About this artwork
Rhonda Holy Bear’s earliest sculptures were made of cloth covering a wire armature. This was her first “transitional” figure, in which she carved the head from wood. She based the work on watercolor portraits of Assiniboine men painted by Swiss artist Karl Bodmer in the 1830s. These images inspired Holy Bear to create the details of the figure’s garments and beadwork. The ancestral homelands of Assiniboine peoples, who traditionally call themselves the Hohe Nakota, stretch along the Missouri River. Today, Assiniboine communities are centered at the Fort Peck and Fort Belknap reservations in Montana, as well as in Saskatchewan, Canada.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Arts of the Americas
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Artist
- Rhonda Holy Bear, Wakah Wayuphika Win, Making with Exceptional Skills Woman
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Title
- Assiniboine Scalp Shirt Wearer
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Places
- United States (Artist's nationality:), Henderson (Object made in:), Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, South Dakota (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- c. 1986
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Medium
- Wood, hide, hair, beads, feather, and pigment
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Dimensions
- 46.4 × 22.9 × 12 cm (18 5/16 × 9 1/16 × 4 3/4 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of the Foundation for the Preservation of American Indian Art and Culture
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Reference Number
- 2023.1396
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
