Jaune Quick-to-See Smith facts for kids

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (born January 15, 1940 – died January 24, 2025) was a famous Native American artist and curator. She was a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. She also had Métis and Shoshone family roots. Jaune was not just an artist; she was also a teacher, a storyteller, and someone who spoke up for art and important causes.

For over 50 years, Smith created amazing art. She had more than 50 solo art shows and helped organize over 30 other exhibitions. Her art often shared ideas from a Native American point of view. It talked about Native American identity, past struggles, and caring for the environment.

In the 1970s, Smith became well-known for her paintings and printmaking. Later, she started using collage, drawing, and mixed media in her art. Her works are shown in many famous museums. These include the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the National Gallery of Art. In 2020, the National Gallery of Art bought her painting I See Red: Target (1992). This was the first painting on canvas by a Native American artist in that gallery.

Smith strongly supported the Native arts community. She helped put together art shows and worked with others on projects. She also created art for public spaces. She lived in Corrales, New Mexico, with her family.

Early Life and Art Dreams

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith was born on January 15, 1940. This was in St. Ignatius Mission, a small town in Montana. Her first name, Jaune, means "yellow" in French. This is because she had French-Cree ancestors. Her Native American name, "Quick-to-See," was given to her by her Shoshone grandmother. It meant she was good at understanding things quickly.

As a child, Smith moved around a lot. Her father raised her alone and traded horses. He also took part in rodeos. Because of his work, Jaune lived in many different places. These included areas in the Pacific Northwest and California. She grew up without much money. From ages eight to fifteen, she worked with farm workers in Seattle during school breaks.

Even at a young age, Smith knew she wanted to be an artist. She remembered drawing on the ground with sticks when she was only four years old. This was her first step toward her future career. She loved the smell of tempera paints and crayons when she first used them in first grade. She said it was a "real awakening." She painted children dancing around Mount Rainier. Her teacher loved it. Then, for Valentine's Day, she painted red hearts all over the sky. She called it her "first abstract painting."

Becoming an Artist

In 1958, Smith started her art education in Washington State. She went to Olympic College and earned a degree in 1960. She also took classes at the University of Washington. Her studies were sometimes put on hold. She had to work many different jobs to support herself. She was a waitress, a factory worker, a librarian, and more.

In 1976, she earned a bachelor's degree in Art Education. This was from Framingham State College in Massachusetts. Then, she moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. She wanted to go to graduate school at the University of New Mexico (UNM). She was interested in their Native American studies program. After being turned down three times, she kept taking classes and making art.

Finally, after one of her art shows in New York City got a good review, she was accepted. In 1980, she earned her Master's degree in Art from UNM. This education taught her about art from around the world. It helped her connect her own art to the bigger art scene.

Smith used her childhood experiences and formal education in her art. She blended Native and non-Native cultures. Her art shows her life's journey. It includes public art, printmaking, and tribal activities. Her work is a way to communicate visually. She layers ideas to connect different worlds. She also teaches people about social, political, and environmental issues.

Jaune Smith's Art Style

Smith started making complex abstract paintings and lithographs in the 1970s. She used many different materials. These included paint, prints, and mixed media pieces with rich textures. She added collage elements like commercial slogans and drawings. She also layered text in her art. These elements helped her share deep ideas from her own life.

Her artworks often have strong messages. They talk about how Native American cultures have been treated unfairly. They also show the ongoing importance of Native American people. She used humor to discuss current tribal politics, human rights, and environmental issues. Smith was known around the world for her art that shared her strong cultural beliefs and activism.

Smith also created public artworks. These include a floor design at the Denver International Airport. She also made a sculpture in Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. Another work is a mile-long sidewalk history trail in West Seattle.

Art in the 1980s

August Encampment (1988–1989) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the 1970s and 1980s, Smith's early mature work was abstract landscapes. These landscapes often included pictographic symbols. They were like self-portraits. Art critic Gregory Galligan said in 1986 that her works "distill decades of personal memory." The landscapes often showed horses, teepees, humans, and antelopes.

These paintings explored how Native Americans felt disconnected in modern culture. Smith started to use the style of Abstract Expressionists. She explained that she saw lines, forms, and colors in both modern art and old Native American artifacts. She made connections between the old world and contemporary art. For example, she saw a Hunkpapa drum like a Rothko painting.

