Paintings & Sculptures have been a part of society since prehistoric times. The first paintings were made about 40,000 years ago. They are the most ancient of the Native American arts, pre-dating their arrival to the new world. Used to commemorate big hunts, storms, ceremonies, births, and deaths every painting and sculpture told a story. They served the people as reminders of past events documenting their history. So, as to learn from the past in order to gain a better future paintings and sculptures helped to fascilitate oral traditions.
As societies developed, sculptures and paintings became expressions of hopeful thinking. Fertility sculptures were made by those who wished for children. Paintings of water and plants became symbols of a good harvest. Before the age of the written word sculptures and paitings were the means of communication sharing the thoughts, desires, and needs of the people with each other.
When the tribes made their way to the American Continents they became more nomadic and spiritual. The traditions of painting a sculpture drastically changed to fit the needs of the people. Painting styles became more stylised and abstract as painting was used mostly as a way to decorate tipis, ghost shirts, pottery, and artifacts. Sculptures were used in religious ceremonies. Totems and kachina dolls were created to depict animal spirits and deities. Large statues and pictorial painting were rare for the American Indians. Each work of Indian Art had to be practical and transportable.
In the sixteenth century the Native Americans first encountered the Europeans and they were introduced to new artforms. Soem of Indian adopted new painting and sculpture techniques as they gained more and more interest in giving more realistic depictions of Native life. Of course many Indian artists held onto the old traditional more abstract images and symbols preserving them in their art for generations to come. Today many Native American artists express themselves and keep their old traditions alive through painting and sculpture. Here you will find a wide selection of original paintings, original sculptures, bronze statues, limited edition art prints, and more that you can add to your personal art collection.
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