Living with American Indian Art: The Hirschfield Collection - Tapa dura

“Among the greatest private collections of Plains and Plateau Indian art in the world.” —Gaylord Torrence, Senior Curator of American Indian Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

Living with American Indian Art: The Hirschfield Collection contains numerous masterworks, the great majority of which have never been published or exhibited. This book brings the collection into the scholarly domain as surely as any museum publication, making it accessible to the rest of the world for the first time. Alan Hirschfield built the collection primarily with an art-based view, focusing on pieces that he has found to be interesting and attractive. As a result, there is broad representation of many different tribes and regions, and includes textiles, leather pouches, war shirts, dresses, vests, cradleboards, beadwork, weaponry, pottery, toys, and basketry. Whether you are a collector, a scholar, or someone interested in decorating with American Indian art, inspiration will be found in Hirschfield’s approach.

One hundred and sixty works of Native American art, most having never before been published or placed on public display, are presented in this stunning volume.

Objects created by extraordinary nineteenth-century artists working within the traditions of their own cultures are featured. These dramatic works from the Great Plains and adjoining Plateau regions—ornamented and symbolically charged clothing, elaborately embellished containers, cradles, horse gear and more—embody a distinctly powerful, beautiful and mysterious aesthetic.

Baskets from California, Navajo textiles, Pueblo pottery and Apache basketry from the Southwest are also included, together with a special collection of octopus bags from the Northwest.

Personal anecdotes throughout reveal the collector’s vision and experiences that resulted in this rich assemblage. Chapter introductions by Terry Winchell, noted dealer in Native American antiques, review cultural aspects and practicaluses of the objects among their creators.

A foreword by Gaylord Torrence, one of America’s most respected authorities on American Indian art, not only validates the importance of the collection but also discloses the Hirschfields’ respect for the power and spirit theobjects emanate in their home.

For art and history buffs—and all those with a love of the American West—this gathering of beautiful objects will inspire and intrigue.

Alan J. Hirschfield, former investment banker and entertainment executive who served as President and CEO of Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, has assembled one of the world’s foremost collectionsof historic Plains Indian art.

He currently serves as a director of several nonprofit institutions and public companies. Alan and his wife, Berte, among numerous philanthropic commitments, are dedicated to improving the opportunities for Native American youthliving on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.

Terry Winchell is the owner of Fighting Bear Antiques in Jackson, Wyoming, specializing in Plains Indian beadwork, Navajo textiles and other Native American arts. He is the author of Molesworth: The Pioneer of Western Design.Winchell has performed appraisals for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, and consulted for the John Toomey Gallery in Chicago and Christie’s in New York. He has been published in Architectural Digest, Art & Antiquesand Cowboys & Indians. Author’s proceeds from the book will be donated to the Intertribal Education and CommunityCenter at Central Wyoming College, adjacent to the Wind River Reservation.