Patrick DesJarlait facts for kids

Patrick DesJarlait, Sr. (1921–1972) was a talented Ojibwe artist. He was a member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. Patrick was famous for his watercolor paintings. He made about 300 artworks in his life. His art was different from the popular "Studio School" style taught at the Santa Fe Indian School. Patrick's paintings are known for their unique brushstrokes and how they show Ojibwe people and places.

Patrick's Early Life

Patrick DesJarlait was born to Solomon and Elizabeth DesJarlait. He was the fourth of seven children. He grew up mostly on the Red Lake Reservation. Patrick remembered his childhood fondly. He loved the outdoor activities and seasonal events. When he was five, he temporarily lost his sight due to an eye infection called trachoma. After he fully recovered, he loved to draw. His mother passed away when he was seven.

Patrick went to three federal Indian boarding schools for his early education. The first was St. Mary’s Mission Boarding School in Redby, Minnesota. Patrick said this school was very strict. They did not allow students to speak Ojibwe. They also stopped students from doing Ojibwe crafts, games, or other traditions.

His second school, Red Lake Boarding School, was also strict. But it gave students more free time. Patrick helped make decorations for the school. He also kept drawing regularly. Then, he moved to Pipestone Boarding School. This school was in Pipestone, Minnesota, over six hours from his home. Patrick later said his time at Pipestone was a big turning point. He met Indigenous students from all over the United States. He also met white families in the town. At this school, teachers encouraged him to do art projects. He was also in a Boy Scout Troop for three years, which allowed him to pursue art.

As a teenager, Patrick returned to Red Lake. He attended Red Lake Senior High School. He worked on stage scenery for school plays. This work later made him interested in painting large murals. An English teacher, Dorothy Ross, really helped Patrick with his art. She gave him art books, materials, and art magazines. By the time he graduated, he decided to become a commercial artist.

College and Military Service

After high school, Patrick received a scholarship. It was from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He went to study art at Arizona State College in Phoenix. There, he learned about different art styles. These included cubism, post-impressionism, and the mural art of Diego Rivera. He also learned about the Studio School Style.

In 1942, Patrick was offered a job. It was from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Army. He was asked to supervise an art program. Patrick moved to the Poston Internment Camp. This was a camp for Japanese Americans who were forced to move there. It was located on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in Arizona. He helped organize an art program for the people held there. He also helped create a camp newspaper. Patrick was deeply affected by this experience. He noted that many people in his art program were talented artists. He saw similarities between what happened to Japanese Americans and what Indigenous peoples had gone through.

Patrick joined the U.S. Navy in the spring of 1942. He moved to San Diego, California. In the Navy, he mostly worked in the Visual Aids Department. This was at the Naval Base San Diego. Patrick and fourteen other artists made animated films. These films showed how to put together torpedoes and other tasks. Several artists rented garages and turned them into art studios. Patrick and others painted there in their free time.

Fine Art Career

While in San Diego, Patrick kept painting scenes from his memories of the Red Lake Reservation. His friends told others about his unique, growing style. The Fine Arts Gallery in San Diego held his first solo art show in 1945. Every painting in the gallery sold by the end of the show.

After leaving the Navy in 1945, Patrick returned to the Red Lake Reservation for a year. During this time, he perfected his watercolor painting style. He focused on showing Ojibwe subjects in his art. Three paintings from 1946 show his mature style: Red Lake Fishermen, Making Wild Rice, and Maple Sugar Time. The Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa bought Making Wild Rice and Maple Sugar Time. This happened after Patrick entered them in Indian Arts Exhibitions in 1946 and 1947.

Patrick moved to the Twin Cities with his family. He wanted to find commercial art jobs there. He kept painting his own art even while working commercially. His paintings became more recognized starting in the 1960s. He changed the date of Red Lake Fishermen to 1961. He entered it in the Scottsdale, Arizona, Indian Arts Exhibition. It won the grand prize! After that, he won prizes at other shows. These included the Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonials in Gallup, New Mexico, and the All-American Indian Art Exhibition in Sheridan, Wyoming. He also won a prize at another Scottsdale exhibition. In 1969, he won first prize for Wild Rice Harvest at the Philbrook Museum of Art. Patrick continued to paint for the rest of his life.

You can find Patrick DesJarlait's artworks in many places. These include the Philbrook Museum of Art, the Heard Museum, the Minnesota Historical Society, and the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Many other public and private collections also have his art. People have become more interested in his art since he passed away. The Minnesota Museum of American Art held a big show of his work in 1995. His art was also in the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian's 2013 show. That show was called “Before and After the Horizon: Anishinaabe Artists of the Great Lakes.”

Commercial Art Career

Patrick DesJarlait had a varied commercial art career for 26 years. He worked for film companies, advertising agencies, and a defense system company. He helped create many ad campaigns in the Twin Cities area. These included the Minnegasco maiden and the Standard Gas firebird logo. He also worked on the Hamm’s Beer bear and redesigned the Land O’ Lakes butter maiden. Patrick especially loved his work on the Hamm’s bear. He called it “one of my most delightful accomplishments in commercial art.” His design for the butter maiden was changed in 2020.

Personal Life

Patrick DesJarlait met his first wife, Eleanor Luther, in 1942. She was from Laguna Pueblo. They had one daughter, Patricia. Their marriage ended in 1945 before he returned to Red Lake.

When he went back to the Red Lake Reservation, Patrick married Mona Needham. She was someone he knew from childhood. They had five children: Robert, Patrick, Randy, Delmar, Ronald, and Charmaine. He said his wife and children encouraged him to keep doing his personal art. This was important while he worked as a commercial artist.

In his later years, Patrick traveled to schools in Minnesota. He taught students about Ojibwe culture. He also helped mentor younger Indigenous artists. Patrick DesJarlait passed away in 1972. He was 51 years old and died from complications from cancer.

Patrick's Art Style

Patrick DesJarlait's paintings have a special style. He used figures that were a bit simplified. He used bright colors. He also had a unique way of using dashes. These were small brushstrokes that built up parts of the artwork. He said these dashes created a “rounded, moving effect.” This was meant to guide the viewer's eye. His figures are known for their clear facial features and rounded bodies. Patrick paid close attention to detail. He emphasized his brushstrokes. This meant his paintings took many hours to finish.

Most of his artworks show modern Red Lake Ojibwe subjects. The clothing in his paintings shows they are from his time. Patrick believed his art could help create a positive record of Ojibwe life. This was for both Native and non-Native people. Most of his famous works show single people or groups doing work. Later in his career, Patrick also painted Ojibwe dancers. This showed the Red Lake Pow-wow and the growing number of pow-wows in cities like the Twin Cities.

Some art experts have said Patrick's art was influenced by styles like cubism or Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. But Patrick disagreed. He considered himself to be self-taught. He would sometimes mention Vincent Van Gogh’s earlier works. He also compared his use of dashes to the dots in George Seurat’s pointillism. Patrick's thoughts on how his paintings related to traditional Ojibwe art changed over time. But he saw his work as a way to continue Ojibwe storytelling and oral traditions.

In Patrick DesJarlait's autobiography, the famous artist George Morrison described him. Morrison said Patrick was “one of the first respected ‘modern’ artists to have a following” as an Indigenous person. He was also an inspiration for younger artists.