Video: Exterior and interior shots of the McNay Art Museum, landing on the drawing Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo from Sketchbook, c. 1887, by Silver Horn
On-screen text: Silver Horn (Native American, Kiowa, 1860–1940), Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo from Sketchbook, c. 1887, Graphite, ink, and crayon on paper, 9 3/4 x 13 1/2 in (24.8 x 34.3 cm)
Video: Rich Aste, Director and CEO of the McNay Art Museum, standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo from Sketchbook, c. 1887, by Silver Horn
On-screen text: Rich Aste, Director and CEO of the McNay Art Museum
Audio—Rich Aste: Hello, I’m Rich Aste, Director and CEO of the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas. Welcome to Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment. Today, I’d like to talk to you about a powerful work from our collection…
Video: A close-up view of Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: …Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo by Silver Horn, and tell you why I think it’s an inspiring masterpiece.
Video: The painting Portrait of Silver Horn, c. 1898, by E. A. Burbank
Audio: Kiowa artist Silver Horn was a master in the Plains Indian tradition of narrative art…
Video: A Kiowa container from a Kiowa and Comanche reservation in Oklahoma
Audio: …using pictographs to document important events.
Video: Rich Aste standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: He learned his art in the traditional Kiowa way…
Video: The painting Four Kiowa Indians, 1861–69, by George Catlin
Audio: …from elders in his family…
Video: The painting Indian Encampment, Comanche (or Kiowa) Dressing Skins, Red River, 1846–48, by George Catlin
Audio: …and community.
Video: A man’s shirt, probably Northern Plains, c. 1840
Audio: Pictographs painted on hide and cloth, and later drawn on…
Video: A drawing by Big Bow, c. 1875
Audio: …paper illustrated the brave deeds…
Video: An anonymous Kiowa Ledger drawing of battle scene between Indians and cavalry, 1875
Audio: …of men in battle and the hunt.
Video: Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo by Silver Horn
Audio: Silver Horn created this graphite, ink and crayon drawing in Oklahoma…
Video: Rich Aste standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: …as part of a sketchbook of 32 drawings — all around 1887.
Video: A photographic portrait of John Lapham Bullis, as a lieutenant, United States Army
Audio: The sketchbook once belonged to General John Bullis, who while serving in…
Video: A drawing of the Camp Supply stockade from Harper’s Weekly, February 1869
Audio: …the U.S. Army was stationed at Fort Supply near the state’s panhandle.
Video: Rich Aste standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: Bullis gave the sketchbook to his close friend and fellow San Antonian William Cassin. And Cassin’s daughter, Mary Elizabeth Bartlett, gave the sketchbook to the McNay in 1962. Silver Horn’s sketchbook beautifully complements it…
Video: A photograph of Marion McNay, 1929
Audio: …at that time, our founder Marion Koogler McNay’s collection…
Video: Installation shots of the exhibition We’re Still Here: Native American Artists, Then and Now, 2019, at the McNay Art Museum
Audio: …of Native American art…
Video: A Ye'ii tapestry, Navajo, c. 1920–30
Audio: …including Navajo textiles…
Video: A Cluster bracelet, Navajo, c. 1930–40
Audio: …and jewelry.
Video: The drawing The Old Story - Do You Love Me Dusky Maiden or Not - Speak from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: Drawings from the sketchbook have been shown here…
Video: The drawing Osage and Kiowa in Deadly Conflict from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: …many times over the past sixty years…
Video: The drawing Kiowas Going on the War Path from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: …and were published in a McNay…
Video: The drawing Young Brave and Woman from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: …catalogue in 1990.
Video: Rich Aste standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: And because Silver Horn’s drawings were bound in a sketchbook through the 1960s…
Video: Close-up views of Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: …Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo is in a remarkable state of conservation; its colors are bright, the graphite lines are clear and sharp, and the paper is fresh and clean.
Video: Rich Aste standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo is a deceptively understated drawing.
Video: Close-up views of Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: The elongated lines and simplified coloring appear straightforward, but the use of spatial relationship between the two figures…
Video: Rich Aste standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: …is sophisticated and intentional. Most Plains pictographs are read from right to left, with the subject on the right and the object on the left.
Video: Close-up views of Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo, beginning with a pan from right to left
Audio: Silver Horn identifies the victor in this battle by representing the Kiowa warrior riding a horse on the right, a position of power over the Navajo warrior on the left. The artist draws the horse with noble proportions, articulating its long neck with a sinuous and elegant graphite line.
Video: Rich Aste standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: Silver Horn’s message is profound.
