Johnny Moore Tiger Jr. (

Muscogee Creek 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 WoodlandsSeminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

), (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 Tahlequah ( ; ''Cherokee'': ᏓᎵᏆ, ''daligwa'' ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-cent ...

. His parents were Lucinda Lou Lewis and the John M. Tiger. His younger brother, the late Jerome Tiger, was a celebrated artist.Hunt, David C
"Tiger, Jerome Richard (1941–1967).
''Oklahoma History Center's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved August 12, 2015. As a child, he traveled with his grandfather Rev. Coleman Lewis, a well known Baptist missionary within the

Muscogee Creek Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

. While traveling, Coleman taught his grandson the history and cosmology of their people in the Mvskoke, their tribal language. He is uncle to Dana Tiger. He attended

Chilocco Indian School Chilocco Indian School was an agricultural school for Native Americans on reserved land in north-central Oklahoma from 1884 to 1980. It was approximately 20 miles north of Ponca City, Oklahoma and seven miles north of Newkirk, Oklahoma, near ...

and graduated from

Muskogee Central High School Muskogee High School (MHS) is a three-year public high school in Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S.. It is accredited by the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association. Muskogee High School is part ...

in 1958. After graduation, he served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

Art career

As a young man Tiger loved

pin striping Pin striping (pinstriping) is the application of a very thin line of paint or other material called a pin stripe, and is generally used for decoration. Freehand pin stripers use a specialty brush known as a pinstriping brush. Fine lines in texti ...

hot rods but moved towards fine arts. His paintings illustrated the oral history of his tribes, and he painted scenes such as a tribal gathering, stomp dances, or medicine men healing the sick, based on his own experiences. In 1959, he enrolled 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 Ameri ...

in Muskogee, Oklahoma to study art under the legendary

Southern Cheyenne 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 (Ts ...

painter

Dick West Walter Richard West Sr. (1912–1996, Southern Cheyenne), was a painter, sculptor, and educator. He led the Art Department at Bacone College from 1947 to 1970. He later taught at Haskell Institute for several years. Jones, Ruthe BlalockWest, Walte ...

. His classmates included David E. Williams and

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 ...

. After winning numerous major art awards by the late 1970s, he became a full-time artist. 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 ...

declared Johnny a Master Artist in 1982. Tiger was also a well-known sculptor. He received many major awards and produced several bronze pieces.

Death

Johnny Tiger Jr. died on August 5, 2015. Funeral services were held at the First Baptist Church in

Eufaula, Oklahoma Eufaula is a city and county seat of McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,813 at the 2010 census, an increase of 6.6 percent from 2,639 in 2000. Eufaula is in the southern part of the county, north of McAlester and ...

, and he was interred at the Greenwood Cemetery in Eufaula.

Notes

References

* Lester, Patrick D. ''The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters''. Norman: University of Oklahoma 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