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Stephen Mopope (1898–1974) 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 eve ...
painter, dancer, and
Native American flute The Native American flute is a flute that is held in front of the player, has open finger holes, and has two chambers: one for collecting the breath of the player and a second chamber which creates sound. The player breathes into one end of the ...
player from
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. He was the most prolific member of the group of artists known as 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 ...
.Watson, Mary Jo
Mopope, Stephen (1898-1974)
. ''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' (2 May 2009)


Early life

Stephen Mopope was born on 27 August 1898 near the Redstone Baptist Mission on the Kiowa Reservation in
Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
. Qued Koi was his Kiowa name, which translates as "Painted Robe,"Lester, 372 and is sometimes spelled, "Wood Coy." His maternal grandfather was Appiatan, a famed Kiowa warrior, and his great-uncles were
Silver Horn Silver Horn or Haungooah (1860–1940) was a Kiowa ledger artist from Oklahoma. Background Silver Horn was born circa 1860 to Agiati (Gathering Feathers) and Sa-Poodle (Traveling in the Rain) and was a member of the Kiowa Indian tribe of Oklah ...
and Oheltoint (Ohettoint), both of whom were accomplished artists. Oheltoint was one of the
Fort Marion The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for "St. Mark's Castle") is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. It was designed by the Spanish ...
ledger artists. Mopope's paternal grandfather was a Spanish captive, adopted by Kiowa chief Many Bears. When Mopope was a young child, his relatives observed him drawing pictures in the sand, so the artists in his family taught him how to paint on hides in the traditional manner. His grandmother was also instrumental in his early education. In 1916, Mopope attended St. Patrick's Indian Mission School in
Anadarko, Oklahoma Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The city is fifty miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 5,745 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County. History Anadarko got its name when its post off ...
, where he received further art instruction under Sister Olivia Taylor, a
Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...
nun. In a move that contradicted US federal policy at the time, 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 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 ...
'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 Edith Mahier (1892 – 1967) was an American artist and art instructor who was instrumental in helping develop the talent of the Kiowa Six during their studies at the University of Oklahoma. In 1941, she won the commission to complete the post o ...
.


Kiowa Six

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 ...
included Mopope as well as fellow artists
Spencer Asah Spencer Asah (c. 1908–1954) was a Kiowa painter and a member of the Kiowa Six from Oklahoma. Early life Spencer Asah was born in 1908 in Carnegie, Oklahoma. His Kiowa name was Lallo (Little Boy). His father was a buffalo medicine man. Asah's ...
,
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 Auc ...
,
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. ...
,
Lois Smoky 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 Monroe Tsatoke (1904–1937) was a Kiowa painter and a member of the Kiowa Six from Oklahoma.Watson, Mary JoTsatoke, Monroe (1904-1937) ''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' (29 April 2009) Early life Mon ...
. Auchiah was the last to join the group at OU in 1926. In 1928, the Kiowa Six made their debut into the international fine arts world, when they participated in the First International Art Exposition in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, 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 ...
prints and artists' paintings, to be published in France.


Art career

Mopope was commissionined to paint murals in the US Department of the Interior building in Washington, DC, along with five other Native aristists, including James Auchiah. Mopope's mural was 6 by 60 feet and portrayed a Kiowa ceremonial dance. He 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 re ...
and created stylized paintings that combined ceremonial implements with religious imagery. Besides being a visual artist, he was a highly accomplished dancer and flute-player. Mopope's work was part of ''Stretching the Canvas: Eight Decades of Native Painting'' (2019–21), a survey at the
National Museum of the American Indian 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 Smi ...
in New York. Mopope's granddaughter
Vanessa Jennings Vanessa Paukeigope Santos Jennings (born October 5, 1952) is a Kiowa/Kiowa Apache/ Gila River Pima regalia maker, clothing designer, cradleboard maker, and beadwork artist from Oklahoma. Early life Jennings was born in the Gila River Indian Co ...
is a Kiowa/Apache/Pima beadwork artist and regalia maker.


Public collections

Mopope's work can be found in the following public art collections: *Anadarko City Museum *Anadarko Community Library *
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
Collection, Phoenix, Arizona * Brigham City Museum of Art & History, Brigham City, Utah *City of Anadarko *
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 ...
*
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
Collection *
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 Smi ...
*
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 ...
*
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 The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
*
Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art The Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art is a non-profit art museum in Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA. It is located on the Oklahoma Baptist University Green Campus, being the campus of the former St. Gregory's University. The museum operated independently of St. ...
*
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-roo ...
*
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 of ...
*Millicent Rogers Museum *
National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
* Oklahoma Art Center *
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 *Oklahoma State Art Collection *Oklahoma Science and Art Foundation, Gerrer Collection *
Peabody Essex Museum The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, US, is a successor to the East India Marine Society, established in 1799. It combines the collections of the former Peabody Museum of Salem (which acquired the Society's collection) and the ...
*
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 wi ...
*
Southwest Museum The Southwest Museum of the American Indian is a museum, library, and archive located in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, above the north-western bank of the Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County) canyon and stream. The muse ...
*Seminole Public Library *
Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...
*
Southern Plains Indian Museum Southern Plains Indian Museum is a Native American museum located in Anadarko, Oklahoma. It was opened in 1948 under a cooperative governing effort by the United States Department of the Interior and the Oklahoma state government. The museum feat ...
*University of Oklahoma, Library *
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is a museum devoted to Native American arts. It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was founded in 1937 by Mary Cabot Wheelwright, who came from Boston, and Hastiin Klah, a Navajo singer and medici ...
*
Woolaroc Museum Woolaroc is a museum and wildlife preserve located in the Osage Hills of Northeastern Oklahoma on Oklahoma State Highway 123 about southwest of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and north of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Woolaroc was established in 1925 as the ranch ...


Death

On 2 February 1974, Mopope died at
Fort Cobb, Oklahoma Fort Cobb is a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 634 at the 2010 census. History Fort Cobb was established as a U.S. Army frontier post in Indian Territory on October 1, 1859, east of the present location of th ...
.


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:Mopope, Stephen Kiowa people Native American painters 1898 births 1974 deaths Painters from Oklahoma People from Anadarko, Oklahoma Native American Church American people of Spanish descent 20th-century American painters American male painters Native American male artists Native American dancers Dancers from Oklahoma 20th-century Native Americans 20th-century American male artists