Nationality Southern Cheyenne Alma mater Canton High School | Name Merlin Thunder | |
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Education Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Bacone College, Eastern Oklahoma State College | ||
Merlin little thunder talks about his art tulsa indian art festival 2013
Merlin Little Thunder is a Southern Cheyenne artist living in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His paintings express the history, people and the land in a narrative, representational style, especially from the perspective of the Southern Cheyenne people. He is well known for his miniature paintings, bright colors, and for the incorporation of humor into his work.
Contents
- Merlin little thunder talks about his art tulsa indian art festival 2013
- Bridges Little Thunder Rowell Jackson Oklahoma Native Artists Interview Series
- Early life
- Education
- Collections
- Famous Artworks
- Awards
- References
Bridges, Little Thunder, Rowell & Jackson: Oklahoma Native Artists Interview Series
Early life
Born in Clinton OK at the Clinton Indian Hospital, Little Thunder was raised in the town of Canton, Oklahoma, in the Southern Cheyenne community of Fonda. His great-grandfather, Frank Old Bear, performed with the Miller 101 Ranch Wild West Show. His uncle, Raymond Williams, was an amateur artist who could look at something once and then reproduce it but never turned his talent into a career. Little Thunder described growing up in Canton as "an Indian kid's paradise."
Education
Little Thunder went to Longdale Elementary and then moved to Okmulgee, OK and went to Lee School while his father, George, attended Okmulgee Tech on the GI Bill. After his father finished school the family eventually moved to Enid, OK and Little Thunder attended Adams and then Harrison Elementary. Eventually his family moved back to Canton and Little Thunder returned to Longdale through the eighth grade and then graduated from Canton High School in 1975. After graduation, Little Thunder began taking classes at Southwestern Oklahoma State College in 1975, majoring in pre-pharmacy. Little Thunder transferred to Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1976 because he wanted a smaller setting, still majoring in pre-pharmacy. When he transferred to Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton, Oklahoma, he changed his major to art. He left college in 1980 for factory work. Later Little Thunder moved to Tulsa and met Jim Hewlett, a collector of Indian art, who bought drawings and paintings from Little Thunder and gave him space to work.
Collections
Little Thunder is best known for his miniature work. He describes his art as coming from a spiritual experience which spurred his drawing and focuses on Cheyenne subject matter painted largely from memory. Humor is very important in Little Thunder's work and likes his work to "poke fun at history." Little Thunder is known for landscapes with 19th century Cheyenne subjects. He is also known for medicine paintings which he describes as more spiritual in nature and without artistic limitations. He has developed a reputation for his 1950s period work inspired by his great grandfather’s experiences riding in cattle drives and performing with the 101 Ranch show. Little Thunders artwork can be seen in the collections of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and the Museum of the American Indian.
Famous Artworks
The following is a list of a few of Little Thunders famous works of art.
Awards
Little Thunder has won numerous First Places in miniature and in water-based painting at the Trail of Tears Art Show and at Santa Fe Indian Market. He was awarded the Moscelyn Larkin Cultural Award from the Tulsa Commission on Indian Affairs in 2010. He has shown with the Tulsa Indian Art Festival since the 1990s. and was named Honored One at the 2015 Red Earth Indian Arts Festival.