The Marketing of Native Americans in New York Between the World Wars
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2015 Native American Chic: The Marketing Of Native Americans In New York Between The World Wars Emily Schuchardt Navratil Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/599 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] NATIVE AMERICAN CHIC: THE MARKETING OF NATIVE AMERICANS IN NEW YORK BETWEEN THE WORLD WARS by EMILY SCHUCHARDT NAVRATIL A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Art History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2015 © 2015 EMILY SCHUCHARDT NAVRATIL All Rights Reserved ii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Art History in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Professor Judy Sund Date Chair of Examining Committee Professor Claire Bishop Date Executive Officer Professor Mona Hadler Professor Emeritus George A. Corbin Professor Elizabeth Hutchison Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract NATIVE AMERICAN CHIC: THE MARKETING OF NATIVE AMERICANS IN NEW YORK BETWEEN THE WORLD WARS by Emily Schuchardt Navratil Adviser: Professor Judy Sund Focusing on four key figures – Morris de Camp Crawford, John Sloan, Amelia Elizabeth White, and René d’Harnoncourt – this dissertation analyzes museum and gallery exhibitions of Native American art mounted in the United States, particularly New York City, during the interwar period, and documents the immediate and lasting impact these shows and their promotion had on the emergence of “Indian Chic” in women’s fashion and interior design. In the late 1910s, Crawford, a research editor for Women’s Wear and honorary research associate at the American Museum of Natural History, mounted a campaign encouraging Euro- American designers to seek inspiration in museum collections, particularly Native American production. Crawford’s efforts led to the AMNH’s 1919 Exhibition of Industrial Art in Textiles and Costumes; a series of exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum in the 1920s; and Mallinson Fabrics’ 1928 “American Indian Series.” Meantime, Sloan bolstered awareness of Native American art through exhibitions of Pueblo watercolors at the Society of Independent Artists exhibitions in the 1920s, and the groundbreaking Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts in 1931. White, a New York socialite living in Santa Fe, joined Sloan in his efforts, financing the EITA and promoting the incorporation of Native American art into modern Euro-American décor through her New York City gallery and exhibitions of her personal collection. In the mid-1930s, Indian Chic received government backing with the creation of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. As its general manager, D’Harnoncourt promoted Indian art’s suitability as inspiration for iv modern Euro-American design in two landmark exhibitions: the Indian Court at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Exposition in 1939 and Indian Art of the United States at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1941. These exhibitions created a sensation that was widely reported in the popular press, and U.S. consumers responded enthusiastically to Indian-inflected and –inspired clothing, accessories, footwear, cosmetics, and household goods and accent pieces. The notion of Native American Chic, created in the 1910s by Crawford and promoted by Sloan, White, and d’Harnoncourt throughout the interwar period, endures today. v Acknowledgements First and absolutely foremost, my thanks to Professor Judy Sund, an incredible adviser and amazing editor, who guided, challenged, and encouraged me every step of the way and helped make this dissertation what it is today. I am grateful to Professor Mona Hadler for her close reading and excellent suggestions that enhanced my dissertation. I am indebted to Professor George Corbin for his course on Native American Art, which sent me in a new direction and for his insightful comments and support throughout this process. I am greatly appreciative of Professor Elizabeth Hutchison for her discerning recommendations. My thanks to the many people who made my research possible: Heather Campbell Coyle and Rachael DiEleuterio at the Delaware Art Museum; Jennifer R. O'Neal, Michael Pahn, and Rachel Menyuk, at the Archive Center of the National Museum of the American Indian; Michelle Harvey at the Museum of Modern Art Archives; Angie Park at the Brooklyn Museum Archives; Kristen Mable at the Archives of the American Museum of Natural History; Laura Holt at the School for Advanced Research; Tomas Jaehn at the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library, New Mexico History Museum; Lisa Harms, Freddy Rivera, Ronnie Fein and Ren Murrel at the Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Laurette McCarthy; Meridith Stanton at the Indian Arts and Crafts Board; Eric Berkemeyer at the Denver Art Museum; and Jim Moske at the Archives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and to everyone else that assisted