Plains Indian men kept historical records of their tribes in art. First with petroglyphs and pictographs and then on buffalo hides. When the white man came, they moved their art to ledger books.
Dolores Purdy began researching her tribe and stumbled into sheaves of ledger paper.
The Caddo (Oklahoma)/Winnebago (Nebraska) artist unearthed a depth of cultural history inspiring her to create a feminine version of what has been traditionally a male art form.
“Chasing the Buff” by Dolores Purdy.
For nearly two decades, she has produced what is often called “warrior art” on antique ledger paper in her studio north of Santa Fe.
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Purdy was one of many artists shuttered when the Santa Fe Indian Market closed during the pandemic. She often injects a note of humor into her work, knitting together traditional imagery with contemporary forms, always immersed in her Native American heritage. Traces of Pop artist Peter Max and the psychedelic poster movement influence her work, as well as the Art Deco movement and Japanese textiles.