Robe
- Culture
- Lakota / Dakota (Sioux) artist
- Date
- c.1870
- Material
- Hide and pigment
- made in
- United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Costume & clothing, paintings
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 96 x 72 in. (243.8 x 182.9 cm)
- Credit Line
- Funds given by an anonymous donor, the John Allan Love Charitable Foundation, the Gateway Indian Art Club, James L. and Elaine Kinker, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene F. Williams Jr., Mrs. James Lee Johnson Jr., the John R. Goodall Charitable Trust, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Ansehl, Mrs. Lee Hunter, Mr. and Mrs. Bryan McMillan, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Langsdorf Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Knight, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Shaughnessy, Donald Danforth Jr., Mr. and Mrs. John W. Bachmann, Mrs. Elizabeth E. Bascom, Mr. Eugene Hersher, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence E. Langsam, Michael Cramer, Mr. and Mrs. L. Rumsey Ewing, and other donors to the 1996 Art Enrichment Fund
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 4:1997
NOTES
Dozens of galloping horses, many with riders, move across the surface of this robe. Narrative paintings such as this represent men’s brave actions on battlefields and in enemy camps. In the 19th century, Plains men depicted their own deeds on hide mantles and other surfaces, then referenced these pictures when narrating their accomplishments.
Depicted in a sparing style, each figure here features carefully delineated clothing, weaponry, and hairstyles. Notice, for instance, the precise array of black-tipped ermine pelts extending downward from the outstretched sleeves of a figure in the top-left section. Stylistic distinctions between horses indicate that at least two artists collaborated to produce this visual record of military history.
Provenance
by 1920 –
Augustus T. Haase (1835 - 1920), Dakota City, NE [1]; Elizabeth Haase Neiswanger (1868 – 1956), Dakota City, NE, by gift or inheritance; Louisa Neiswanger Oberg, by inheritance [1]
by 1984 -
David Wooley, purchased from Louisa N. Oberg [2]
1994/10/22
In "Fine American Indian Art Auction," W. E. Channing & Co., New York, October 22, 1994, lot no. 125 [3]
- 1996
Chris Selser, Santa Fe, NM [4]
1996 -
George Shaw Gallery, purchased from Chris Selser [5]
- 1997
Shango Gallery (John Buxton), Dallas, TX [6]
1997 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from John Buxton [7]
Notes:
[1] In a note dated July 4, 1984, Louisa N. Oberg describes that “The painted buffalo hide sold to David Wooley by Louisa Neiswanger Oberg, was found in the Dakota City, Nebraska workshop of her grandfather, Augustus T. Haase, in the 1860s, after the death of her mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Haase Neiswanger. Her grandfather was a contractor and cabinet-maker, who moved to Dakota city in the 1850s. . . Mr. Haase always lived in the same house and had the same workshop on the family property, from soon after he came to Dakota City.” [SLAM document files]
[2] See note [1].
[3] See the auction catalog, "Fine American Indian Art Auction." W. E. Channing & Co., New York, October 22, 1994, lot no. 125.
[4] According to an undated memo, George Shaw Gallery purchased the hide from Chris Selser in September 1996. However, in a 2008 email, Selser stated that he "did not recall" Shaw's involvement in this piece [SLAM document files].
[5] See note [4]
[6] Invoice from Shango Gallery, dated March 17, 1997 [SLAM document files]
[7] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, April 16, 1997.
Augustus T. Haase (1835 - 1920), Dakota City, NE [1]; Elizabeth Haase Neiswanger (1868 – 1956), Dakota City, NE, by gift or inheritance; Louisa Neiswanger Oberg, by inheritance [1]
by 1984 -
David Wooley, purchased from Louisa N. Oberg [2]
1994/10/22
In "Fine American Indian Art Auction," W. E. Channing & Co., New York, October 22, 1994, lot no. 125 [3]
- 1996
Chris Selser, Santa Fe, NM [4]
1996 -
George Shaw Gallery, purchased from Chris Selser [5]
- 1997
Shango Gallery (John Buxton), Dallas, TX [6]
1997 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from John Buxton [7]
Notes:
[1] In a note dated July 4, 1984, Louisa N. Oberg describes that “The painted buffalo hide sold to David Wooley by Louisa Neiswanger Oberg, was found in the Dakota City, Nebraska workshop of her grandfather, Augustus T. Haase, in the 1860s, after the death of her mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Haase Neiswanger. Her grandfather was a contractor and cabinet-maker, who moved to Dakota city in the 1850s. . . Mr. Haase always lived in the same house and had the same workshop on the family property, from soon after he came to Dakota City.” [SLAM document files]
[2] See note [1].
[3] See the auction catalog, "Fine American Indian Art Auction." W. E. Channing & Co., New York, October 22, 1994, lot no. 125.
[4] According to an undated memo, George Shaw Gallery purchased the hide from Chris Selser in September 1996. However, in a 2008 email, Selser stated that he "did not recall" Shaw's involvement in this piece [SLAM document files].
[5] See note [4]
[6] Invoice from Shango Gallery, dated March 17, 1997 [SLAM document files]
[7] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, April 16, 1997.
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