The Saint Louis Art Museum was recently gifted seven Native American artworks created in the Woodlands region. To celebrate the gift and to expand its scope of Native American artwork displayed, the museum has mounted Woodlands: Native American Art from St. Louis Collections. On view will be more than 30 items that showcase the unique range of art being made and how artists responded to the changing ecologies and landscapes, much of which was linked to colonialism.
Anishinaabe bandolier bag, ca.1880; glass beads, wool yarn, wool cloth and cotton cloth, 25 x 9½". Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Toby Herbst and Danielle Foster-Herbst in loving memory of Lorenz Kneedler Ayers and Anna Marguerite Spackman Ayers 201:2017.
Anishinaabe (Ojibwe), Pair of Dolls, ca. 1900, cotton cloth, hide, wool cloth, glass beads, silk, human hair, fur, feather, and pigment, 19 x 8 x 2" (each with arms outstretched). Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Donald Ayers Herbst and Danielle Foster-Herbst in loving memory of Donald Frederick Herbst and Barbara Ayers Herbst 202:2017a,b.
Most of the artwork in the show is historic, with the earliest piece being from the late 18th century and the most recent a drawing from the late 20th century. The items also spotlight the designs and styles that were prominent at the time. “There’s a great mix of geometric and floral design,” says Alexander Brier Marr, the museum’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of Native American Art and curator of the show. “In the interpretation we focus on how new materials made available through trade—wool, cotton and velvet—enabled the artists to affirm and reimagine ancestral relations.” The floral pattern, in particular, was found in beadwork but also embroidery as seen on many of the items in the show.
Great Lakes ladle, 19th century, wood, 8½ x 1". Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Toby Herbst in loving memory of Barbara Ayers Herbst 216:2017.
Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) vest, breech cloth, and leggings, ca.1900; glass beads, cotton cloth, tanned hide, metal sequins, silk ribbon and leather, 22¾ x 23" (vest), 17¼ x 20½" (cloth), 29¼ x 12" (each leggings). Robert W. Streett Collection 2021.119.1-.3a,b.
A large number of works are gifts to the museum including pieces donated by art dealer Toby Herbst. Among the items is an Anishinaabe bandolier bag from circa 1880 that has an intricate geometric design and a pair of dolls from circa 1900. Discussing the latter item, Marr says, “The dolls are from the Leech Lake Reservation and made around 1900, which is really interesting because they display forms of dress that weren’t widely worn at the time. The artist was creating a historical representation of the dolls. The male doll is wearing leggings, and the female doll has on a form of dress not very well known [at the time] called a strap dress. It’s basically made out of an abundance of trade cloth that was popular with Western Great Lakes women.”
The show will be on view through April 24.
Through April 24, 2022
Woodlands: Native American Art from St. Louis Collections
Saint Louis Art Museum
1 Fine Arts Drive, St. Louis, MO 63110
(314) 721-0072, www.slam.org
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