me over the past several years. I am grateful to Michael FitzGerald, whose Art History 101 class at Trinity College started it all. My thanks to William C. Agee an incredible mentor, for his guidance and encouragement over the years, which have meant so much. A very special thank you to Jan and Marica Vilcek and Rick Kinsel for all of their support. vi My thanks to my family, for instinctively knowing when it was best not to ask how it was going. I am especially grateful for the assistance of my mother-in-law, Jean Navratil, who so kindly and efficiently proofread these chapters. I cannot thank my father, William Schuchardt, enough for his support of everything I’ve ever done. My thanks to my mother, Barbara Mills, who first took me to museums and instilled in me a love of art. I am thankful for my brothers, Matt and Ted, constant sources of comic relief and encouragement. I dedicate this dissertation to my husband, Michael, who never doubted me for a moment. His love, unwavering support, sense of humor, and seemingly endless understanding made this possible. This is for you, Buzz. vii Table of Contents Abstract …………………………………………………………………………...……………...iv Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………………...…….vi Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………….……viii List of Illustrations …………………………………………………………………………….....ix Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………….1 Chapter 1: Morris de Camp Crawford’s Role in Promoting “Indian”-Inspired Fashion………..18 Chapter 2: The Emergence of “Indian Chic” in U.S. Fashion Design……………………….......46 Chapter 3: Crawford, Sloan, White, and Mallinson’s “American Indian Series”.........................68 Chapter 4: White, the Sloans, the Southwestern Vogue, and the Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts………………………………………………...…………………………………....117 Chapter 5: The Impact of Ishauu and White’s Example in the 1930s……………………….…158 Chapter 6: “Indian Chic” Goes National with the IACB……………………………………….179 Chapter 7: MoMA’s Indian Art of the United States………………………………………...…204 Chapter 8: Sally Victor and the impact of MoMA’s Indian Art of the United States……..……229 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………….………….………245 Bibliography ………….…………………………………….….………………………………257 Illustrations ………...…………………………………………………………………….….…274 viii List of Illustrations Introduction Figure I.1. Santa Fe Railroad Annual Booklet, 1898-99. Figure I.2. Santa Fe Railroad Route Calendar, 1900. Figure I.3. Santa Fe Indian detour advertisement, Vogue November 15, 1926, 22. Figure 1.4. John Sloan, The Indian Detour, 1927. Figure I.5. Centennial Exhibition Digital Collection, “Indian Tent in the Government Building.” Reproduced in The Centennial Exhibition 1876 Philadelphia Scrapbook. Figure I.6. Centennial Photographic Co., “Indian Chief Shinomen at the Centennial Exhibition 1876 Philadelphia,” Centennial Exhibition Digital Collection. Figure I.7. “At the Fair with Our Artist – Chippewa Shaman Writing an Incantation, Charms and Masks of Alaska Indians, Dance Masks of the Eskimo.” Reproduced in Pierce, 394. Figure I.8. “At the Fair with Our Artist – Cleaning Hides.” Reproduced in Pierce, 434. Figure I.9. Some of the performers who appeared with Cody’s Wild West during the Columbian Exposition, 1893. Reproduced in Moses, 136. Figure I.10. Photograph of a section of the Indian Village at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis, 1904. From Jackson and Brown, np. Figure I.11. Model Indian school at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition St. Louis, 1904. Reproduced in Jackson and Brown, np. Figure I.12. Thomas Lunt, AMNH North Pacific Hall, Haida NW Canoe, 1910. Negative 33003. Figure I.13. Native American objects in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History. From Pindar, 32. Figure I.14. Southwestern Indian Hall, The Brooklyn Museum, c. 1910. Reproduced in Jacknis, 31. Figure I. 15. California Indian Hall, The Brooklyn Museum, c. 1911. Reproduced in Jacknis, 33. Figure I.16. J. Capps & Sons advertisement, Delineator Magazine, 1910. Reproduced in Kapoun with Lohrmann, 76. ix Figure I.17. Capps’ 1913 catalogue included a photograph of Buffalo Bill and a group of Indians wearing Capps blankets. Reproduced in Kapoun with Lohrmann, 73. Figure I.18. Ernest Thompson Seton’s original Sinaway Tribe at Standing Rock Village, Wyndygoul, Connecticut, 1903. Reproduced in Deloria, 97. Figure I.19. Image of a cozy corner, from the 1912 Racine catalogue. Reproduced in Kapoun with Lohrmann, 114. Figure I.20. From the 1915 Pendleton catalogue. Reproduced in Felsenthal, n.p. Chapter 1 Figure 1.1. Winold Reiss, Yellow Elk, nd. Reproduced in Stewart, 98. Figure 1.2. Sioux War Bonnet with Trailer, AMNH 50.1/1196. Figure 1.3. Sioux War Shirt, AMNH 50.1/1186. Figure 1.4. Winold Reiss, Calendar for Great Northern Railroad, January 1932. Figure 1.5. M.D.C. Crawford, “Americana,” Women’s Wear, August 23, 1918, 23. Figure 1.6. Laguna (Acoma) Pottery Jar, AMNH H/1521. Figure 1.7. Apache Basket, AMNH 1/5176. Figure 1.8.