Monroe Tsatoke (1904–1937) was a

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and e ...

painter and a member of 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 ...

from Oklahoma.Watson, Mary Jo
Tsatoke, Monroe (1904-1937)
''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' (29 April 2009)

Early life

Monroe Tsatoke was born on 29 September 1904 in Oklahoma Territory, near present-day Saddle Mountain, Oklahoma. Tsatokee, which means "Hunting Horse", was his Kiowa name. His father was also named Tsatokee, and was a Kiowa scout. His grandmother was a European-American captive.Lester, 571 Tsatoke never received art instruction until Susan Peters, the Kiowa agency field matron, arranged for Mrs. Willie Baze Lane, an artist from

Chickasha, Oklahoma Chickasha is a city in and the county seat of Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,036 at the 2010 census. Chickasha is home to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The city is named for and strongly connecte ...

, to teach painting classes for young Kiowas in Anadarko. Recognizing the talent of some of the young artists, Peters convinced 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 ...

, director of the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

's School of Art, to accept the Kiowa students into a special program at the school,Pochoir prints of ledger drawings by the Kiowa Five, 1929.
''Smithsonian Institution Research Information System.'' (retrieved 29 April 2009) in which they were coached and encouraged by Edith Mahier.

Kiowa Six

The

included six artists: Spencer Asah,

James Auchiah James Auchiah (1906–1974) was a Kiowa painter and one of the Kiowa Six from Oklahoma.Watson, Mary JoAuchiah, James (1906-1974) ''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' (28 April 2009) Early life James Au ...

Jack Hokeah Jack Hokeah (December 4, 1901 - December 14, 1969) was a Kiowa painter, one of the Kiowa Six, from Oklahoma. Early life Jack Hokeah was born in 1901 in western Oklahoma.Lester, 239 He was orphaned at a very young age and raised by his grandmother ...

, Stephen Mopope,

Lois Smoky Kaulaity Lois Smoky Kaulaity (1907–1981) was a Kiowa beadwork artist and a painter, one of the Kiowa Six, from Oklahoma.Watson, Mary JoSmoky, Lois (1907-1981) ''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' (5 May 2009) ...

, and Monroe Tsatoke. James Auchiah was the last to join the group at OU in 1926. The Kiowa Six's first major breakthrough into the international fine arts world occurred at the 1928 First International Art Exposition in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, Czechoslovakia. Dr. Jacobson arranged for their work to be shown in several other countries and for ''Kiowa Art'', a portfolio of

pochoir Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface, by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object, to create a pattern or image on a surface, by allowing the pigment to reach ...

print artists' paintings, to be published in France.

Individual pursuits

Tsatoke took additional art classes 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 ...

and worked at Indian City USA in Anadarko as a guide. In 1924, Tsatoke married Martha Koomsa. The couple had four children; Jewell, Lee Monette, Ross Maker, and John Thomas. Lee Tsatoke also became a respected Kiowa artist. Monroe and Martha lived in

Red Rock, Oklahoma Red Rock ( iow, Chína Ino Šúje pronounced , meaning "Rock Red town") is a town in northern Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 283 at the 2010 census, a decline from 293 at the 2000 census. The headquarters of the Otoe-M ...

. Besides painting, Tsatoke also farmed, sang at Kiowa ceremonials and participated in fancy war dance. Tsatoke was diagnosed with tuberculosis and joined the

Native American Church The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native American beliefs and Christianity, with sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. The ...

. He painted about his religious experiences and is credited with creating stylized representations of symbols associated with the Church, such as the water, birds, and feathers.

Public collections

Tsatoke's work can be found in the following public art collections: *Anadarko City Museum *

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, Duncan, OK Chisholm, Chisholme or Chisolm may refer to: Places Australia * Chisholm, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra * Chisholm, New South Wales, a suburb of Maitland, New South Wales * Division of Chisholm, an electoral district in the Australian ...

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 Sm ...

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 ...

* Museum of the Great Plains *

Heard Museum The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...

*Indian Arts and Crafts Board, US Department of the Interior *

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 ...

McNay Art Museum The McNay Art Museum, founded in 1954 in San Antonio, is the first modern art museum in the U.S. state of Texas. The museum was created by Marion Koogler McNay's original bequest of most of her fortune, her important art collection and her 24-room ...

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 *

Museum of New Mexico The Museum of New Mexico is a collection of museums, historic sites, and archaeological services governed by the State of New Mexico. It currently consists of six divisions : the Palace of the Governors state history museum, the New Mexico Museum o ...

*Millicent Rogers Museum *

Oklahoma Historical Society The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma. ...

*Oklahoma Museum of Natural History *

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 ...

*Seminole Public Library * Woolaroc MuseumLester, 572

Death

In 1934, the Oklahoma Historical Society commissioned Tsatoke to paint several murals. Although ill with tuberculosis, he worked on the murals until his death.Jacobson House Native Art Center: About the Kiowa Six
''Jacobson House Native Art Center.'' (retrieved 21 July 2020) Tsatoke died on 3 February 1937 from tuberculosis at the age of 32 years.

Notes

References

*Lester, Patrick D. ''The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters''. Norman and London: The Oklahoma University Press, 1995. . *Swan, Daniel C. ''Peyote Religious Art: Symbols and Faith and Belief.'' Jackson, University of Mississippi Press, 1999. . *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

Jacobson House Native Art Center: About the Kiowa Six

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsatoke, Monroe Kiowa people Native American painters Painters from Oklahoma People from Kiowa County, Oklahoma 1904 births 1937 deaths Native American Church People from Anadarko, Oklahoma People from Noble County, Oklahoma