About the work

Untitled original ink drawing of a warrior on horseback. Small area upper left where the artist’s energetic manner of drawing punctured the paper—backed with a piece of archival tape verso; otherwise very good. Lightly hinged at the upper corners with archival tape. Housed in a presentation mat without frame.  

Earl Biss (1947-1998) was a significant contributor to the explosion of Southwestern Art in the last half of the 20th century. He played a particularly important role in the rise and popularity of contemporary Native American Art. His paintings have a dream-like, abstract quality, typically with Indian figures merging with the landscape.  

About the artist…

Biss was raised by his grandmother on the Crow reservation in Montana. He earned a scholarship to the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe where he studied jewelry design. He also attended the San Francisco Art Institute and traveled widely in Europe where he was influenced by the work of impressionist artists.

Later he studied under Fritz Scholder, Charles Loloma, Alan Houser and John Chamberlain.

Biss established a studio in Santa Fe where his contemporaries included, among others, Kevin Red Star, Doug Hyde, T.C. Cannon, Bruce King, Chuck Goodwin, Pete Jones, Dan Namingha, and Harry Fonseca. Their works of art were bold and innovative. Together they changed the face of Indian Art and Southwestern Art, injecting vivid color and a modernistic sensibility into what had been a sedate genre of linear realism.  

Works by Earl Bliss reside in the collections of The Heard Museum, Philbrook Museum, Museum of New Mexico at Santa Fe, Smithsonian Institute, Denver Museum of Fine Art, and Museum of the Plains Indian. 

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