The Watchful Fox, Chief of the Tribe with Tinselled Buck no. 4,520

The Watchful Fox, Chief of the Tribe with Tinselled Buck no. 4,520

2008
Artist
Kent Monkman, Swampy Cree, Fisher River First Nation, b. 1965
Born: Ontario
Work Locations: Toronto, ON
Culture
Swampy Cree | Fisher River First Nation
Country
Canada
Object
painting
Medium
Acrylic paint on canvas
Accession Number
2015.657
Credit Line
Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum

Kent Monkman (Fisher River Band Cree)
The Watchful Fox, Chief of the Tribe with Tinselled Buck no. 4,520, 2008
Acrylic paint on canvas
30 x 24 in
Denver Art Museum: Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum, 2015.657
(c)Kent Monkman

Dimensions
height: 30 in, 76.2000 cm; width: 24 in, 60.9600 cm; frame height: 33 in, 83.82 cm; frame width: 27 in, 68.58 cm; frame depth: 2 1/2 in, 6.35 cm
Department
Native Arts
Collection
Indigenous Arts of North America

Here Monkman revisits a subject by the painter George Catlin, but added into the background a character of his own invention, “Tinselled Buck”. The primary figure is faithful to the stoic Catlin rendering while the figure in the background is whimsical and flamboyant. The ghost-like image is a reminder of the historical presence of two-spirit, or gender variant, individuals and a recognition of their erasure by both Native and non-Native artists.

Known Provenance
Purchased 2015 from the artist by Vicki and Kent Logan; Gifted 2015 to Denver Art Museum
Exhibition History
  • "More Than: Expanding Identities of Artists from the American West" - The Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block, October 13, 2022- February 26, 2023