Native American Art | Montclair Art Museum

Montclair Art Museum was founded in 1914 as a public art institution with a significant collection of both historical and contemporary Native work from across North America. The collection remains one of the foremost and dynamic collections of Native art in the Northeast, with new works added regularly.

From the Collection

Elizabeth Hickox (Wiyot, 1872/5–1947). Basket, ca. 1900. Myrtle, conifer root, beargrass, ivory white grass, maidenhair fern, porcupine quills.

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, b. 1940). Two Horse Totem, 1988. Oil on canvas with collage.

Jody Folwell (Khaʼpʼoe Ówîngeh [Santa Clara Pueblo], b. 1942). Sacred Lake, 1995. Clay, pigment.

Cara Romero (Chemehuevi, b. 1977). Water Memory, 2015.

Artist Once Known (Unangax̂). Basket with lid, late 19th c.

Artist Once Known (Apsáalooke [Crow]). Horse collar, ca. 1880. Hide, flannel, beads.

Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee Nation, b. 1935). Night/ᎤᏒᎢ (Usvi), 1991.

Sonya Kelliher-Combs (Iñupiaq/Athabascan, b. 1969). Remnant (Moose Jaw), 2016.

Artist Once Known (Nuu-chah-nulth). Robe, ca. 1900. Cedar bark, pigment, string.

Abel Sanchez [Oqwa Pi] (San Ildefonso Pueblo, 1859–1942). Fiesta Dance Scene, ca. 1930–5.

James Lavadour (Walla Walla, b. 1951). Hunter, 2004. Oil on wood.

Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee descent, b. 1972). Land, Spirit, Power, 2017.

Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax̂, b. 1979). Your Inane Perspective: Haa Aaní Haa Ḵusteeyíx̱ Sitee (Our Land is Our Life), 2015.

Artist Once Known (Apache). Basket, ca. 1900. Willow, martynia.

Diego Romero (Cochiti Pueblo, b. 1964). Death of Naranjo, 2006.

MAM’s founding collection of Indigenous art was organized by three women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: Museum co-founder Florence Rand Lang and her mother Annie Valentine Rand, chiefly through Pasadena-based dealer Grace Nicholson. The Museum has continued to collect the work of contemporary Native artists throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and exhibitions have integrated works from our two collections since 1995. Today, the range of Indigenous art and cultural objects at MAM comprises more than 4,000 pieces: one-third of the Museum’s total collection.

The collection’s strengths remain in works made by Native women. Collection highlights include basketry and regalia, particularly from California; Plains beadwork; paintings and works on paper; carved ivories from the Bering Sea region; Seminole and Muscogee dress; Navajo jewelry; and Pueblo pottery.

Notable Names in the Collection

Many historical objects in MAM's Native art collection have been attributed to specific artists, but names do not accompany a great number of pieces due to past collecting and documentation practices in the context of settler-colonialism. We actively work to recover names associated with particular works. Furthermore, many objects in the Native art collection were conceived and made collaboratively, not by a single creator.

^{Historical Artists}

^{Mary Kawennatakie

Adams

Harrison Begay

William Benson

Thomas J. Dorsey

Harry Fonseca

Shan Goshorn

Velino Shije Herrera

[Ma Pe Wi]

Elizabeth Hickox

Allan Houser

Oscar Howe}

^{Julia Jumbo

Fred Kabotie

Truman Lowe

Julian Martinez

Maria Martinez

Nampeyo

Tonita Peña

Abel Sanchez

[Oqwa Pi]

Terry Saul

Fritz Scholder

Margaret Tafoya

and many more…}

^{Living Artists}

^{Tony Abeyta

Jeremy Dennis}
^{Carol Emarthle-Douglas

Joe Feddersen

Jody Folwell

Polly Folwell

Susan Folwell

Nicholas Galanin

Jeffrey Gibson

Teri Greeves

Edgar Heap of Birds

Elizabeth James

-Perry

Sonya Kelliher-

Combs}

^{James Lavadour

Meryl McMaster

Nadia Myre

Arlo Namingha

Dan Namingha

Meghann O'Brien

Virgil Ortiz

G. Peter Jemison

Jaune Quick-to-See

Smith

Susan Point

Kevin and Valerie

Pourier}
^{Wendy Red Star}

^{Eric-Paul Riege

Cara Romero

Diego Romero

Sarah Sense

Rose B. Simpson

Preston Singletary

Roxanne Swentzell

Lu Ann Tafoya

Kay WalkingStick

Marie Watt

Emmi Whitehorse

Ken Williams, Jr.

