herrera (Zia Pueblo) and Jose Rey Toledo (Jemez Pueblo). Forbes also spent time visiting Pueblo schools examining the state of arts education for native children as well as acquiring paintings and drawings made by the Pueblo schoolchildren. In 1958, Forbes sent out a first draft of her "Survey of American Indian Arts and Crafts, Southwest and Northern Plains" which was the culmination of her research on the state of native art at the time with a particular focus on Pueblo artists. Following the release of her report, Forbes did not continue professionally in the world of art instead moving into human relations. Forbes held onto the bulk of her art collection, exhibiting pieces here and there, until donating a large portion of the collection to the National Museum of the American Indian in 2003. A longtime member of the Self-Realization Fellowship, Forbes also donated some of her pieces to that organization.
Separated Materials:
This collection was part of a donation made by Anne Forbes that included 143 paintings and other works of art on paper that are now a part of the NMAI Modern and Contemporary Arts Collection with object numbers 26/3091 to 26/3227 and 26/3854, 26/3855. Artists include Harrison Begay, Theodore Edaaki, Luis Gonzales (Wo Peen), Joe Herrera, Velino Herrera, James Humetewa, Michael Kabotie, Richard Martinez, Theodore Suina, Beatien Yazz and others. For more information on these paintings please contact NMAI Collections at NMAICollections@si.edu.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Anne Forbes in November of 2003.
Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Topic:
Indians of North America -- Education -- Southwest, New Search this
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Anne Forbes Collection, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Postcards
Prints
Photographs
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents note:
Photographs depicting Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso holding examples of her pottery, probably at San Ildefonso Pueblo.
Biographical/Historical note:
Maria Martinez (1887-1980) was an internationally-known potter from San Ildefonso Pueblo. With her husband Julian and the rest of her family, she created contemporary pottery inspired by traditional Pueblo styles and techniques. The family demonstrated their craft at expositions, world's fairs, and the Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 81-14, USNM ACC 339407
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Additional photographs of Maria Martinez and her pottery can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 79-18, Photo Lot 80-4, and Photo Lot 89-43.
Pottery by Martinez can be found in the Department of Anthropology in accession 339407.
Photographs depicting Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo and her family demonstrating their pottery-making techniques at the Smithsonianʹs Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC. The demonstration was held on March 31, 1978 as part of an exhibit on Pueblo pottery.
Biographical/Historical note:
Ray Williamson was a Smithsonian Institution fellow studying archeoastronomy.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 79-18
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Additional photographs of Maria Martinez's pottery-making demonstration can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 80-4.
The Human Studies Film Archives holds videotapes and motion picture film relating to the demonstration.
Additional photographs of Maria Martinez can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 81-14 and Photo Lot 89-43.
Correspondence from Ray Williamson can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in the Waldo Rudolph Wedel and Mildred Mott Wedel Papers, 1930s-1980s.
Photo lot 79-18, Ray Williamson photographs of pottery-making demonstration by Maria Martinez and family, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
In pursuit of perfection : the art of Agnes Martin, Maria Martinez, and Florence Pierce / Timothy Robert Rodgers ; with essays by Marsha C. Bol, Lucy R. Lippard and Timothy Robert Rodgers
