Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, b. 1940)

Mixed media collage
23 x 22 5/8 in.; 24 3/8 x 24 3/8 in. framed

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith uses painting, printmaking, and mixed-media collage to comment on Native American identity, environmental issues, and contemporary American society. Smith blends expressionist painting, text, and Native American motifs with figurative images of horses, bears, birds, and flowers in works that call attention to the “ethical treatment of animals, humans, and our planet.” As a curator and political activist, Smith has championed other Native American artists, while through her own practice she has become increasingly recognized as one of the leading artists of her generation.

A comprehensive retrospective bringing together nearly five decades of Smith’s artworks was organized by the Whitney Museum in 2023. In September of 2023, an exhibition featuring 50-living Native American artists organized by Smith opens at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., making her the first artist to curate an exhibition at the museum. Smith’s work can be found in the permanent collections of institutions including, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York among numerous others.

More information on Jaune Quick-to-See Smith can be found here:

https://whitney.org/exhibitions/jaune-quick-to-see-smith

https://www.vulture.com/article/jaune-quick-to-see-smith-artist-profile-memory-map.html