Video: A close-up view of Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: He features two warriors fighting over the dwindling resources…
Video: The painting Kiowa Indians Gathering Wild Grapes, 1861–69, by George Catlin
Audio: …that had sustained their millennia-long way of life…
Video: An American buffalo herd in summer
Audio: …in particular, the American bison, which had been consciously…
Video: An American bison in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Audio: …decimated by white settlers to deprive Native Americans of their sustenance.
Video: A close-up view of Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: The McNay drawing is therefore a beautiful work of art and an invaluable document of a historical Kiowa scene.
Video: Rich Aste standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: Silver Horn was born on the…
Video: Kiowa huts and village of Native American or Indigenous Kiowa People of the Great Plains region, Oklahoma, c. 1860
Audio: …great North American Plains around 1860 to a Kiowa chief. The artist’s name refers to sunlight reflecting off a buffalo horn.
Video: Rich Aste standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: He was born on the eve of a traumatic time for his people.
Video: An engraving of General Custer’s surprise attack on an Indian camp, 1882
Audio: The turn of the century would bring the loss of hunting grounds and confinement to reservations…
Video: A split screen first showing the photograph In Winter, Kiowa, 1898, by Frank A. Rinehart and Adolph Muir, on the left, and then the Rinehart and Muir photograph Six Toes, Kiowa, 1899, on the right
Audio: …as well as the suppression of Native language and religion.
Video: Rich Aste standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: Silver Horn enlisted in the U.S. Army and completed this sketchbook about Kiowa experiences…
Video: A Kiowa camp, with tipis and thatched brush shade dwellings, c. 1886–92
Audio: …while stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Video: The drawing A Little Love Making from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: He became there an accomplished, innovative and prolific artist…
Video: The drawing Wounded Buffalo Turns and Gores the Horse Not an Unusual Occurrence in Hunting the Buffalo from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: …producing over a thousand drawings and paintings between 1870…
Video: The drawing Indians Chasing Turkeys on Horseback - In this method of killing turkeys they are very successful from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: …and 1920 in a wide variety of mediums.
Video: The drawing Young Brave Asking Young Lady to Mount Behind Him and Take a Ride from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: A little-known fact about the McNay sketchbook is that the…
Video: The drawing Kiowa Chief Little Robe Lancing a Navajo from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: …written inscriptions identifying the Navajo and…
Video: The drawing Cupid Fires Another Arrow from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: …Kiowa warriors are not in Silver Horn’s hand.
Video: Rich Aste standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: They were added by Horace P. Jones, a language interpreter at Fort Sill.
Video: The drawing Kiowa Chasing a Navajo from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: In the later 1960s, the McNay removed all 32…
Video: The drawing Kiowa Lancing an Osage from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: …drawings from the artist’s sketchbook, so that they could be…
Video: The drawing Kiowa Kills a Navajo from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: …conserved and exhibited separately as independent works of art.
Video: The drawing Great Medicine Man who Controls the Thunder and Lightning, Experiments a Little from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: That early decision would provide ample opportunities…
Video: The drawing Kiowa Boys Playing at Getting Up a War Party After the Manner of the Older Men from Sketchbook by Silver Horn
Audio: …for the museum to include the Native American perspective…
Video: Two installation shots of We’re Still Here: Native American Artists, Then and Now, 2019, at the McNay Art Museum
Audio: ….most recently in the 2019 exhibition We’re Still Here: Native American Artists, Then and Now.
Video: Close-up views of Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo is unique for its focus on the Kiowa people and neighboring tribes vying for precious resources as they all struggled to survive.
Video: An interior shot of the McNay Museum showing the drawings from Silver Horn’s sketchbook individually framed and presented in a gallery, panning from right to left and ending with Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: For Silver Horn, these drawings represented a way of honoring the brave deeds of his people and preserving their history — through his art — for future generations.
Video: Rich Aste standing next to Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo
Audio: I want to thank you for taking the time to watch and learn more today about Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo by Silver Horn. I encourage you to join the conversation and discuss the work with family and friends. And please visit the Bank of America Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for reminders and ensure that you never miss a moment.
Audio: [Music plays]
On-screen text:
Title treatment art:
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937)
The Arch, 1919 (detail)
Oil on canvas
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Alfred W. Jenkins, 32.10 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 32.10_SL1.jpg)
Robert Indiana (American, 1928–2018)
LOVE, 1966, cast 2002
Painted aluminum
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts
© 2022 Morgan Art Foundation Ltd. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Alice Neel (American, 1900–1984)
Julie and the Doll, 1943
Oil on canvas
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Museum purchase with the Ralph A. Anderson Jr. Memorial Fund and the Alvin Whitley Estate
© The Estate of Alice Neel. Courtesy the Estate of Alice Neel and David Zwirner.
