Fritz Scholder Indians 1972 Northland Press First Edition

Description

Published in 1972 by Northland Press in Flagstaff, this was among the earliest substantial monographs on Fritz Scholder’s groundbreaking “Indian” series. With an introduction by Adelyn D. Breeskin of the Smithsonian and commentary by Rudy H. Turk, the book documents the paintings that changed the trajectory of contemporary Native American art.

Scholder rejected the romanticized, tourist-image stereotype of the “noble Indian.” His figures are confrontational, ironic, modern — often uncomfortable. Ice cream cones, American flags, sunglasses, alcohol, politics. He painted Native identity as lived reality, not myth. This book captures that moment when he broke from tradition and redefined the genre.

An important early monograph on a truly disruptive American artist — and still undervalued relative to his institutional presence.