Product Code Database
Stephen Mopope (1898–1974) was a Kiowa painter, dancer, and Native American flute player from Oklahoma. He was the most prolific member of the group of artists known as the Kiowa Six.Watson, Mary Jo. Mopope, Stephen (1898-1974) . Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. (2 May 2009)
When Mopope was a young child, his relatives observed him drawing pictures in the sand, so the artists in his family taught him how to paint on hides in the traditional manner. His grandmother was also instrumental in his early education.
In 1916, Mopope attended St. Patrick's Indian Mission School in Anadarko, Oklahoma, where he received further art instruction under Sister Olivia Taylor, a Choctaw nun. In a move that contradicted US federal policy at the time, Susan Peters, the Kiowa agency field matron, arranged for Mrs. Willie Baze Lane, an artist from Chickasha, Oklahoma, to teach painting classes for young Kiowas in Anadarko. Recognizing the talent of some of the young artists, Peters convinced Swedish-American artist, Oscar Jacobson, director of the University of Oklahoma's School of Art to accept the Kiowa students into a special program at the school, Pochoir prints of ledger drawings by the Kiowa Five, 1929. Smithsonian Institution Research Information System. (retrieved 29 April 2009) in which they were coached and encouraged by Edith Mahier.
In 1928, the Kiowa Six made their debut into the international fine arts world, when they participated in the First International Art Exposition in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Dr. Jacobson arranged for their work to be shown in several other countries and for Kiowa Art, a portfolio of pochoir prints and artists' paintings, to be published in France.
He joined the Native American Church and created stylized paintings that combined ceremonial implements with religious imagery.Swan, 77-78 Besides being a visual artist, he was a highly accomplished dancer and flute-player.Swan, 77
Mopope's work was part of Stretching the Canvas: Eight Decades of Native Painting (2019–21), a survey at the National Museum of the American Indian George Gustav Heye Center in New York.
Mopope's granddaughter Vanessa Jennings is a Kiowa/Apache/Pima beadwork artist and regalia maker.
Kiowa Six
The Kiowa Six included Mopope as well as fellow artists Spencer Asah, James Auchiah, Jack Hokeah, Lois Smoky and Monroe Tsatoke. Auchiah was the last to join the group at OU in 1926.
Art career
Mopope was commissionined to paint murals in the US Department of the Interior building in Washington, DC, along with five other Native aristists, including James Auchiah. Mopope's mural was 6 by 60 feet and portrayed a Kiowa ceremonial dance.
Public collections
Mopope's work can be found in the following public art collections:
Death
On 2 February 1974, Mopope died at Fort Cobb, Oklahoma.
Notes
External links
Categories: Kiowa People, Kiowa Painters, 1898 Births, 1974 Deaths, Painters From Oklahoma, People From Anadarko, Oklahoma, Native American Church, American People Of Spanish Descent, 20th-century American Painters, American Male Painters, Native American Male Artists, Native American Dancers, Dancers From Oklahoma, 20th-century American Artists, 20th-century Native American Artists, 20th-century American Male Artists, Kiowa Male Artists
|
|
