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McNay Art Museum Highlights the Native American Experience in
We’re Still Here: Native American Artists, Then and Now
On View Through August 11, 2019
San Antonio, TX (July 10, 2019) – One of the rarely seen highlights of the McNay’s collection is a group of more than 70 drawings by members of the Kiowa tribe in Oklahoma. A selection of these soulful works on paper are now on view in the Charles Butt Paperworks Gallery as part of the new exhibition, We’re Still Here: Native Americans Artists, Then and Now.
The earliest of these drawings—dating to the 1880s—are by Silver Horn, perhaps the most famous of all the Kiowa artists. His art chronicles Kiowa life and culture on the Plains, particularly the population’s struggle for existence during famine and war.
“It is rare that we have a chance to see one Silver Horn drawing, so this selection of nearly 20 is a great opportunity to see and appreciate these works that not only document Native American life on the plains but are also incredibly beautiful works of art,” said Lyle Williams, McNay Curator of Prints and Drawings.
Complementing these drawings are presentations by two San Antonio artists—Joe Harjo and Ed Saavedra—whose artwork focuses on the Native American experience today. Harjo’s footprint, from his Indian Performance Prints suite, document Native Americans in our midst. Saavedra’s exquisite drawings represent the continued misappropriation of Native American identity.
This exhibition is organized by Lyle Williams, Curator of Prints and Drawings, for the McNay Art Museum. Lead funding is most generously provided by the Elizabeth Huth Coates Exhibition Endowment and the Arthur and Jane Stieren Fund for Exhibitions.
We’re still Here: Native American Artists, Then and Now is on view through August 11, 2019.
High-res Images & Video: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/p3uqyzoik6b8nxr/AAB6RaX-Dgpu9_bO0bw0no0wa?dl=0
Download Exhibition B-Roll: https://vimeo.com/345746080/5c73cc8f92
Download Curator Interview: https://vimeo.com/345746564/a03e93cae9
About the McNay Art Museum
The McNay Art Museum engages a diverse community in the discovery and enjoyment of the visual arts. Built in the 1920s by artist and educator Marion Koogler McNay, the Spanish Colonial Revival residence became the site of Texas’s first museum of modern art when it opened in 1954. Today, more than 194,000 visitors a year enjoy works by modern masters including Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The 23 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds include sculptures by Robert Indiana, Luis A. Jiménez Jr., George Rickey, Joel Shapiro, and Kiki Smith. The 45,000-square-foot Jane & Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions, designed by internationally renowned French architect Jean-Paul Viguier, features three significant exhibitions annually.
For almost 65 years, the McNay has enchanted visitors with its art, architecture, and ambiance. The museum offers rich and varied exhibitions as well as rotating displays in the Main Collection Galleries from the 22,500 works in the collection; more than 42,000 adults, teachers, students, and families take advantage of a variety of education programs and innovative educational resources.