William Standing, also known as Fire Bear (July 27, 1904 – June 27, 1951) was an American painter and illustrator. He was Assiniboine, and his work depicted the lives of Native Americans in the Northwestern United States.

Early life

Standing was born on July 27, 1904, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation near Oswego, Montana. He was Assiniboine; his great-grandfather,

Wi-jún-jon Wi-jún-jon, also called Pigeon's Egg Head or The Light (1796–1872) was a Native American chief of the Assiniboine tribe, which was located in the Great Plains. He is best known as the subject of a painting by George Catlin, a dual portrait po ...

, was the chief of the Assiniboine tribe. His Assiniboine name, Fire Bear, was the same as his grandfather's. Standing was educated on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation until he went to a boarding school run by Presbyterian missionaries in Wolf Point, Montana. He attended the

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 ...

thanks to

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 ...

, and he graduated from

Haskell Institute 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 ...

in 1924.

Career

Standing began his career as an interior designer in Kansas. He moved back to Montana to become a painter, and he used pens, inks and oil to create his artwork. His paintings and postcard illustrations depicted the American West, especially the lives of Native Americans in the Northwestern United States. Standing did many portraits of his grandfather and his great-grandfather. He also did a portrait of Charles Curtis, the 31st Vice President of the United States. He illustrated the book ''Land of Naboka'' in 1942. His artwork was exhibited at the Arts Club of Washington as well as in Paris, France. According to his obituary in the ''

Great Falls Tribune The ''Great Falls Tribune'' is a daily morning newspaper printed in Helena, Montana. It is one of Montana's largest newspaper companies. History The first edition of the newspaper then called the ''Weekly Tribune'' was printed on May 14, 188 ...

'', he became "one of Montana's best known contemporary artists."

Personal life, death and legacy

Standing had a child with his wife Nancy. They resided in Poplar, Montana. Standing died in a car accident near Zortman in Phillips County on June 27, 1951, and his body was taken to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He was 46. Some of his work is in the permanent collections of the Hockaday Museum of Art in

Kalispell Kalispell (, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a city in, and the county seat of, Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at 24,558. In Montana's northwest region, ...

and the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

's Montana Museum of Art & Culture in Missoula.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Standing, William 1904 births 1951 deaths 20th-century American painters 20th-century Native American artists 20th-century American illustrators 20th-century American male artists American male painters American portrait painters Artists of the American West Assiniboine people Haskell Indian Junior College alumni Native American illustrators Native American painters People from Valley County, Montana People from Poplar, Montana Road incident deaths in Montana University of Oklahoma alumni Native American male artists Native American people from Montana