Fritz Scholder “Last Indian with Flag” Serigraph [SOLD]

“Last Indian with Flag” is a large serigraph by painter and printmaker Fritz Scholder.  The famous and influential Luiseño artist explored a variety of printmaking methods during the 1970s.  This piece dates to 1975, which places it right in the middle of a productive period of exploration.  Scholder’s works from this era feel fresh today, despite the passing of nearly 50 years and the emergence of countless artists whose work bears his influence.

Scholder’s subject here is a Native man.  He wears traditional clothing and a feathered headdress.  An American flag is wrapped around his torso.  The red, white, and blue colors used for the flag are, of course, to be expected; the other colors are unique and expressive.  Scholder had a wonderful way with color, and his choices have aged well over the years.  Here, he uses a huge pink form to define his subject’s shoulders, chest, and headdress.  Thin purple lines surround the pink forms’ exterior edges.  The man’s face is a loose web of lines in black, brown, and the same red, white, and blue tones used for the flag.  All of this works well with the paper’s sienna color.  The serigraph’s large format amplifies its strong composition and uniquely appealing color scheme.  “Last Indian with Flag” is an excellent image from one of the most influential Native artists of the twentieth century.

The serigraph is signed Scholder in lower left and numbered “115/150” in lower right.  It is framed under glass in a thin metal frame.

Fritz Scholder (1937-2005) was a contemporary American artist who 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.  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 had obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Arizona in 1964 before moving to Santa Fe and joining IAIA.  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 "Last Indian with Flag" Serigraph is from a private collection

Recommended Reading:

- FRITZ SCHOLDER —An Intimate Look Institute of American Indian Arts Museum

- FRITZ SCHOLDER LITHOGRAPHS text by Clinton Adams

Relative Links: Fritz Scholder, Luiseño, Native American art, Santa Fe, lithographs, Albuquerque