Native Artists of Western North America

Native Artists of Western North America celebrates the acumen, artistry, and aesthetic practices of indigenous Americans from across the West. The works on view span a period of more than eight-hundred years and encompass incredibly diverse peoples and places from the American Southwest to the Pacific Coast to the northern Artic regions of the United States and Canada. Focused groupings encourage the examination of materials and techniques while demonstrating the interplay between multigenerational practices and individual artistic expression. The ceramics, weavings, and carvings on view provide a glimpse into their makers’ relationships with and responsiveness to the diverse natural, cultural, and spiritual worlds of western North America.

Photo Credit: Wearing blanket (third-phase chief blanket, ca. 1865. Navajo. Wool; weft-faced plain weave, interlocked and vertical-join tapestry weave, eccentric weft, 55 x 71 1/2 in. (139.7 x 181.6 cm). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family Collection, 2016.14.21