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Ghost Dance Dress

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith

Contemporary Art

MEDIUM Oil, collage and mixed media on canvas
DATES 2000
DIMENSIONS 72 x 48 in. (182.9 x 121.9 cm)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS Contemporary Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 2006.79
CREDIT LINE Gift of Dorothee Peiper-Riegraf in honor of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and Arlene LewAllen (1941-2002)
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION This work by the Salish, French-Cree, and Shoshone artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith explores the challenges of Native American coexistence with American culture. The Plains woman’s dress featured prominently in the painting is worn by those in the Ghost Dance Religion to recall the vision of John Wilson (better known as Wovoka), who prophesied that white people would vanish and Native Americans would return to take back the land that was once theirs. The religious movement offered hope to many homeless, ill, and hungry Native Americans, and its message and surrounding tensions are, according to the artist, conveyed through various elements in this work: the eagle appears as a messenger of the prophecy; bingo cards are meant to represent the Catholic Church’s introduction of gambling to reservations; and written texts convey the “Queen of Hearts” children’s rhyme, a reference to power.
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Flathead, born 1940). Ghost Dance Dress, 2000. Oil, collage and mixed media on canvas, 72 x 48 in. (182.9 x 121.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dorothee Peiper-Riegraf in honor of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and Arlene LewAllen (1941-2002), 2006.79. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2006.79_PS11.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 2006.79_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2018
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RIGHTS STATEMENT © Jaune Quick-to-See Smith
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Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Flathead, born 1940). <em>Ghost Dance Dress</em>, 2000. Oil, collage and mixed media on canvas, 72 x 48 in. (182.9 x 121.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dorothee Peiper-Riegraf in honor of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and Arlene LewAllen (1941-2002), 2006.79. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2006.79_PS11.jpg)