Melanie Yazzie

and many more…}

On View Now

Indigenous art is currently on view at MAM:

Transformed: Objects Reimagined by American Artists (through December 3, 2023)
New Acquisitions: Jeremy Dennis (through December 3, 2023)
Exterior artworks on the MAM grounds

Download the Bloomberg Connects app for more information.

Gallery Reinstallation

MAM is currently reimagining the display of selected works from our permanent collection of Native art from North America. A fresh, contemporary installation will engage three gallery spaces at the Museum, opening in September 2024. Click here for more information.

Image Credits

Full Image Credits

Elizabeth Hickox (Wiyot, 1872/5–1947). Basket, ca. 1900. Myrtle, conifer root, beargrass, ivory white grass, maidenhair fern, porcupine quills. Bottom: 5 x 8 1/4 in. Gift of Mrs. Henry Lang in memory of her mother, Mrs. Jasper R. Rand, 1931.86ab.
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, b. 1940). Two Horse Totem, 1988. Oil on canvas with collage. 66 x 55 1/8 in. Gift of Philip P. Thorpe and Carol A. Hogan, 2010.7.
Jody Folwell (Khaʼpʼoe Ówîngeh [Santa Clara Pueblo], b. 1942). Sacred Lake, 1995. Clay, pigment. 20 ¼ x 7 ¾ in. Museum purchase, Acquisition Fund, 1995.35ab.
Cara Romero (Chemehuevi, b. 1977). Water Memory, 2015. Archival inkjet print, ed. 5/7. 30 x 30 in. Museum purchase, Acquisition Fund, 2022.21.
Artist Once Known (Unangax̂). Basket with lid, late 19th c. Rye grass, silk thread. 11 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. Gift of Mrs. Henry Lang in memory of her mother, Mrs. Jasper R. Rand, 1931.60A-B.
Artist Once Known (Apsáalooke [Crow]). Horse collar, ca. 1880. Hide, flannel, beads. 14 x 31 1/4 x 1/4 in. Gift of Mrs. Henry Lang in memory of her mother, Mrs. Jasper R. Rand, 1931.447.
Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee Nation, b. 1935). Night/ᎤᏒᎢ (Usvi), 1991. Oil, acrylic, saponified wax, and copper on canvas. 36 1/4 x 72 1/4 in. Museum purchase; funds provided by Alberta Stout, 2000.10.
Sonya Kelliher-Combs (Iñupiaq/Athabascan, b. 1969). Remnant (Moose Jaw), 2016. Mixed media, organic and synthetic materials. 18 × 14 × 1 3/4 in. Museum purchase, Rand Forum Fund, 2020.2.1.

Artist Once Known (Nuu-chah-nulth). Robe, ca. 1900. Cedar bark, pigment, string. 44 1/2 x 61 in. Gift of Mrs. Henry Lang in memory of her mother, Mrs. Jasper R. Rand. 1931.573.
Abel Sanchez [Oqwa Pi] (San Ildefonso Pueblo, 1859–1942). Fiesta Dance Scene, ca. 1930–5. Watercolor on paper. Sheet: 21 5/8 x 27 1/2 in. Gift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1977.48.
James Lavadour (Walla Walla, b. 1951). Hunter, 2004. Oil on wood. 52 x 42 x 3 in. Museum purchase, Acquisition Fund, 2007.24.
Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee descent, b. 1972). Land, Spirit, Power, 2017. Beads (glass and others), metal tacks (bronze, zinc, nickel, brass), artificial sinew, acrylic felt over skinning board. 41 × 14 3/16 in. Museum purchase, Acquisition Fund, 2018.13
Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax̂, b. 1979). Your Inane Perspective: Haa Aaní Haa Ḵusteeyíx̱ Sitee (Our Land is Our Life), 2015. C-print, ed. 4/10. 22 x 33 in. Museum purchase, Acquisition Fund, 2021.18.
Artist Once Known (Apache). Basket, ca. 1900. Willow, martynia. 4½ x 17½ in. Gift of Mrs. Henry Lang in memory of her mother, Mrs. Jasper R. Rand. 1931.573, 1914.11.
Diego Romero (Cochiti Pueblo, b. 1964). Death of Naranjo, 2006. Clay, pigment. 6 1/4 x 15 3/4 in. Museum purchase, Acquisition Fund, 2006.10