SEPTEMBER 19, 1945

SEMINOLE SHAWNEE PAINTER BENJAMIN HARJO JR. BORN

Harjo, born in Clovis, New Mexico, went to the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in 1966 hoping to study cartoon animation. Though IAIA no longer offered that course, he incorporated that style and humor into much of his work. After serving in Army during the Vietnam War, he graduated in 1974 from Oklahoma (OK) State University (OSU) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Known internationally as the “Picasso of Native American Art,” Harjo pulled from his Seminole and Shawnee heritage to create pieces that are part of the OSU Art Collection, the First Americans Museum, Red Earth Art Center, Gilcrease Museum, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, and Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. Harjo and his wife Barbara helped establish the OSU Museum of Art. Honors include: 2002 OSU Distinguished Alumni Award; 2003 Red Earth Festival Honored One; an Oklahoma Living Treasure (2009); and OSU Alumni Hall of Fame (2012). Harjo died on May 20, 2023, in OK City, OK.

Sources:

Brandy McDonnell, “Celebrated artist and OSU alumnus Benjamin Harjo Jr. dies at 77,” Oklahoma State University 5/20/2023. Retrieved 11/13/2023, Celebrated artist and OSU alumnus Benjamin Harjo Jr. dies at 77 | Oklahoma State University (okstate.edu)

“Benjamin Harjo Jr. Obituary,” Oklahoman.  Retrieved 11/13/2023, Benjamin Harjo Jr. Obituary - Oklahoman

Wikipedia

Photo:  Oyvsti, 3/7/2009. Public Domain.