Original Painting of Seated Elder with Ceremonial Pipe [SOLD]

Fred Beaver was born in Eufaula, Oklahoma, the son of Willie Beaver and Annie Johnson and was from the Creek Nation. His Muscogee name was Ekalanee, which means “Brown Head.” His paternal grandfather, Itshaus Micco, was a sub-chief of the Okfuskee town group in Alabama. He moved his people to Eufaula, Oklahoma in the 1830s.

Beaver was an all-state football and basketball star at Eufaula High School. During his youth he became interested in art and began a period of self-study that lasted a lifetime.  He went on to attend Bacone College and Haskell Business College. He served three years in Europe with the US Air Corps during World War II, and continued his military service until 1960. During that time, he was also an art and music teacher in Italy. In 1960, he left the US Air Corps to concentrate on his art career. Aided by the instruction and encouragement of his wife’s cousin—Acee Blue Eagle—he began a long and successful career.

In 1963, he was awarded the Phillips Outstanding Indian Artist Trophy. He was commissioned to paint several murals in businesses including the Thunderbird Restaurant and Motel in Oklahoma City and the Seminole Arts and Crafts Center in West Hollywood, Florida. His awards are too numerous to list here, but several of the most notable are Outstanding Indian of the Year (1979), Outstanding Oklahoman of the Year (1976), and the designation of Master Artist (1973).  Beaver passed away in 1980.

In this exceptional painting of a Seated Warrior, Beaver rendered the details of the beaded garments of an individual smoking a ceremonial pipe. The subject is sitting cross-legged, holding his pipe. His white trousers and shirt with blue panels have been painted with precise brushwork that mimics the intricate beadwork of an honored warrior’s attire. Beaver painted an elegant headdress in shades of black, mauve, red, white and grey that provides a strong contrast against the tan background. The colorful artistry of this painting makes it easy to understand why Beaver was the recipient of so many awards and why his work continues to be so highly collectible. It is signed and dated by the artist in the lower right corner.

Condition: The Original Painting of Seated Elder with Ceremonial Pipe is in  is in excellent condition.

Provenance: From a Texas Native American Painting collection

Recommended Reading: American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas by Dorothy Dunn