55:. This recognition led to his attendance at Saint Maryâs Lake Summer Art School in Glacier National Park, Montana, with New York portrait painters Winold Reiss and Carl Linck. Unlike many of the students at St. Maryâs Art School who were from The United States, Tailfeathers was from the Blood Reserve in Southern Alberta. He was only one of three âIndianâ artists at the Glacier Park Art School. He became Reissâ most important child prodigy and soon received free instruction from the school. Reiss gave him special instruction which would later pay off as Tailfeathers impressed almost every critic from a very young age.
168:- During his time at St. Maryâs Lake Summer art School, Tailfeathers drew Big Bull with charcoal. Big Bull was the leader of Hunkpapa Lakota who led the resistance against the American governmentâs policies. The drawing is the side profile of Big Bull with his headdress. Long feathers emerge from the back and fur surrounds the front and sides of his headdress. Along with shading and contrast, the distinct trait of Tailfeatherâs portrait was the texture brought from the coal.
175:, Tailfeathers depicts an Indigenous Canadian hunting a wild buffalo. On a horseback, the hunter is using a bow and arrow to attack multiple buffalo as another is seen in the distance. He paints in a style called "Studio Style", or "Flat Style", which is a traditional method of painting. In accordance to the style, the painting has a blank background with only the grass below showing. The painting can be referred to as nostalgic, rustic, and traditional.
162:, Tailfeathers drew a Native American scalping another, after an apparent battle. The victorious âIndianâ is seen standing over his fallen opponent, holding a bow in his left hand, and a piece of his opponentâs scalp. This act was a tradition as it represented a war prize. Tailfeathers used darker and less vivid colors to paint the picture of a death and to weaken the mood.
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People of
Alberta werenât misleading or inaccurate. It was also in the 1950s and 1960s that his work started to attract attention from a greater audience as the âCowboy and Indianâ theme grew popular amongst the media, books, and movies. One of Tailfeathersâ biggest accomplishments was having his art displayed on the cover of
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Tailfeathersâ work had been described as traditional, Blackfoot style, and accurate. He also follows the commonly used Studio style, where the background of an artwork is faded and not apparent. His use of buffalo hide, clothing, weapons, and hunting helps him portray a traditional past. Although he
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purchased âBig Bullâ from a then, 12-year-old Gerald
Tailfeathers, for five dollars, making it the first piece of art he ever sold. At the time, he was currently attending Saint Maryâs Lake Summer Art School in Glacier National Park. Sheridan stated that this was âthe first picture he ever sold, and
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Tailfeathers went international as he commissioned to paint for the Canada
Pavilion at Expo â67 in Montreal. This was the first time that the Indigenous people took control of their own representations at a major international venue. He would later find himself displaying his art all over the world
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During his time at Saint Maryâs Lake Summer Art School, Tailfeathers roomed with a number of elders, who told him legends that had been told for generations. He was eager to listen to the legends that the elders told around the campfire which inspired him and his artwork. It was also through these
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Most of his work was done to accurately represent the lives of the Kainai people. By 1957, Tailfeathersâ work with elders and more experienced artists led him to ensure that his artwork was historically accurate. He wanted to make sure that his depictions of the events and traditions of the Blood
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In a colour film by Garth
Roberts, Tailfeathers opened up about his journey as a âyoung gifted Indian boyâ who had to face discrimination from the government. In 1943, just after graduating from the Provincial Institute of Art and Technology with honour and distinction, Tailfeathers wanted a work
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Tailfeathers was elected
Councillor for the Kainai First Nation but chose to serve only one term. He made this decision because the responsibilities took away from his art production, so he opted out of the second term. However, he was selected as one of seven First Nations Canadian artists that
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In 1959, after 18 years of travelling from city to city, Gerald moved back to the Blood
Reserve and began painting with passion. Gerald Tailfeathers died unexpectedly on April 3, 1975, on the Kainai First Nation in Alberta. Following his passing, multiple posthumous exhibitions took place to
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At the age of seven, Tailfeathers attended St. Paulâs
Anglican Residential School. He was taught how to paint by his uncle, Percy Plainwoman, who painted under the game âTwo Gunâ. He went through extensive art and painting practice which would eventually lead to his recognition from
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where he worked as a commercial graphic artist. He specialized with charcoals, pastels, watercolors, temperas, pen and ink, as well as oils and more. His wide range of skills allowed him to execute artworks from paintings to cast sculptures.
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to Minor Chief
Sakoyena Tailfeathers and Estochomachi Bamberry. He was the second child from the pair, following Allan, his older brother. He was the grandson of Tailfeathers Around His Neck, a scout for the North-West Mounted Police.
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permit so he could work in a store display department. The government tried to make him work in a warehouse until John Laurie, head of the Art
Institute, got the young artist the work permit that he desired.
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The
University of Lethbridge awarded Tailfeathers an honorary doctorate in 1974. Later that year, he married Irene Goodstriker. They had four daughters: Shery Lynn, Pamela, Heather Ann, and Laurie Lee.
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Subsequent education included his time at the Oklahoma school of Indian painting, the cowboy school of painting led by Charles Russell, and the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts under the direction of
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assisted and advised the federal government with the production and marketing of Indigenous artwork and crafts and provided recommendations on art grants, programming, and services.
