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Fritz Scholder

Native American, Payómkawichum, Luiseñ

1937-2005

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  1. Buffalo Dancer: New Mexico (State I) by Fritz Scholder, Image 1.

    Fritz Scholder

    Buffalo Dancer: New Mexico (State I), 1975

    Screenprint in colors on wove paper

    30 x 22 in (76.2 x 55.88 cm)

Fritz Scholder was an enrolled member of the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians, a federally recognized tribe of Luiseños, a California Mission tribe. A prolific and controversial artist, Scholder was one of the first artists invited to collaborate with Tamarind Institute when the workshop relocated from Los Angeles to Albuquerque in 1970. His work challenged stereotypical representations of Native Americans and he was extremely influential in shaping a more contemporary approach to capturing Native American experience. A former student of Wayne Thiebaud and a one-time sitter for Andy Warhol, Scholder combined Pop Art with Abstract Expressionism, and, despite the fame that his “Indian” paintings brought, considered himself a colorist first and foremost, also producing sculpture, prints, and photography. He was the son of a Bureau of Indian Affairs administrator, and he grew up living on the campuses of Indian schools where his father worked. A registered member of the Luiseno tribe, he maintained that he was no more American Indian than he was French or German; even so, he became the most celebrated painter of Native American culture and raised critical questions about cultural identity and representation.