Ernest Spybuck facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ernest Spybuck
Ernest Spybuck, Absentee Shawnee artist, around 1910
Born	January 1883 Potawatomi/Shawnee Reservation, Indian Territory
Died	1949 (aged 66) On Indian allotment land, 16 miles west of Tecumseh, Oklahoma
Nationality	Absentee Shawnee, American
Other names	Maythela, Mathkacea
Education	Self-taught
Known for	Painting, drawing
Movement	Native American modernism
Patron(s)	M. R. Harrington

Earnest Spybuck (born January 1883 – died 1949) was an important Absentee Shawnee Native American artist. He was born on land set aside for the Shawnee people in what was then called Indian Territory. This area later became Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, near the town of Tecumseh.

A researcher named M. R. Harrington was visiting the area to learn about Native American history and culture. He discovered Earnest Spybuck's artwork and encouraged him to continue. Spybuck's art showed detailed scenes of ceremonies, games, and social gatherings. His work was liked by both Native American and non-Native art communities. Today, many of his paintings are kept at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.

Early Life of Earnest Spybuck

Ernest Spybuck was born into the White Turkey Band of the Absentee Shawnee, part of the Rabbit clan. His parents were Peahchepeahso and John Spybuck. His Native American name was Mathkacea or Mahthela. He preferred to spell his first name "Earnest."

By the time Earnest was born, many Native American tribes, including the Shawnee, had been forced to move. The U.S. government made them leave their original lands east of the Mississippi River. They were moved to Indian Territory, which is now Oklahoma. Many different tribes lived close to each other there. So, Spybuck grew up near the Sauk and Fox, Kickapoo, and Citizen Pottawatomie peoples.

Spybuck went to school at the Shawnee Boarding School near his home. He also attended Sacred Heart Mission in Pottawatomie County. His teacher said that when he was eight years old, Spybuck loved to draw and paint. He drew pictures of things from his own life. He did not go to school beyond the third grade level.

When he was 19, Spybuck married Anna Scott. They had four children: Thomas, Flindie, Hewitt, and Virgie Louise. The family always lived on the land given to Spybuck in Oklahoma. This was near the Little Axe community, among other Shawnee tribal members.

How Earnest Spybuck Became Known

Around 1910, when Spybuck was nearly 30, his artwork became known outside his tribe. This happened when anthropologist Mark Raymond Harrington heard about his paintings. Harrington was traveling among Native American communities. He was collecting items and studying tribes for the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation.

Harrington's assistant introduced him to Spybuck and his art. Harrington was impressed by the detailed accuracy in Spybuck's drawings. They showed Native American equipment and clothing very clearly. Harrington encouraged Spybuck to create watercolor paintings of ceremonies and social life.

Spybuck made watercolors for Harrington until 1921. Harrington used some of these paintings in books published by the Heye Foundation. Harrington also interviewed Spybuck to write about the Shawnee tribe. This work was never published, but Harrington gave his notes and Spybuck's paintings to the Museum of the American Indian. This museum is now part of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.

Some people say that Spybuck was already known for his art before he met Harrington. They believe his art grew as he became more involved in his community. He took part in activities and ceremonies that interested researchers.

Earnest Spybuck's Art Style

Earnest Spybuck reportedly told Harrington that he liked painting cowboys, livestock, and ranch scenes. Some people think that Harrington's support helped Spybuck's art change. His choice of subjects and how he painted them evolved.

His art style showed real-life scenes. He painted local ceremonies, games, social gatherings, and home life. These were things he knew well and often took part in. His style is sometimes called Plains Flatstyle Representative Art. In this style, you can recognize people by the careful details of their clothes and accessories. The setting is simple, but it shows a clear foreground and background.

Spybuck also created his own unique techniques. For example, he would paint a "window" in a lodge where a ceremony was happening. This allowed viewers to see the activity inside. At the same time, he would show the landscape and time of day outside.

In Western art terms, Spybuck's style might be called naïve art. However, his works are different from most naïve artists. This is because researchers encouraged him to show real Native American life. His art was meant to tell a story, not just be a simple picture. He often added a sense of humor and personality to his details. His scenes give hints about the attitudes of individuals. They also often include fun details that are different from the main activities.

How People Saw His Art

Like Harrington, other researchers saw that Spybuck had amazing talent. His paintings were useful for studying different cultures. They were used as pictures in many books about anthropology. This is like autoethnography, where an artist shows their own culture. Spybuck, along with artists like Jesse Cornplanter (Seneca) and Peter Pitseolak (Inuit), used art to share and protect their traditions.

During Spybuck's lifetime, art by Native American artists began to be shown as fine art. Before, it was often seen only as cultural objects. In 1991, an exhibit called Shared Visions: Native American Painters and Sculptors in the Twentieth Century opened. It showed the history of Native American Fine Art. This exhibit placed Spybuck in the earliest stage of this movement. He was part of the "Early Narrative Style." Artists in this style recorded the changes happening in Indian Country in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They used Western art techniques to show how traditional ways were changing.

Later Life and Legacy

Spybuck worked as a farmer, painter, and a person who shared historical information. He was part of a large and important family in the Absentee Shawnee Nation. He was active in his community. He became a leader in the Native American Church when it was first adopted by the Shawnee people. He passed away in 1949 at age 66. He was buried in a family plot near his home.

It is said that he never left the county where he was born. His family later shared, "He was born, raised, worked and buried all in the same place." Even though he had chances to travel to places where his art was recognized, he stayed close to his tribe. He did not seek fame.

His art was published in many books about Native American cultures. Several museums bought his work for their collections. He was asked to create large paintings (murals) for the Creek Indian Council House and Museum in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. He also painted murals for the Oklahoma Historical Society Museum in Oklahoma City. During his life, his work was shown at the Museum of the American Indian in New York City and at the American Indian Exposition and Congress in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Works

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  Sac and Fox Buffalo Dance, Ernest Spybuck, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

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  Chicken Dance, Ernest Spybuck, 1908–1910, watercolor and pencil on paperboard, collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian

Major Exhibitions and Collections

Earnest Spybuck's art has been shown in many important exhibitions and is held in several museum collections.

Key Exhibitions

• Shawnee Home Life: The Paintings of Earnest Spybuck

This exhibit opened at the Museum of the American Indian in New York City in 1987. It then traveled to several other museums, including:

Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art, Shawnee, Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Historical Society Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Bacone College Museum, Muskogee, Oklahoma

• Shared Visions: Native American Painter and Sculptors in the Twentieth Century

This major exhibition opened at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1991. It then toured to:

The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, Indiana

The Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma

The Oregon Art Institute, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon

The National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, New York, New York

Museum Collections

His works can be found in the collections of:

• Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art, Shawnee, Oklahoma
• National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.
• Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona
• Oklahoma Historical Society Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, Norman, Oklahoma

See also

• List of indigenous artists of the Americas
• List of Native American artists
• Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas