Nationality Cherokee Role Artist Name Cecil Dick | Awards Sequoyah Medal Known for Painting, muralist Died 1992 | |
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Born 1915 Rose Prairie, Oklahoma, United States Movement Studio style, flat-style | ||
Cherokee Almanac: Cecil Dick, Master Artist and Storyteller
Cecil Dick, or Degadoga (1915–1992) was a well-known Cherokee artist often referred to as "the Father of Cherokee Traditional Art". Cecil, born near Rose Prairie, Oklahoma, was one of the pioneers of 20th-century, flat-style painting among Eastern Woodland tribes in Oklahoma. He was enrolled in the Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians.
In 1983 Cecil was honored for his intellectual and artistic achievements with the Sequoyah Medal by the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee Heritage Association held a 50-year retrospective exhibition of his lifetime work that same year. In 1991, the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma named the "Cecil Dick Master of Heritage Award" in his honor. This award is given out during its annual Competitive Art Show to recognize outstanding paintings in the flat-style.
Cecil died in 1992 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, having spent over 50 years recording Cherokee culture and history in his art.