Oscar Howe - Definition and Overview

Oscar Howe was an American artist who became well-known for his watercolor paintings. He was one of the first Native American modern artists. His early paintings are similar to other work produced at the Santa Fe Indian School, but he later developed a distinctive style of his own. He was employed by the Works Progress Administration in South Dakota, which hired him to paint a set of murals for the municipal auditorium in Mobridge, South Dakota. From 1948-1971 he designed panels for the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. Over the course of his career he was honored by being named Artist Laureate of South Dakota. Two exhibition spaces are dedicated to showing his work: the Oscar Howe Art Center in Mitchell, and the Oscar Howe Gallery at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota.