Walter Richard West Sr. (1912–1996, Southern

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

), was a painter, sculptor, and educator. He led the Art Department at

Bacone College Bacone College, formerly Bacone Indian University, is a private tribal college in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Founded in 1880 as the Indian University by missionary Almon C. Bacone, it was originally affiliated with the mission arm of what is now Americ ...

from 1947 to 1970. He later taught at Haskell Institute for several years. Jones, Ruthe Blalock
West, Walter Richard Sr. (1812–1996)
''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' (3 Nov 2009) West is an enrolled member of the

Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma. History The Cheyennes and Arapahos are two distinct tribes with distinct histories. The Cheyenne (Tsi ...

Early life and education

West was born on September 8, 1912, in a

tipi A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan languages, Siouan, and in use in Dakot ...

near the Darlington Agency in Oklahoma. His Cheyenne name, Wapah Nahyah, means "Lightfooted Runner." His father was Lightfoot West. His mother was Rena Flying Coyote, also known as Emily Black Wolf, whose parents were Big Belly Woman and Thunder Bull. West's Lester, 607 West attended

Concho Indian Boarding School Concho Indian Boarding School (also known as the Cheyenne-Arapaho Boarding School at Concho or Concho Indian School and home to the Concho Demonstration School) was a boarding school for members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. It initially ser ...

and Haskell Institute in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

. At that time, Haskell had grades 9-12 and served as a high school; he graduated in 1935. (It later gained status as a junior college and then as a four-year college.) One of his earliest artistic mentors was painter Carl Sweezy (1881–1953),

Southern Arapaho The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma. History The Cheyennes and Arapahos are two distinct tribes with distinct ...

.Wyckoff, 288 From 1936 to 1938, West attended

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...

, where he earned an associate's degree. At Bacone, West studied under celebrated artist,

Acee Blue Eagle Acee Blue Eagle (17 August 1907 – 18 June 1959) was a Native American artist, educator, dancer, and Native American flute player,Wyckoff, 92 who directed the art program at Bacone College. His birth name was Alexander C. McIntosh, he also we ...

(1907–1959,

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsTerry Saul Chief Carl Terry Saul (1921–1976) also known as C. Terry Saul and Tabaksi, was a Choctaw Nation/Chickasaw illustrator, painter, muralist, commercial artist, and educator. He was a leader of the Choctaw/Chickasaw tribe. He served as Director of t ...

and

Oscar Howe Oscar Howe (''Mazuha Hokshina'' or "Trader Boy", May 13, 1915 – October 7, 1983) was a Yanktonai Dakota artist from South Dakota, who became well known for his casein and tempera paintings.Libhart, Myles and Vincent Price. ''Contemporary Sioux ...

. As a young man, West played football and worked in oil fields. West enrolled at

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

(OU), where he earned a BFA degree in 1941. He later returned for graduate work, earning an MFA degree in 1950. While at OU, he studied under Swedish-American artist

Oscar Jacobson Oscar Brousse Jacobson (May 16, 1882 – September 15, 1966) was a Swedish-born American painter and museum curator. From 1915 to 1945, he was the director of the University of Oklahoma's School of Art, later known as the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of ...

(1882–1996), who mentored the

Kiowa Six The Kiowa Six, previously known as the Kiowa Five, is a group of six Kiowa artists from Oklahoma in the early 20th century, working in the "Kiowa style". The artists were Spencer Asah, James Auchiah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Monroe Tsatoke and L ...

, other Native American artists. West felt that Jacobson's active support of Native Americans helped him cope with the widespread racial prejudice that he encountered in the city of

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

. In 1941 and 1942, West lived in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, where he studied

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

painting under

Olle Nordmark Olle Emanuel Nordmark (May 25, 1890 – December 18, 1973) was a Swedish painter and muralist born in Nordanholen at Mockfjärd parish. He was focused on an art career from an early age. After emigrating in 1924 to the United States to gain ...

(1890–1973), a Swedish-American artist and sculptor. West continued post-graduate studies at

Northeastern State University Northeastern State University (NSU) is a public university with its main campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of high ...

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

, and

Redlands College Redlands College is an Independent school, independent Nondenominational Christianity, non-denominational Christian Mixed-sex education, co-educational Primary school, primary and Secondary school, secondary day school, located in the Redland Cit ...

Marriage and family

In 1940, West married Maribelle McCrea. They had two sons together,

W. Richard West Jr. Walter Richard "Rick" West Jr. (born January 6, 1943) is the president and CEO of the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles. He was the founding director of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian,

and James Lee West. In 1970, he married his second wife, Rene Wagoner.

Teaching career

In 1941, West began his first teaching assignment at the

Phoenix Indian School The Phoenix Indian School, or Phoenix Indian High School in its later years, was a Bureau of Indian Affairs-operated school in Encanto Village, in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona. It served lower grades also from 1891 to 1935, and then served as a ...

, serving primarily

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

students. After the United States entered World War II, he joined the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

the next year and fought in Europe, serving from 1942 to postwar 1946. Upon his honorable discharge, West returned to teaching at the Phoenix Indian School. He was hired at

, where he became head of the art department and taught from 1947 to 1970. From 1970 to 1977, West taught art at

Haskell Indian Junior College Haskell Indian Nations University is a public tribal land-grant university in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1884 as a residential boarding school for American Indian children, the school has developed into a university operated by t ...

in Kansas. He influenced generations of Native American artists. His students included such successful artists as

Joan Hill Joan Hill (December 19, 1930 – June 16, 2020), also known as Che-se-quah, was a Muscogee Creek artist of Cherokee ancestry. She was one of the most awarded Native American women artists in the 20th century. Personal Joan Hill was born in Musk ...

