Original Painting of Indian Man with Bone Breastplate [SOLD]

Kevin Red Star (1943- ) is an internationally known Native painter who was born and raised on the Crow Reservation in Lodge Grass, Montana. Red Star was educated at the Institute of American Indian Arts and the San Francisco Art Institute.  He was given an honorary Doctorate Degree in Fine Art from the Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana. His works are included in many prominent collections, including The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, CM Russell Museum, the Heard Museum, Denver Art Museum, Eiteljorg Museum, Southwest Museum, Whitney Museum of Western Art, and the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum.

On his web site, Red Star provides a description of his creative goals and desires: “Indian culture has in the past been ignored to a great extent.  It is for me, as well as for many other Indian artists, a rich source of creative expression. An intertwining of my Indian culture with contemporary art expression has given me a greater insight concerning my art. I hope to accomplish something for the American Indian and at the same time achieve personal satisfaction in a creative statement through my art.”

This watercolor painting presents a Native man wearing a bone breastplate.  Red Star’s subject stares directly at the viewer through large black pupils, each of which contains a small red dot in the center.  He’s a wide man, with a body and facial features that seem to be exaggerated horizontally and compressed vertically. His teal, yellow and red clothing is unusual and appealing.  Red Star added translucent spots in gray and various other colors, most of which are concentrated around his subject’s head, adding an interesting texture to the image. The painting is unframed, and is signed “Kevin Red Star” in lower right.

Condition: good condition with a few minor stains and discolorations

Provenance: from the large collection of a New York resident

Recommended Reading: The Sweet Grass Lives On: Fifty Contemporary North American Indian Artists by Jamake Highwater

Relative Links: Native American Painting, Kevin Red Star, Crow Nation