COMPLETE “Indians Forever” Suite - SET of 8 Lithographs [SOLD]

Fritz Scholder, a painter, sculptor and printmaker of Luiseño descent, vowed early in his career never to “paint the Indian.” Traditional flat-style paintings being made by Natives were, in his opinion, crowd-pleasing efforts that lacked originality.  Anglo-American artists’ paintings of Natives bored him too, with their romanticized portrayals of an idealized Indian.  An abstract painter with postmodern sensibilities didn’t fit into any of these roles.

After moving to Santa Fe to teach painting at the newly-established Institute of American Indian Arts, Scholder found himself immersed in Native culture and engaging with young Native artists for the first time.  He attended pueblo dances and began adding pieces of Indian art to his collection.  He was inspired by the forward-thinking young Native artists he instructed at IAIA  Ultimately, he rescinded his vow and decided to “paint the Indian” in a way the Indian had not been painted before.

Scholder’s paintings and lithographs from this productive period are, nearly fifty years later, as fresh and exciting as when they were created.  The controversy stirred up by his more jarring images—Indians drinking alcohol, a pueblo dancer eating an ice cream cone while dressed in ceremonial regalia—came and went quickly, as the works are honest, kind and open-minded in spirit.  Scholder wasn’t condemning the Indian for adapting to life in the twentieth century.  He was telling stories, telling jokes, and sharing anachronistic images.  He was telling the truth, or at least he was telling his version of the truth.

In 1970, three years after he painted his first Indian, Scholder signed a contract to create a series of lithographs at Albuquerque’s Tamarind Institute.  He had experimented with lithography in the past with mixed results, and described the process as “laborious and terribly technical.”  Under the guidance of Tamarind’s experienced printers, however, Scholder began to enjoy the lithography process.  His compositional talents were well-suited to the unique medium of lithography, and his early experiments at Tamarind have become some of his most iconic images.

Just 90 Indians Forever portfolios were completed: 75 numbered impressions, 2 presentation proofs, 2 Tamarind impressions, five roman-numbered impressions, and six artist’s proofs.  This is a complete set—number 13 of 75—in its original brown hemp portfolio, which was also carefully selected by Scholder.  Exactly how many complete portfolios still exist is unknown.

His initial suite of lithographs, titled “Indians Forever,” included eight images in a portfolio.  Each of the eight lithographs are signed by the artist, numbered by the artist, and marked with the Tamarind chop. 

To see an image of all eight - click here.  These eight pieces were chosen from the first twenty that were made at Tamarind:

Waiting Indian

December 1970 - one color - white Arches.  Size: 30” x 22”
“...A strong but simple statement, a monumental standing figure, a single black mass against an all-but-untouched white ground.  Although drawn primarily with solid black tusche and crayon, Scholder had used diluted tusche washes in a few small areas.  Pleased and intrigued by their visual qualities, he quickly decided to use them further.” - Fritz Scholder Lithographs by Clinton Adams

Indian with Feather

December 1970 - one color - German etching paper.  Size: 30” x 22”
“In Indian with Feather, Scholder’s spontaneous certainty is immediately apparent.  It is a truly impressive lithograph, a quite amazing achievement to be but the artist’s second work in an unfamiliar medium.  Scholder to this day regards it as the most successful of the eight lithographs included in Indians Forever.” - Fritz Scholder Lithographs by Clinton Adams

Indian at the Circus

December 1970 - five color - German etching paper. Size: 30” x 22”
This was Scholder’s first experiment with color lithography.  His first two images were created using just black ink.  He was initially frustrated by the lack of immediacy.  That he chose to use five colors further complicated the process.  Despite (or perhaps because of) his struggles, he was pleased with the piece and chose to include it in the suite.  It is a strong image and a fascinating look at Scholder’s evolution as a lithographer.

Indian with Pigeon

December 1970 - two color - buff Arches.  Size: 22” x 30”
Possibly the most abstract piece in the Indians Forever suite, Indian with Pigeon is a bold and arresting image created with two colors: black and a soft brown.  

Kachina Dancers

January 1971 - three color - buff Arches.  Size: 22” x 30
Of the eight images in the Indians Forever suite, Kachina Dancers is the most traditionally Native American in subject matter and execution.  Scholder uses just three colors—ochre, sienna, and a rich blue-green—to create a fairly detailed depiction of eight Hemis kachinas dancing in line.

Buffalo Dancer

January 1971 - one color - buff Arches.  Size: 30” x 22”
According to Clinton Adams’ “Fritz Scholder Lithographs,” the creation of this “blunt and assertive” piece happened rapidly and naturally.  Scholder drew the piece quickly and was immediately pleased with it.  There was no question of whether or not it would be included in the suite—Scholder and his printmakers were immediately pleased with this striking black-and-white image of a buffalo dancer’s face.

Indian at the Bar

February 1971 - four color - buff Arches.  Size: 30” x 22”
“The figure of the leering Indian, wearing dark glasses and a wide-brimmed hat, sits leaning on a bar.  Set forth abstractly in bold areas of black, buff, and gray, the figure contrasts sharply with the concreteness of the beer can.  Drawn and printed in full color, the beer can is real, the Indian an apparition… Among all of Scholder’s images, Indian at the Bar is one that most bitterly haunts the memory.  There was no question as to its place in Indians Forever.”  - Fritz Scholder Lithographs by Clinton Adams

Indians with Umbrellas

March 1971 - four color - buff Arches.  Size: 22” x 30”
“The subject was conceived in a horizontal format, lending balance to the suite.  Working with printer John Butke, Scholder sought to use the ‘rainbow roll’ to convey a sense of the radiant atmosphere that follows a southwestern thunderstorm.  The row of mounted Indians, the umbrellas held high against the tusche wash sky, and the texture of the grassy foreground combine to assert the artist’s now certain command of the lithographic medium.”  - Fritz Scholder Lithographs by Clinton Adams

Provenance: From the collection of a Santa Fe family
Condition: All eight lithographs, as well as the additional papers within the portfolio, are in excellent original condition.  The brown hemp portfolio has worn and frayed a bit on its edges during its almost fifty years protecting its contents.