Talmadge Davis (1962–2005) was a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

artist, who explored historical and military themes in his highly naturalistic paintings.

Personal

Talmadge Davis was born May 30, 1962. His parents were Robert Lee Davis and Patricia (Horton) Davis, of

Porum, Oklahoma Porum is a town in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named for John Porum Davis, a rancher, Civil War veteran, and Cherokee Nation councilman from the Canadian District in Indian Territory. The community was first known as Porum Ga ...

. Talmadge had 2 younger brothers, James W. Davis and Bobby R. Davis Sr. His paternal grandmother was full-blood Cherokee traditionalist and midwife, Sallie Toney Davis (1895–1988), the great-great-granddaughter of

Sequoyah Sequoyah (Cherokee language, Cherokee: ᏍᏏᏉᏯ, ''Ssiquoya'', or ᏎᏉᏯ, ''Se-quo-ya''; 1770 – August 1843), also known as George Gist or George Guess, was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American polymath of the Ch ...

. Later in life, Talmadge painted a portrait of his grandmother, Sallie Toney Davis, ''Quiet Dignity: My Grandma.'' He served in the US Army from 1983 to 1987 in Germany.Power, Susan C. ''Art of the Cherokee: Prehistory to Present.'' Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2007: 197-8. . He died on November 3, 2005, of an

Aortic Aneurysm An aortic aneurysm is an enlargement (dilatation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size. They usually cause no symptoms except when ruptured. Occasionally, there may be abdominal, back, or leg pain. The prevalence of abdominal aortic ...

and was buried at

Fort Gibson Fort Gibson is a historic military site next to the modern city of Fort Gibson, in Muskogee County Oklahoma. It guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 to 1888. When it was constructed, the fort was farther west than any othe ...

Oklahoma National Cemetery.

Art work and honors

Talmadge was given the title of Master Artist by the

Five Civilized Tribes Museum The Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma, showcases the art, history, and culture of the so-called "Five Civilized Tribes": the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole tribes. Housed in the historic Union Indi ...

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 ...

and was also awarded the Cherokee Medal of Honor for helping bring Cherokee culture to the public. Many of his works of art depicted scenes of military themes, inspired by his own experiences in the army. The

United States Military Academy at West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

commissioned a painting from him for the two hundredth anniversary of their founding. His painting, ''Walkabout-A Warrior's Spirit'' portrays a historical person, Billy Walkabout, a Cherokee full-blood who was the most highly decorated Indian veteran of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. One of his most famous paintings is ''Brothers Gone but Not Forgotten,'' an acrylic painting from 2000, which portrayed a grieving man in a wheelchair touching the

Vietnam War Memorial The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granite walls engraved with the names of those s ...

and faint images of fallen comrades can be seen in man's reflection. In this painting, Talmadge painted the names of each of the 238 Native Americans who died in the Vietnam War. Davis' work was part of a traveling exhibit that was featured at the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

in Washington DC. He exhibited and regularly won awards at the

Cherokee Heritage Center The Cherokee Heritage Center (Cherokee: Ꮳꮃꭹ Ꮷꮎꮣꮄꮕꮣ Ꭰᏸꮅ) is a non-profit historical society and museum campus that seeks to preserve the historical and cultural artifacts, language, and traditional crafts of the Cherokee. ...

, Tulsa Indian Festival, Wichita Indian Market, and the Southwest Classic Art Show."In Memory of Cherokee Artist Talmadge Davis."
''Cherokee Heritage Center''. 7 Nov 2005 (retrieved 7 April 2009)

Notes

References

* Conley, Robert
"The Dawes Commission and Redbird Smith."
''The Cherokee Nation: A History.'' Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2005: 193–199. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Talmadge Painters from Oklahoma Cherokee Nation artists Native American painters 1962 births 2005 deaths United States Army soldiers 20th-century American painters American male painters Native American male artists 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans Deaths from aortic aneurysm 20th-century American male artists