“Cheyenne Hoop Dance” (Modern) [SOLD]

Dr. J. J. Brody, noted authority of Native paintings, observed in 1971 that Goodbear’s paintings had "overtones of Futurism and a refinement of the Kiowa style."  That is certainly an appropriate description of this painting of a Cheyenne Hoop Dancer.  The draftsmanship is excellent and the painting is flawless.  There is a futurist or Art Deco style to the art piece.

Paul (Chief Flying Eagle) Goodbear was born in 1913 in Fay, Oklahoma, and passed away in 1954 in Chicago, Illinois. He had studied art at the University of New Mexico and in Chicago. A Cheyenne, he became an educator interested in all tribes.  He restored prehistoric murals at Coronado State Park Museum near Bernalillo, New Mexico, just north of Albuquerque.   His WPA supervisor in Bernalillo, Roland Dickey, remembers him: "He was an Indian boy who was also going to the university, a painter, Paul Goodbear, a Cheyenne whose Indian name was Chief Flying Eagle, a very talented boy and very astute in terms of . . . taking an opportunity."  He was the grandson of Chief Turkey Legs, a Cheyenne who was in the battle of the Big Horn. He was wounded twice in WWII at the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. He also was the creator of a comic strip entitled "Chief Ugh."  Indian Ancestry Records

Goodbear had many occupations such as dancer, singer, teacher, professional boxer, and even a department store clerk. At one time he worked for the School of American Research and the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe.  He had spent his childhood in Oklahoma where he attended public, elementary and high schools. Many of his illustrations and paintings have been reproduced in school books. 

The painting is on paper, laid on additional paper, and ink-framed with red ink.  It is titled in artist hand “Cheyenne Hoop Dance” (Modern) in lower left and signed by Chief Flying Eagle ’40 in lower right.

Condition:  appears to be in original condition

Provenance: from the collection of an Albuquerque gentleman