Art in the 1990s

I See Red: Target (1992) at the National Gallery of Art

In the 1990s, Smith began her I See Red series. She continued this series throughout her life. These paintings were first shown in 1992. This was during protests about the 500th anniversary of Columbus's arrival.

Art writer Erin Valentino described these paintings in 1997. She said they used many different images from various sources. These included popular culture, advertisements, and even her own earlier works. Smith put together images that showed how Native American cultures were often turned into stereotypes. She also showed reminders of the colonizers' history. The style of these paintings, with their layers and misty look, has been compared to the art of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Their pop-art themes also reminded people of Andy Warhol's work.

Art in the 2000s

Tribal Map (2000–2001) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC

Smith always cared deeply about nature, animals, and people. She explored how government actions affected Native Americans' health, rights, and independence. She showed her care for the environment in her art. She avoided using toxic art supplies and kept her art storage space small.

Smith's paintings in the 2000s included modern cultural symbols and collaged pieces. She used references to characters like the Lone Ranger and Snow White. She also included brand names like Altoids and Krispy Kreme. These references helped her criticize how much American culture focuses on buying things. She showed how this culture often used Native American cultures for profit. She used humor in a cartoon-like way to complain about nature being harmed. She also made fun of how shallow modern culture could be.

Nomad Art Manifesto

Smith was an environmentalist. She often criticized the pollution caused by art-making. This included toxic materials and too much storage space. The Nomad Art Manifesto was her idea to create art that was good for the environment. It was based on the look of parfleches, which are traditional Native American containers.

The Nomad Art Manifesto had these ideas:

• Nomad Art is made with materials that can break down naturally.
• Nomad Art can be recycled.
• Nomad Art can be folded and sent in a small package.
• Nomad Art can be stored on a bookshelf, saving space.
• Nomad Art does not need a frame.
• Nomad Art is good for countries that are changing or forming.
• Nomad Art is for our modern world, where people move around a lot.

Awards and Special Recognition

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith received many awards and honors. These recognized her work as an artist, teacher, and activist.

She received several honorary degrees from colleges. These included doctorates in art from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1992 and the University of New Mexico in 2008. She was also named a professor of art at Washington University in St. Louis in 1989. In 2015, she received a degree in Native American Studies from Salish Kootenai College.

She also received lifetime achievement awards. These included the Women's Caucus for Art Award in 1997 and the College Art Association Award in 2002. In 2011, she was inducted into the National Academy of Design. She also received the Women's Vision Award in 2008 and the Visionary Woman Award in 2011. Other notable awards included the Wallace Stegner Award in 1995 and a United States Artists fellowship in 2020.

Her home state of New Mexico also honored her. She was named one of "80 Professional Women to Watch in the 1980s" in 1979. She also received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2005. In 2012, she received the Living Artist of Distinction award from the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. In 2014, she was added to the New Mexico Women's Hall of Fame.

Art Shows and Exhibitions

Smith had over 50 solo art shows in the United States and other countries. Some of her solo shows included:

• Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (1979) in New York City.
• Parameters Series (1993) at the Chrysler Museum of Art.
• Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Poet in Paint (2001) at the Neuberger Museum of Art.
• Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Made in America (2003–2009).
• Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: In the Footsteps of My Ancestors (2017–2019).

Her biggest show, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map, opened at the Whitney Museum in New York in 2023. This made her the first Native American artist to have a solo show of this size at the Whitney.

She also took part in many group exhibitions. These included the 48th Venice Biennale (1999) and the Havana Biennial (2009).

Smith also helped organize more than 30 art shows. In 2023, she curated an exhibition of modern art by Native American artists. This was at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. She was the first artist to curate a show there. The exhibition, The Land Carries our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans, showed art from almost 50 Native artists from across the U.S.

Notable Works in Public Collections

Family Life

Smith's son, Neal Ambrose-Smith, is also an artist. He is a painter, printmaker, sculptor, and teacher.

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith passed away on January 24, 2025, at the age of 85.

Images for kids

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  August Encampment (1988–1989)

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  I See Red: Target (1992)

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  Tribal Map (2000–2001)

See Also

In Spanish: Jaune Quick-To-See Smith para niños