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people, were brought to life through realism and choice of colours. His work has been described as âromantic, nostalgic, and traditionalâ due to a majority of his work being in "
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Tailfeathers illustrated a childrenâs book called âThe White Calfâ (by Cliff Faulknor) in 1965. He illustrated a second book by Cliff Faulknor in 1966 called "The White Peril".
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Along with a career full of drawings, paintings, watercolours, and sculptures, Tailfeathers illustrated a childrenâs book called âThe White Calfâ (by Cliff Faulknor) in 1965.
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has a wide arsenal of skills, most of his artwork are drawings and paintings on paper. He often depicted nineteenth-century Kainai and Plains Indians life in his paintings.
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Early in his career, Tailfeathers was directed to anglicize his name so he signed his work âGerald T. Fethersâ until 1963, when he started signing his own name again.
19:(February 14, 1925âApril 3, 1975), was one of the first Indigenous Canadians to become a professional painter. His depictions of the âBlood Peopleâ, also known as the
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and H.G. Glyde. He would also extend his knowledge in commercial design at the Provincial Institute of Art and Technology in Calgary, and cast-bronze sculpting with
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not likely to be his lastâ. She also quoted that he âwas an artist, as truly as anyone can beâ, and âthere was no teacher who touched it â.
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After learning about design trade at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art in Calgary, Tailfeathers took his talents to the
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106:(IAA). The IAA was a political representative organization that advocated for Indigenous people and their rights in Alberta.
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His native names translate as âBig Walking Awayâ (Omuka-nista-payh'pee) and âWalking on Topâ (Eets-pahp-awag-uh'ka).
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in December 1958. This was the first time a Canadian artistâs work had ever touched the cover of this magazine.
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The University of Lethbridge awarded Tailfeathers an honorary doctorate in 1974.
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My Heroes Have Always Been Indians: A Century of Great Indigenous Albertans
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stories that he learned about his own âBlood Peopleâ and their traditions.
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Carter, Sarah; Roome, Patricia; Erickson, Lesley; Smith, Char (2005).
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Where the Mountains Meet the Prairies: A History of Waterton Country
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Canadian native art; arts and crafts of Canadian Indians and Eskimos
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including San Francisco, Charlottetown, Ann Arbor, and Calgary.
82:, one of the earliest and most respected of the Cowboy Artists.
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Unsettled Pasts: Reconceiving the West Through Women's History
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1981 Tradition and Change in Contemporary Indian Art, Edmonton
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1983 Contemporary Indian Art at Rideau Hall, Ottawa, Ontario
651:"THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE Honorary Degree Recipients"
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Glacier's Historic Hotels & Chalets: View with a Room
494:. Richmond Hill (Ont.): Scholastic-Tab Publications.
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Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
357:"Gerald Tailfeathers | The Canadian Encyclopedia"
578:"Empire Builders Call of the Mountains Archive"
490:Faulknor, Cliff; Tailfeathers, Gerald (1993).
306:. : Collier-Macmillan Canada. pp. 83â85.
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51:, an art school teacher, while on a trip to
403:Strachan Scriver, Mary (December 1, 2018).
602:"Civilization.ca - Legends of Our Times"
194:1992 Time for Dialogue, Calgary, Alberta
355:Warner, John Anson (January 30, 2008).
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184:Ford McLeoc - Canadian Handcrafts Guild
626:"Glenbow Museum - Niita'paisttotso'pi"
102:In 1954, he designed the logo for the
423:"Find Art Info - Gerald Tailfeathers"
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550:Djuff, Ray; Morrison, Chris (2001).
725:20th-century First Nations painters
523:Voyageur, Dr Cora J. (2018-11-14).
730:20th-century Canadian male artists
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382:"They Shoot Indians, Don't They?"
35:Gerald Tailfeathers was born in
690:Portrait of Gerald Tailfeathers
469:. University of Calgary Press.
442:. University of Calgary Press.
336:"Lethbridge Historical Society"
211:Canadian Museum of Civilization
715:20th-century Canadian painters
361:www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
260:Winold Reiss industrial murals
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280:Indian Association of Alberta
104:Indian Association of Alberta
628:. 2008-05-13. Archived from
265:Glacier National Park (U.S.)
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675:"Hunting Buffalo" Painting
436:MacDonald, Graham (2000).
380:Oman, Mary M. (May 1975).
31:Early life and education
62:In the summer of 1937,
720:Canadian male painters
582:www.hockadaymuseum.org
189:Posthumous exhibitions
405:"Gerald Tailfeathers"
222:, Lethbridge, Alberta
53:Glacier National Park
606:www.historymuseum.ca
556:. Farcountry Press.
344:. February 19, 2016.
300:Patterson, Nancy-Lou
270:Hudson's Bay Company
96:Hudsonâs Bay Company
680:"The Scalp" Drawing
529:. Brush Education.
17:Gerald Tailfeathers
685:"Big Bull" Drawing
228:, Calgary, Alberta
37:Stand Off, Alberta
563:978-1-56037-170-0
536:978-1-55059-754-7
501:978-1-55056-244-6
476:978-1-55238-177-9
449:978-1-55238-014-7
233:Honors and awards
136:commemorate him.
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409:prairiemary
220:Galt Museum
205:Collections
179:Exhibitions
699:Categories
636:2020-08-09
611:2020-08-09
587:2020-03-20
492:White calf
366:2020-03-03
286:References
510:441378780
160:The Scalp
145:Art Style
341:Facebook
302:(1973).
249:See also
166:Big Bull
275:Expo 67
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