New Book Includes Art from the Autry National Center
The new book Rubbing Out Long Hair Pehin Hanska Kasota: the American Indian Story of Little Big Horn in Art and Word by Colonel Rodney G. Thomas brings together all known art of the battle, along with narrative interpretations that tie together art and word. Other publications have provided narratives and or have presented some of the art but none have captured it like this. 253 images, 161 in color, are presented.
The author acknowledges the valuable assistance of Kim Walters, Director of the Braun Research Library, Lalena Lewark, Registrar, Permanent Collections, and Marilyn Kim, Collections Assistant, Rights and Reproductions. The book includes reproductions of art from both the Southwest Museum of the American Indian and the Museum of the American West.
Kim Walters has had the pleasure of working with Mr. Thomas for the past 15 years, from the inception of this project through its publication. Mr. Thomas made several trips to the Southwest Museum and the Autry to view and study the Kicking Bear and White Swan muslins. It is always a wonderful experience to hear researcher’s perspectives on artifacts in the collections.
This new publication will be especially valuable to scholars and others, as Mr. Thomas has drawn together multiple images of the Battle of Little Big Horn created by Native American artists and participants in the Battle. In some cases, he is the very first researcher to bring together in one publication all of the Native voices about the Battle.
Painting by White Swan (Crow artist) of the Battle of Little Big Horn, 1890-1904. 609.G.185. From the Elias Jackson Baldwin Memorial Collection, gift of Mrs. Anita Baldwin (Southwest Museum of the American Indian, Autry National Center)
Drawing by White Swan, Battle of Little Big Horn, circa 1890. 96.38.1 (Museum of the American West, Autry National Center)
Muslin painting of Battle of Little Big Horn done by Dakota artist, Kicking Bear, circa 1896. 1026.G.1. From the Irvin S. Cobb Collection (Southwest Museum of the American Indian, Autry National Center)