Enoch Kelly Haney Enoch Kelly Haney (November 12, 1940 – April 23, 2022) was an American politician and internationally recognized Seminole/Muscogee artist from Oklahoma, He served as principal chief of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma from 2005 until 2009 and p ...

Johnny Tiger Jr. Johnny Moore Tiger Jr. (Muscogee Creek-Seminole), (February 13, 1940 – August 5, 2015) was a Native American artist from Oklahoma.Lester, 557 Background Johnny Moore Tiger Jr. was born on February 13, 1940 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. His parents ...

Sharron Ahtone Harjo Marcelle Sharron Ahtone Harjo (born 1945) is a Kiowa painter from Oklahoma. Her Kiowa name, Sain-Tah-Oodie, translates to "Killed With a Blunted Arrow." In the 1960s and 1970s, she and sister Virginia Stroud were instrumental in the revival of le ...

, Marlene Riding In-Mameah, and

Virginia Stroud Virginia Alice Stroud (born 1951)

. From 1979 to 1980, West served as professor emeritus at Bacone College.

Artwork

Dick West was a master of flat-style painting, that drew upon the pictorial and narrative aspects of Plains hide painting. Flat style painting frequently portrays tribal dances and histories. His works portrayed Cheyenne culture, as informed by his highly traditional upbringing. A complete departure from that style was West's ''Indian Christ'' series, which were lush, allegorical oil paintings of

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

stories with Native American figures, set in the Southern Plains. Through this series, West wanted to portray the universality of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. Although flat-style is what he is best known for, West also painted abstract and highly stylized works in oil, watercolor, tempera, and gouache. He illustrated four books and also sculpted in wood and metal.

Awards and honors

The

Section of Painting and Sculpture The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture was a New Deal art project established on October 16, 1934, and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury. Commonly known as the Section, it was rena ...

commissioned West to paint a mural for the U.S. Post Office of

Okemah, Oklahoma Okemah ( or ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the birthplace of folk music legend Woody Guthrie. Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, a federally recognized Muscogee Indian tribe, is headquartered ...

in 1941. He won two grand awards from the Philbrook Museum. In 1964, he won the Waite Phillips Outstanding Indian Artist Award from the Philbrook Museum of Art. In 1962, the Eastern Baptist College awarded him an honorary doctorates in humane letters, as did the

Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. The College of Art ...

, in 1976. From 1979-80, West was a commissioner on the Indian Arts and Crafts Board.

Public collections

West's work can be found in the following public art collections: *

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With encyclopedic collections of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums between t ...

* Eastern Baptist College, St. David's, PA *

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art is an art museum on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, Oklahoma. Overview The University of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art holds over 20,000 objects in its permanent collection. The museum c ...

The George Gustav Heye Center The National Museum of the American Indian–New York, the George Gustav Heye Center, is a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in Manhattan, New York City. The museum is part of the Smi ...

Gilcrease Museum Gilcrease Museum, also known as the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, is a museum northwest of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma housing the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art of the American West, as well as a gro ...

*Indian Arts and Crafts Board,

US Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

Joslyn Art Museum The Joslyn Art Museum is the principal fine arts museum in the state of Nebraska, United States. Located in Omaha, it was opened in 1931 at the initiative of Sarah H. Joslyn in memory of her husband, businessman George A. Joslyn. It is the only m ...

Koshare Indian Museum The Pueblo clowns (sometimes called sacred clowns) are jesters or tricksters in the Kachina religion (practiced by the Pueblo natives of the southwestern United States). It is a generic term, as there are a number of these figures in the ritua ...

Museum of Northern Arizona The Museum of Northern Arizona is a museum in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States, that was established as a repository for Indigenous material and natural history specimens from the Colorado Plateau. The museum was founded in 1928 by zoologist ...

, Katherine Harvey Collection *Muskogee Art Guild, OK *

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

Philbrook Museum of Art Philbrook Museum of Art is an art museum with expansive formal gardens located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The museum, which opened in 1939, is located in a former 1920s villa, "Villa Philbrook", the home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his ...

*St. Augustine's Center, Chicago, IL *Seminole Public Library, OK *

Southern Plains Indian Museum Southern Plains Indian Museum is a Native American museum located in Anadarko, Oklahoma. It was opened in 1948 under a cooperative governing effort by the United States Department of the Interior and the Oklahoma state government. The museum feat ...

, Library

Death

Dick West died on May 3, 1996.

Quote

'' e Indian artist must be allowed freedom to absorb influences outside of his own art forms and see the promise of a new lane of expression that should keep the Indian's art the art form termed 'native Indian painting,' and I give my student every opportunity to execute it... I have always felt that the term abstraction has been a part of the Indian's artistic thinking longer than most European contemporary influences and perhaps in a ruerform..." —Dick West, 1955Wyckoff, 287

Notes

References

*Lester, Patrick D. ''The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters''. Norman and London: The Oklahoma University Press, 1995. . *Wyckoff, Lydia L., ed. ''Visions and voices : Native American painting from the Philbrook Museum of Art''. Tulsa, OK: Philbrook Museum of Art, 1996. .

External links

Walter Richard West
on AskArt with images
1970s KTUL sign-off: Indian sign language
Walter Richard "Dick" West performing "Lord's Prayer" using sign language, from Channel 8's nightly signoff in the 1970s via YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:West, W. Richard Sr. 1912 births 1996 deaths People from Canadian County, Oklahoma Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes people Native American painters Painters from Oklahoma Bacone College alumni Bacone College faculty University of Oklahoma alumni Section of Painting and Sculpture artists