Keeping Time: Ledger Drawings and the Pictographic Traditions of Native North Americans ca. 1820-1900

Save the Date – June 21, 2014

TrépanierBaer is pleased to present Keeping Time: Ledger Drawings and the Pictographic Traditions of Native North Americans ca. 1820-1900, an exhibition featuring a selection of exceptional ledger drawings and significant works of art reflecting the eloquent illustrative practices and conventions of Plains Aboriginal peoples in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Collected over a period of many years, Keeping Time: Ledger Drawings and the Pictographic Traditions of Native North Americans ca. 1820-1900 marks the inaugural presentation of these rare works in a commercial gallery. On view will be a selection of evocative ledger drawings that served as mnemonic devices and historical documents that recorded the everyday as well as important life events in Plains culture.

This exhibition presents over 50 ledger drawings – depictions made in discarded ledger and account books – by Cheyenne, Arapaho, Hidatsa, and Sioux artists. Also on view and complimenting these works will be a collection of works of art including a Pawnee Buffalo Hide Robe, ca. 1840; a pair of outstanding Cheyenne Parfleche Envelopes, ca. 1880; and a rare Plains Quirt, ca. 1850.

Mark your calendars for the opening of this unprecedented exhibition.

Keeping Time: Ledger Drawings and the Pictographic Traditions of Native North Americans ca. 1820-1900 is held in cooperation with the Donald Ellis Gallery, New York.

Image Credit:
Cheyenne at Home, attributed to Howling Wolf, Southern Cheyenne, ca. 1875
Ink, pencil and watercolour on paper
21.6 cm x 28.6 cm