american indian art

Shuffle Off to Buffalo Five, Harry Fonseca

In his art, Harry Fonseca transforms Coyote, the trickster character in California Indian stories, into a contemporary Native American figure.

Fonseca often sets Coyote in an urban setting, dressed in a leather jacket and high-tops. He has become as much an assertive character as a humorous one.

In this painting, Coyote takes the stage as Uncle Sam. Fonseca presents him as a stage actor and as an emblematic government figure. The glittering gold frame resembles frames used on Renaissance and baroque paintings—a reference to art history.

Western American Art