Indian Power

Indian Power

1972

Fritz Scholder (Luiseño), Indian Power, 1972. Oil paint on canvas; 68 3/16 x 80 3/16 x 1 3/16 in. Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum, 2016.125. © Estate of Fritz Scholder

Although Scholder claimed he was not a protest painter, some of his images became symbols of Native empowerment at a time when Native protestors were occupying government sites and calling for changes in federal Indian policy. Posters of this painting were popular in the 1970s among Native people across the country.

Artist
Fritz Scholder, Luiseño, American, 1937-2005
Born: Breckenridge, MN
Work Locations: Santa Fe, NM, Scottsdale, AZ
Culture
Luiseño
Locale
New Mexico Arizona
Country
United States
Object
painting
Medium
Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions
height: 68 3/16 in, 173.1963 cm; width: 80 3/16 in, 203.6763 cm; depth: 1 1/2 in, 3.81 cm
Credit Line
Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum
Department
Native Arts
Collection
Indigenous Arts of North America
Accession Number
2016.125
Known Provenance
Collection of the Artist; (Wagon Wheel Gallery), Scottsdale, AZ, 1972; collection of John Mills Hawn, Breckenridge, CO, probably 1972; purchase, Christie Frances Hewit Andrews [1955-2014], Parker, CO, after 1981; consigned, (Saks Galleries), Denver, 2015; purchase, collection of Vicki and Kent Logan, Scottsdale, AZ, 2016; gift, Denver Art Museum, 2016.
Exhibition History
  • “Fritz Scholder, "Wagon Wheel Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ, 1972.
  • "Fritz Scholder: Indians/Vampir," Wagon Wheel Galleries (The Art Wagon Galleries), Scottsdale, AZ, February 25-March 13, 1973.
  • "Fritz Scholder: Major Indian Paintings: 1967-1977," The Wheelwright Museum, Santa Fe, NM, May 15-July 8, 1977.
  • “Super Indian: Fritz Scholder, 1967-1980,” Denver Art Museum, October 4, 2015-January 17, 2016
  • Phoenix Art Museum, February 27-June 5, 2016
  • Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, KS, June 23-September 18, 2016.
  • “The Western: An Epic in Art and Film” — Denver Art Museum, 5/28/2017 – 9/9/2017
  • “Stampede: Animals in Art” — Denver Art Museum, 9/10/2017
  • "Once Upon a Time... The Western: A New Frontier in Art and Film," Montreal Museum of Fine Art, Montreal, October 14, 2017-January 28, 2018.

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