Art critic James D. Balestrieri writes, “As both man and artist, Oscar Howe straddled realities. Though he was steeped in Lakota stories, ways, and scripture, he nevertheless became a devout Christian, and though he was schooled in Indigenous artistic traditions, he synthesized these with Western art practices and modernist abstraction. In Sioux Origins, for example, the goddess, infused with the spirit of the eagle, and the two first children of a newly created world refer to Lakota spirituality, yet the composition of the painting and the triangular arrangement of the figures also alludes to the long Western history of paintings of Mary with two infants – Jesus and the John the Baptist – as well as countless images of the crucified Christ or the ascended Mary, flanked by praying angels or saints.

“The triangle is thought to be the strongest shape in nature. The triangular arrangement in Sioux Origins should then, at least in theory, provide balance. But Howe’s triangle, in numerous subtle ways, is illusory. Split the painting down the center in your mind. Nothing – apart from the eagle spirit – is actually symmetrical. The energies, black and white, emanating from the eagle are weighted to the right, as is the fringe. Nine abstract clusters of leaves sprout from the tree at left; eight sprout at right. Further, the poses of the children who rest their backs against the trunks as they rejoice at their existence are uneven, with greater pictorial weight on the figure at right. It is as if Howe understood, instinctually, a theory about the physics of the universe that we have only begun to explore: Matter and anti-matter cancel each other out but there is slightly more matter than anti-matter in the universe; this asymmetry may account for all of creation and existence.

“Just as Howe’s asymmetry subverts our expectations, even his choice of medium, casein, offers a challenge to orthodoxy. The flat finish of casein echoes the treatment of negative space in the Studio style Howe studied at the Santa Fe Indian School. Like the stillness – and what he came to see as the false stoicism – of the Studio style, flat fields of casein transform what might be empty spaces into analogs that recall, say, the gold leaf that forms the background of Byzantine and Orthodox icons.”

PROVENANCE
Frank and Jan Gibbs Collection, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Reynolds Family Collection, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, ca. 1980s

Additional Resources

• View Condition Report

Condition ReportAs viewed through glass. Painting appears to be in excellent condition.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders; such statements are educated opinions and should not be regarded as facts. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction has no responsibility for any errors or omissions.