Lot 129
Gerome Richard Tiger
Oklahoma, (1941 - 1967)
Observing the Enemy; The Guiding Spirit; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
three portfolio limited edition lithographs
edition of 1500. Signed in the plate. With 4-page bio poster booklet portfolio and original documentation.
Biography from the archives of askArt: Jerome Tiger was a full blood Creek-Seminole, born in 1941 in Oklahoma. He grew up on the campgrounds that surrounded his grandfather's Indian Baptist church near the sleepy town of Eufaula. Research for many of his paintings began when he was still a child as he traveled with his maternal grandfather, Coleman Lewis, a Baptist Missionary. Coleman traveled throughout Indian Country and on the long rides through the backwoods to churches, and Coleman taught his grandson the history of the Creek people in his native Creek language.
In Enfaula and, later, in Muskogee, Tiger attended public schools, learned English, and became familiar with such marvels of white culture as running water, indoor toilets, and telephones. He was a high school dropout, a street and ring fighter of exceptional ability, and a laborer. He married and had three children. And he died in 1967, at the age of twenty-six, of a gunshot wound to the head. Tiger's legacy was his paintings: a body of work of exquisite beauty that revolutionized American Indian art.
The success and genius of Tiger's art can be attributed to what was called the Tiger style--a unique combination of spiritual vision, humane understanding, and technical virtuosity. In subject matter and composition, his art was traditional. In every other respect, it was a radical departure from classical Indian art.
When Tiger began painting in the 1960's, few, if any, artists could make a living in Indian art. With some formal training at the Cooper School of Art in Cleveland, against all odds, he committed himself to Indian art, and from 1962 until 1967, produced hundreds of paintings that from the outset received the acclaim of critics, won awards, and brought him success and recognition. The average Indian art buyer of the 1960's was unduly critical, ready to find fault with the quality of a piece of work or the authenticity of its details. To be popular with such an audience, not only did Tiger have to be technically competent but inventive and prolific.
Tiger's uncanny ability to draw virtually anything after only a momentary glance has led critics to refer to him as the Rembrandt or Goya of Indian art. This is quite a lofty comparison since Tiger had never seen the work of the masters with whom he was compared. But characteristic of all great art, Tiger's work had universal appeal. Its beauty and deep spirituality spoke to people of all races, not just Native Americans.
Since his death, Tiger's style has had a tremendous influence on the Indian artists that have succeeded him. One art critic commented--"Wherever there are Indian paintings today, Tiger's influence can be felt." With almost unanimous agreement, Native American artists credit Jerome Tiger with being the major influence in the development of contemporary Indian art. Tiger was an artist's artist.
Sources:
Submitted June 2004 from the Ashworth Collection of Western and Native American Art in Fort Smith, AR. Material for this biography was obtained from the web site www.jerometigerart.com and http://www.jerometigerart.com
- Dimensions: 15" x 11" (image), 20" x 16" (sheet)
- Medium: three portfolio limited edition lithographs
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