Big Spring’s War Record Is One of the 6 Best Works at Frieze

Artnet has selected a War Record by Blackfoot warrior artist Big Spring as one of the six best works on view at Frieze New York 2019. The painting is exhibited as part of a selection of Plains drawings by Donald Ellis Gallery. 

Made around 1915, Big Spring’s pictographic War Record is one of the only non-contemporary items at the fair. It was commissioned by the Great Northern Railway for one of three hotels the company built in Glacier National Park, Montana. Big Spring chose to record himself in the centre of the composition, raiding a Cheyenne horse corral together with a sibling and accomplice. During the invasion his brother was killed, shown lying on the ground with a rifle by his side. The painting also records the total number of Big Spring’s successful battles, represented by eight markings on the far right, including a small red pipe signalling the defeat of a rival chief. 

Artnet quotes Aniko Erdosi of Donald Ellis Gallery: 'Oceanic and African tribal art, unlike Native American art, was largely canonized by Modernism. If you collect Modern or contemporary art, you probably have an Oceanic or African piece. But that hasn’t been the case for Native American art, despite the fact that it was so influential for artists like Barnett Newman and Jackson Pollock. And that’s not even to mention that this is the first American art.'