Original Watercolor of Indian with Buffalo Headdress [SOLD]

Kevin Red Star was born and raised on the Crow Reservation in Lodge Grass, Montana. His parents were both artists and he grew up with an appreciation of looking at the world and recording it in an artistic manner. He was one of the first 150 students to attend the newly opened Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe where he learned new and different approaches of representing his world.

George Catlin had been one of the first white men to record the Plains Indians in their native territory. He traveled to the American West five times in the 1830s. According to Catlin, “The Crows, of all the tribes in this region, or on the Continent, make the most beautiful lodge.”  This is an indication of the artistic talents expressed in their daily lives and perhaps was instrumental in exposing members of the Crow Reservation to art as a way of life.

This portrait of a Crow warrior expresses the warrior’s strength and determination in his facial features.  His eyes look straight forward at the person he has encountered. His tightly closed mouth does not hint at a smile but shows firmness.  The seriousness of the warrior clearly shows in his face.

He is wearing a headdress with buffalo horns which would define his rank and status in the Crow Tribe  The eagle feather he is wearing was likely earned as a warrior. Red Star achieved the ultimate expression of a Crow warrior in a very limited space.

Condition: this Original Watercolor of Indian with Buffalo Headdress is in very good condition

Provenance: from the estate of a client who amassed a very large Native art collection

Recommended Reading: The Sweet Grass Lives On: Fifty Contemporary North American Indian Artists by Jamake Highwater