Fritz Scholder “The Odyssey #2” Lithograph Set of All Three States [R]

Luiseño Tribe artist Fritz Scholder enjoyed a long and fruitful working relationship with Albuquerque's Tamarind Institute, a nonprofit lithography workshop that moved to Albuquerque from California in 1969. As an abstract painter, Scholder initially struggled with lithography. The planning and foresight required to successfully create multicolored images proved to be challenging to an artist whose work was often created very spontaneously. Despite his initial struggles, he very quickly came into his own as a printmaker and discovered that the medium worked well with his unique compositional voice. His "Indians Forever" suite of lithographs, which was completed in 1971, looks like the work of an experienced printmaker but is the work of a naturally gifted artist exploring a new medium.

Scholder would go on to create hundreds of lithographs at Tamarind, mostly during the decade that followed the release of “Indians Forever.”  These images range from representational to abstract, from somewhat traditional to experimental.  His mid- to late-1970s works, which are more confident and expressive than his early 1970s works, have aged particularly well.  His multicolored lithographs from this period are expertly crafted bursts of color.  His black and white lithographs from this period are stark, haunting, and brilliantly composed.

“The Odyssey #2,” which was completed in 1976 in three different editions of fifty, is the best of both of the aforementioned worlds—visually arresting in its simple, black-and-white state; bold and eye-catching in its later, colored states.  The first state is a one-color lithograph in black (see image below).  The second state is a two-color lithograph in black and red (see image below).  The third state is a three-color lithograph in black, red, and purple (see image above). We are pleased to present an opportunity to offer all three states in identical high-quality frames. We’ve hung them together in the gallery, and they look incredible when presented as a group.

The collaborating printer for “The Odyssey #2” was Joy Purmal Baker. The first state print listed here is number 14 of 50. The second state print listed here is an “artist’s proof”. The third state print listed here is number 34 of 50. Each is signed Scholder and numbered in pencil, and each is stamped with the chop marks associated with Scholder, Joy Baker, and Tamarind Workshop. The prints are framed beautifully in identical frames by Wilkinson & Company Fine Art Framers of Santa Fe.

Fritz Scholder (1937-2005) was by birth one-quarter Luiseño Indian, a California Mission Tribe. He was born in Minnesota, spent two decades in the Dakotas, and lived in Galisteo, NM, and Scottsdale, AZ.  Fritz Scholder came to Santa Fe in 1964 to teach advanced painting and art history at the new Institute of American Indian Arts, a school established by the United States Department of the Interior. He obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Arizona in 1964 before moving to Santa Fe and joining IAIA.  Fritz Scholder enjoyed a long and successful career and is regarded today as one of the most innovative and influential Native artists.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Fritz Scholder "The Odyssey #2" Lithograph Set of All Three States is from a private Santa Fe collection

Reference and Recommended Reading: Fritz Scholder Lithographs Text by Clinton Adams, New York Graphic Society, Boston, 1975

TAGS: Luiseño Indian, a California Mission Tribe, Santa Fe, paintings, lithographs, Albuquerque, Fritz Scholder, Luiseño Indian Painter