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Flett, George
| Last Name: | Flett |
|---|---|
| First Name: | George |
| Dates: |
*20.10.1946 (Date of Birth)
*30.1.2013 (Date of Death)
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| Biography/History: | A member of the Spokane Tribe of Indians, George Flett was born on October 20, 1946 to Charlie and Nancy Flett in Nespelem, WA. He received degrees from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M., in 1966 and from the University of Colorado in 1968. studying with T.C. Cannon, Kevin Red Star, and Fritz Scholder. Although he was skilled in many traditional native artforms, such as metal-working and beading, he worked primarily with acrylic and water media, and was most known for drawings influenced by historic ledger drawings of the 1800s. Says George: “Being from the Plateau area, my ledger drawings are more about Plateau legends and culture than the Plains or Southwest." George was regarded within native communities as placing a high value on authenticity, having learned a great deal from his mother. “My mother was one of the primary bead workers and basket makers from the Plateau area. I used to visit her in her bedroom for a number of hours and she’d talk about the legends of our Spokane people.” Flett based his mixed-media paintings on Spokane Indian legends, history and cultural events. Jeanne Givens, (Coeur d’Alene, past chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe) commented, “....He’s committed to portraying the Native people of this region in an accurate way. George’s eyes, his memories, his connection with tribal elders is incorporated into his art so his art on one hand is very beautiful but on the other hand it’s a preservation of a way of life that is really important to us to know about as Indians. Flett's work was managed through the Tin Man Gallery, Spokane, Washington, (Sue Bradley) “George Flett: Ledger Art,” was published in 2007 by New Media Ventures, a subsidiary of Cowles Co. |
| Related Objects: |
4085.1 (Drawing; Collage; Bag, Pipe, Buffalo Bull's Magic Tracks Imprint the Earth, 2003)
4300.1 (Painting, Yo-yout-mel-knups / Strong Eagles Dream, c 2002 - 2012)
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