Norman Lewis (American, 1909–1979)
Man Smoking, 1941
Oil on canvas
The Harmon and Harriet Kelley Foundation for the Arts
© Estate of Norman Lewis; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954)
The Red Blouse, 1936
Oil on canvas
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Bequest of Marion Koogler McNay
© 2022 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Raoul Dufy (French, 1877–1953)
Seated Woman - Rosalie, 1929
Oil on canvas
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Bequest of Marion Koogler McNay
© 2022 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Frank Gonzalez (American, 1923–unknown)
Mexican Girl, 1954
Oil on canvas
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Bequest of Madeline C. Todd
© Estate of Frank Gonzalez
Charles Louis Sallée, Jr. (American, 1911–2006)
Girl with Pink Geranium, 1936
Oil on canvas
The Harmon and Harriett Kelley Foundation for the Arts
© Estate of Charles Louis Sallée, Jr.
Silver Horn (Native American, Kiowa, 1860–1940)
Fight Between Kiowa and Navajo from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
The Old Story - Do You Love Me Dusky Maiden or Not - Speak, from Sketchbook, ca. 1887 Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Osage and Kiowa in Deadly Conflict from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Kiowas Going on the War Path from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Young Brave and Woman from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
A Little Love Making from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Wounded Buffalo Turns and Gores the Horse Not an Unusual Occurrence in Hunting the Buffalo from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Indians Chasing Turkeys on Horseback - In this method of killing turkeys they are very successful from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Young Brave Asking Young Lady to Mount Behind Him and Take a Ride from Sketchbook,
ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Kiowa Chief Little Robe Lancing a Navajo from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Cupid Fires Another Arrow from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Kiowa Chasing a Navajo from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Kiowa Lancing an Osage from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Kiowa Kills a Navajo from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Great Medicine Man who Controls the Thunder and Lightning, Experiments a Little from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Kiowa Boys Playing at Getting Up a War Party After the Manner of the Older Men from Sketchbook, ca. 1887
Graphite, ink and crayon on paper
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Terrell Bartlett
Container, Kiowa Culture, Kiowa and Comanche Reservation, Oklahoma / Indian Territory, United States
E152966-5, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution
National Anthropological Archives
George Catlin (American, 1796–1872)
Four Kiowa Indians, 1861–69
Oil on card mounted on paperboard
Paul Mellon Collection
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Indian Encampment, Comanche (or Kiowa) Dressing Skins, Red River, 1846–48
Oil on canvas
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
Kiowa Indians Gathering Wild Grapes, 1861–69
Oil on card mounted on paperboard
Paul Mellon Collection
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Man’s shirt, probably Northern Plains (attributed) people, ca. 1840
Deer hide/deerskin, horsehair, porcupine quills, human hair, glass pony beads, paint, pigment/pigments, sinew, cotton thread
National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (17/6345)
Photo by NMAI Photo Services
Big Bow (Kiowa, c. 1845–1901)
Drawing, ca. 1875
Paper, graphite and crayon
National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (11/8347)
Photo by NMAI Photo Services
Anonymous Kiowa Ledger drawing of battle scene between Indians and cavalry, 1875
Two leaves, graphite, colored pencil and crayon
National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Manuscript 392,725
John Lapham Bullis, as a lieutenant, United States Army
UTSA Special Collections
Marion McNay, 1929
Courtesy of the McNay Art Museum
Installation shots of We’re Still Here: Native American Artists, Then and Now, 2019, at the McNay Art Museum
Courtesy of the McNay Art Museum
Ye'ii tapestry, Navajo, ca. 1920–30
Wool
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Bequest of Marion Koogler McNay
Cluster bracelet, Navajo, ca. 1930–40
Silver and turquoise
Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Bequest of Marion Koogler McNay
American buffalo herd in summer
Arterra Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo
American bison, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
blickwinkel / Alamy Stock Photo
Kiowa huts and village of Native American or Indigenous Kiowa People of the Great Plains region, Oklahoma, ca. 1860
Chris Hellier / Alamy Stock Photo
Richard Irving Dodge (American, 1827–1895)
Gen. Custer’s surprise attack on an Indian camp of more than two thousand warriors and numerous women and children along the Washita River. Consisted of Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Kiowa and Comanche Indians. From the book Our wild Indians; thirty-three years’ personal experience among the red men of the great West, published 1882.
PhotoStock-Israel / Alamy Stock Photo
Frank A. Rinehart (American, 1861–1928) and Adolph Muir
In Winter, Kiowa, 1898
Platinum print
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Six Toes, Kiowa, 1899
Platinum print
Digital image courtesy of Getty’s Open Content Program
Kiowa Indian camp, tipis and thatched brush shade dwellings, east of the Rice & Quinette Post Traders Store, Fort Sill, Indian Territory, ca. 1886–92