John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center will celebrate the collecting legacy of Lambert Wilson, who died in 2022. Wilson was a voracious collector of fine art and largely Native American materials, including many pieces from master artists widely known throughout the art world.
Alvina Yepa (Jemez Pueblo), Pottery with Sgrafitto Bee Design, ceramic, 9½ x 12¼ x 12¼”
Spark of the Eagle Dancer: The Collecting Legacy of Lambert Wilson opened in August and continues through December 8 in Cullowhee, North Carolina. More than 140 works will be on display, including pieces from Joshua Adams, Rowena Bradley, Goingback Chiltosky, Amanda Crowe, Shan Goshorn, Luzene Hill, Lucille Lossiah, Ramona Lossie, Joel Queen, James Bud Smith, John Julius Wilnoty, Fred Wilnoty, Eva Wolfe, Edmund Youngbird, Vivian Garner Cottrell, Troy Jackson, America Meredith, Lloyd Kiva New, Jane Osti, Karin Walkingstick, Bryan Waytula, Tammy Garcia, Ira Lujan, Jody Naranjo, Bob Proctor, Cara Romero, Diego Romero, Preston Singletary, Roxanne Swentzell, Kathleen Wall, Alvina Yepa and Marcella Yepa, among many others. Wilson focused primarily on artwork from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation and sovereign nations of the Southwest.
John Julius Wilnoty (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Beetle, oak burl wood carving, 4¼ x 9 x 4”
Ramona Lossie (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Singleweave Basket with Noonday Sun Design, rivercane, 17 x 10½ x 10½”
“Those who live in Western North Carolina know Lambert Wilson as a respected educator and supporter of the arts. He started his collection of contemporary Native American art in the 1970s, when he was studying middle-grade education as an undergraduate student at [Western Carolina University]. As part of an introductory art history course taught by Mrs. Janie Leftwich, Wilson completed an extra credit assignment to visit the John Julius Wilnoty Eagle Dancer sculpture at Medicine Man Crafts in Cherokee, North Carolina,” the arts center notes. “This encounter motivated him to acquire his own collection of Cherokee artwork. From that first moment of inspiration, Wilson saw artwork as a vehicle for culture, learning and friendship. He spent decades forging relationships with Native artists and being curious about their process of making. With each object acquired, he learned more about the histories and traditions of each artist’s culture and took an interest in their lives.”
Shan Goshorn (Cherokee), Unsolicited Gifts (Or How to Eliminate a Culture), Arches watercolor paper splints, archival inks and acrylic paint, 16 x 11 x 17”
Troy Jackson (Cherokee Nation), A Contemporary Native American Pot, 2012, double-fired pottery using mid-fire cone 6 commercial clay from Nixa, Missouri, 15 x 8¾ x 8¾”
The center continues: “Ultimately his impulse to collect went far beyond the material and was an expression of his love for people and community. In 2006, Wilson met his partner Jenny Holland, who shared his passion for Native art. Together they expanded the scope of the collection to include work by Native artists of the Southwest. Spark of the Eagle Dancer gives visitors a glimpse into this vast collection built over 47 years and features work by 83 artists of various tribal affiliations.”
Through December 8, 2023
Spark of the Eagle Dancer: The Collecting Legacy of Lambert Wilson
John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center 1 University Drive, Cullowhee, NC 28723
(828) 227-7211, www.wcu.edu/bardo-arts-center
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