Bacone school
Description
The Bacone school or Bacone style of painting, drawing, and printmaking is a Native American intertribal "Flatstyle" art movement, primarily from the mid-20th century in Eastern Oklahoma and named for Bacone College. This art movement bridges historical, tribally-specific pictorial painting and carving practices towards an intertribal Modernist style of easel painting. This style is also influenced by the art programs of Chilocco Indian School, north of Ponca City, Oklahoma, and Haskell Indian Industrial Training Institute, in Lawrence, Kansas and features a mix of Southeastern, Prairie, and Central Plains tribes. Read more ↗
Key Artists
Acee Blue Eagle
Founding director of the Bacone College art department in 1935 who established the dynamic, intertribal Bacone version of Flatstyle painting combining traditional narrative with Art Deco elegance.
Woody Crumbo
Second director of the Bacone art department from 1938 to 1941 who infused Flatstyle painting with leaping dancers, spirited horses, and professional commercial discipline.
W. Richard West Sr.
Long-serving director of the Bacone art department (1947–1970) who synthesized traditional Southern Plains flat painting with formal anatomy and sophisticated perspective.
Fred Beaver
Prominent Seminole/Muscogee master of the Bacone school known for his meticulous, authentic portrayals of Southeastern tribal history, clothing, and traditional lifeways.
Joan Hill
Muscogee/Cherokee painter and prominent alumna of the Bacone style who utilized flowing lines, negative space, and historical research to chronicle the heritage of the Five Civilized Tribes.
Famous Artworks
Fun Facts
The Bacone school art movement differed significantly from the contemporary Kiowa and Santa Fe Studio flat styles by introducing brighter colors, dramatic kinetic action, and subtle visual perspective to convey the dynamic vitality of Southern Plains and Southeastern tribal culture.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org
Located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Bacone College's art department served as the premier training ground for intertribal Native American modernism in the mid-20th century, attracting students from over forty different tribes and bridging customary 19th-century hide painting with professional easel painting.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org