Moses Stranger Horse (1890–1941) was a

Brulé The Brulé are one of the seven branches or bands (sometimes called "sub-tribes") of the Teton (Titonwan) Lakota American Indian people. They are known as Sičhą́ǧu Oyáte (in Lakȟóta) —Sicangu Oyate—, ''Sicangu Lakota, o''r "Burnt ...

Lakota realist painter from the

Rosebud Indian Reservation The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as t ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large po ...

.Lester, 532

Background

A Brulé Lakota from Rosebud, Stranger Horse was born outside of

Wood, South Dakota Wood is a town in Mellette County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 41 at the 2020 census. Geography Wood is located at (43.498689, -100.480085). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all ...

in 1890.Wilson, 136 In 1911, he was taken to Pennsylvania to attend

Carlisle Indian Industrial School The United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, generally known as Carlisle Indian Industrial School, was the flagship Indian boarding school in the United States from 1879 through 1918. It took over the historic Carlisle ...

.Libhart, 30 There he received art lessons from Angel De Cora,Holm, 99 the accomplished

Ho-Chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago (referred to as ''Hotúŋe'' in the neighboring indigenous Iowa-Otoe language), are a Siouan-speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iow ...

painter, whose philosophy was that Native peoples could both maintain cultural pride and a place in mainstream society through art. Stranger Horse joined the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

and was stationed in Paris during World War I. After the war, he stayed on in Paris to pursue his artistic studies. He learned realistic oil painting techniques.

Art career

Returning to South Dakota, Stranger Horse painted dramatic landscapes of his own homelands, sometimes with images of early Lakota people. Native cowboys and ranch hands were also favorite subjects. Besides working in oils, Stranger Horse also drew. He traveled throughout the United States, demonstrating his painting skills at fairs and rodeos. Stranger Horse would perform feats of dexterity, such as painting with both hands simultaneously or painting with the canvas upside-down. He exhibited his work at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purc ...

and gave public painting demonstrations. His artist name was "Sundown." His work was celebrated by both European-American audiences as well as Native audiences.Libhart, 20

Death and legacy

Stranger Horse died in 1941 at the Rosebud Reservation. His work is in the collection of Red Cloud Heritage Center in Pine RidgeWilson, 162 and the Journey Museum in

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western S ...

. "With all the progressive adventuresomeness inherent in the character of the western Sioux, Stranger Horse took the first bold step of any modern Sioux artists to intentionally and completely master what was still the foreign art forms of the white man."

Notes

References

* Holm, Tom
''The Great Confusion in Indian Affairs: Native Americans & Whites in the Progressive Era''.
Austin: University of Texas Press, 2005. (retrieved through Google Books, 13 August 2009) * Lester, Patrick D. ''The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters''. Norman: Oklahoma University Press, 1995. . * Libhart, Myles. ''Contemporary Sioux Painting''. Rapid City, SD: Indian Arts and Crafts Board, 1970. ASIN B001Y46FHS * Wilson, Diane
''Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past''.
St. Paul, MN: Borealis Books, 2006. (retrieved through Google Books, 13 August 2009) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stranger Horse, Moses Rosebud Sioux people Native American painters 1890 births 1941 deaths Artists from South Dakota Carlisle Indian Industrial School alumni People from Mellette County, South Dakota United States Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from South Dakota Native American United States military personnel 20th-century American painters American male painters Native American male artists 20th-century American male artists