Artwork

Anadarko Community Library

215 West Broadway
Anadarko, OK 73005
(405) 247-7351. 1-888-607-1747. Fax (405) 247-2024

Artwork

Stephen Mopope, a Kiowa Indian, was born August 14, 1900, near Fort Cobb, Oklahoma. He was educated at St. Patrick's Indian Mission, located on the west side of Anadarko. From 1927 to 1929 he studied under Oscar B. Jacobson and Edith Maier at the University of Oklahoma. Mopope and four other artists became internationally known as the "Five Kiowas." Mopope passed away in 1974.

Buffalo Hunt and Dancers are both displayed at the Anadarko Community Library. Other Mopope works include murals in the Anadarko Post Office and the Department of the Interior Building in Washington, D.C.

Please click image to enlarge.

Buffalo Hunt

A hunter, with a bois d'arc spear, has found one buffalo. The prospect for food, shelter, and clothing is bright; the activity depicted indicates that he is losing no time. The prairie dog hole is intended to show dangers to the hunter and his mount. The Plains Indians followed the herds north in the Spring and south in the Fall because they were dependent upon the buffalo for subsistence. The destruction of the buffalo herds led, in part, to the bitter Indian wars, and the subsequent placing of tribes on reservations.

Dancers

Dancing was an important part of many Indian ceremonies. The dancers are in full costume, complete with bustles, beaded arm bands and bells. The drummer furnished the music for the occasion.

The paintings were restored in July 1990 by Brother Justin Jones, O.S.B., Shawnee, Oklahoma. Funds were generously provided by the Leslie Powell Foundation and the Kirkpatrick Foundation. The media used on these paintings is house paint on masonite.

Brochures available at the Anadarko Community Library.

Maria Martinez became famous early in the 1920s, partly for the black-on-black pottery she and husband Julian developed and partly because of her travels to World Fairs and museums throughout the country. Maria was already known for her thin, well-formed pots when she was asked by archeologist Edgar Lee Hewett to duplicate some black pottery he had found in the ruins around San Ildefonso. Maria and Julian experimented and found that smothering the fire with manure and allowing the black smoke to permeate the clay would turn the pots black. Though initially hidden away by Maria as non-traditional, the black pots became very popular. Several years later, Julian started painting designs on the black pots with matte black paint, creating the style the two are best known for. Maria lived a long life and made pottery with many of her family, most of which is jointly signed. Plain black pottery made entirely by Maria is signed Maria Poveka, her Tewa name.

The Anadarko Library has in its possession one piece of black on black pottery signed by Maria. This piece of pottery is displayed near the west entrance to the library.

The library also has several books located in the Indian Collection pertaining to the art and life of Ms. Martinez. Ask any staff member for more information!

The Anadarko Community Library would like to thank local artist Langburn Fisher for loaning the library some of his beautiful artwork.