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Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People)

Artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Native American, born 1940)

CultureNative American

Date1992

MediumOil and mixed media on canvas

Dimensions86 × 170 in. (218.4 × 431.8 cm)
Other (End panels): 60 × 60 in. (152.4 × 152.4 cm)
Other (Center panel): 60 × 50 in. (152.4 × 127 cm)
Other (Chain with objects): 26 × 144 × 12 in. (66 × 365.8 × 30.5 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase in memory of Trinkett Clark, Curator of American and Contemporary Art, 1989-96

Object number93.2

Collections

Modern and Contemporary

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is an oil, collage, mixed media object on canvas with thirty-one objects hanging from a chain above the triptych canvas. It features a black outline of a canoe against a mottled background of paint and bits of collaged newspapers and articles from local Native American publications, as well as fabric and photo copies. The chain holds popular culture toys and souvenirs made to represent the Native American culture, such as tomahawks, beaded belts, feather headdresses, and American sports memorabilia for teams with names like the Atlanta Braves, the Washington Redskins, and the Cleveland Indians. The three panels, thirty-one hanging objects, and one chain comprise this multi-media installation painting.
Label TextJaune Quick-to-See Smith American, b. 1940 Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People), 1992 Oil and mixed media on canvas In Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s collage, images related to the conquest of Native Americans appear alongside clippings that describe the bleak facts of life on reservations. Above, an array of cheap toys, souvenirs, and sports memorabilia speaks to the commodification of Native American identity. The work ironically offers these objects to white people in exchange for the return of stolen lands. As a part of the artist’s Quincentenary Non-Celebration series, Trade stands as a symbol of Native American protest and revisionist history. Created in response to the 500th anniversary of Columbus Day, the work challenges traditional celebrations of the so-called discovery of America and the white privilege they signify. Museum purchase, in memory of Trinkett Clark, Curator of American and Contemporary Art, 1989–96 93.2 ProvenanceThe artist; Steinbaum Krauss Gallery, New York; Chrysler Museum of Art Purchase, 1993. Exhibition History"The Quincentennary Non-Celebration," Steinbaum Krauss Gallery, New York, N.Y., October 1992. "Jaune Quick-to-See Smith," Parameters Galleries, The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., January 17 - March 14, 1993; Smith Museum College of Art, Northampton, Mass., April 3 - May 30, 1993. "American Kaleidoscope: Art at the Close of this Century," National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 4, 1996 - February 2, 1997. "Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006. "Women of the Chrysler: a 400-Year Celebration of the Arts," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., March 24 - July 18, 2010. "The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky," Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, March 9 - May 10, 2015. "Art for a New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now," Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, October 6, 2018 - January 7, 2019. "Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 11, 2020 - January 3, 2021. “Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map," Whitney Museum of American Art, April 19 – August 13, 2023; The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX, October 15, 2023 – January 7, 2024; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA, February 15 – May 12, 2024. Published ReferencesTrinkett Clark, _Juane Quick-to-See Smith_, exh. cat., Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., and Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Mass., 1993, no. 12. "Jaune Quick-to-See Smith," _The Chrysler Museum Bulletin_ 23, no. 1 (Winter 1993): 1. Jennifer P. Borum, "Reviews: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Steinbaum Krauss Gallery," _Artforum_ (January 1993): 87-88. "Places To Be & Things To See," _Ghent_ (February 1993): 28. Marion Grayson and Marilyn Stokstad, _Art History_ 1st and 2nd edition (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1995 and 2001), 891. Gerald F. Brommer, _Discovering Art History_ (Davis Publications, 1996). _Perspectives: Authentic Voices of Native Americans_ (Curriculum Associates, Inc., 1996). Jacquelyn Days-Serwer, _American Kaleidoscope: Themes and Perspectives in Recent Art_, exh. cat., National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1996, 13, 44-45, 49-51. John A. Day, ed. by Delia Gaze, "Jaune Quick-to-See Smith," _Dictionary of Women Artists_ vol. 2 (London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997), 1287-1289. Jean Robertson and Craig McDaniel, _Painting as a Language: Material, Technique, Form, Content_ (Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers, Earl McPeek, 2000), 239-241, plate 11. Helen Gardner, _Gardner's Art Through the Ages_ 11th ed. (Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 2001). Erika Doss, _Twentieth-Century American Art_ (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 236, 277. James Elkins, _Stories of Art_ (New York: Routledge, 2002), 76. Edited by Rosenzweig and Agnew, with contribution by Erika Doss, "The Visual Arts in Post-1945 America," _A Companion to Post-1945 America_ (London: Blackwell, 2002), 127-129. Bill Anthese, "The Indian's White Man," _Journal of the West_ (January 2002). Marilyn Stokstad, _Art: A Brief History_ 2nd ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004), 522-523, fig. 20-37. Martha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 258-259, no. 158. Katherine Gleason, _Native American Culture_ (Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Publishing, 2006), 43. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 83, fig. 97. Angela L. Miller, Janet C. Berlo, Bryan J. Wolf and Jennifer L. Roberts, _American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity_ (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2007), 635, fig. 19.12. Erika Doss, _American Art of the 20th - 21st Centurys_, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017), 272, fig. 175. Larry Krieher, _The Insider's Complete Guide to AP Art History: Beyond the European Tradition with Global Contemporary_, Volume 3 (Insider Test Prep, 2018), p. 134, image 233. Mandy N. Besaw, Candice Hopkins, and Manuela Well-off-Man, _Art for a New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now_, (Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press, 2018): p. 142-3. Diana Lambdin Meyer, "Art Gallery - Exhibitions," _Cowboyws & Indians Magazine_, (Dallas: November / December 2018) p. 82. Laura Phipps, _Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map_, exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art in association with Yale University Press, New Haven, 2023, 106-107, plate 42.