What do you think?
Rate this book
Fire Light: The Life of Angel De Cora, Winnebago Artist
The first biography of this important American Indian artist
Artist, teacher, and Red Progressive, Angel De Cora (1869–1919) painted Fire Light to capture warm memories of her Nebraska Winnebago childhood. In this biography, Linda M. Waggoner draws on that glowing image to illuminate De Cora’s life and artistry, which until now have been largely overlooked by scholars.
One of the first American Indian artists to be accepted within the mainstream art world, De Cora left her childhood home on the Winnebago reservation to find success in the urban Northeast at the turn of the twentieth century. Despite scant documentary sources that elucidate De Cora’s private life, Waggoner has rendered a complete picture of the woman known in her time as the first “real Indian artist.” She depicts De Cora as a multifaceted individual who as a young girl took pride in her traditions, forged a bond with the land that would sustain her over great distances, and learned the role of cultural broker from her mother’s Métis family.
After studying with famed illustrator Howard Pyle at his first Brandywine summer school, De Cora eventually succeeded in establishing the first “Native Indian” art department at Carlisle Indian School. A founding member of the Society of American Indians, she made a significant impact on the American Arts and Crafts movement by promoting indigenous arts throughout her career.
Waggoner brings her broad knowledge of Winnebago culture and history to this gracefully written book, which features more than forty illustrations. Fire Light shows us both a consummate artist and a fully realized woman, who learned how to traverse the borders of Red identity in a white man’s world.
Artist, teacher, and Red Progressive, Angel De Cora (1869–1919) painted Fire Light to capture warm memories of her Nebraska Winnebago childhood. In this biography, Linda M. Waggoner draws on that glowing image to illuminate De Cora’s life and artistry, which until now have been largely overlooked by scholars.
One of the first American Indian artists to be accepted within the mainstream art world, De Cora left her childhood home on the Winnebago reservation to find success in the urban Northeast at the turn of the twentieth century. Despite scant documentary sources that elucidate De Cora’s private life, Waggoner has rendered a complete picture of the woman known in her time as the first “real Indian artist.” She depicts De Cora as a multifaceted individual who as a young girl took pride in her traditions, forged a bond with the land that would sustain her over great distances, and learned the role of cultural broker from her mother’s Métis family.
After studying with famed illustrator Howard Pyle at his first Brandywine summer school, De Cora eventually succeeded in establishing the first “Native Indian” art department at Carlisle Indian School. A founding member of the Society of American Indians, she made a significant impact on the American Arts and Crafts movement by promoting indigenous arts throughout her career.
Waggoner brings her broad knowledge of Winnebago culture and history to this gracefully written book, which features more than forty illustrations. Fire Light shows us both a consummate artist and a fully realized woman, who learned how to traverse the borders of Red identity in a white man’s world.
- GenresIndigenousArt
259 pages, Hardcover
First published October 17, 2008
2 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 4, 2021
This is a much-needed book. Angel De Cora was instrumental in the promotion of Native American arts and had a career in teaching, speaking, and illustration that feels strikingly modern. Sadly, she was overshadowed by both her loser husband - fourteen years her junior and employed as her assistant, yet received credit for a lot of her work - and the scandals and incompetence that plagued her employer, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, until it was finally shut down in 1918. Her modest nature and early death a year later at age 47 did not help either. De Cora really deserves more recognition.
Angel De Cora was a student of Howard Pyle, and the only person of color he ever taught at his prestigious summer school in Chadds Ford, PA. He proclaimed her a genius and helped her publish two short stories with illustrations in Harper's Monthly, yet her reluctance to passively follow the instructions of a white man led to friction between them. I wrote more about Pyle and De Cora here for the Brandywine River Museum of Art.
Quick note: The names of Katharine Pyle and Frederic Remington are misspelled as the more common Katherine and Frederick, respectively. The former occurs both times she is mentioned in the text and in the index.
Angel De Cora was a student of Howard Pyle, and the only person of color he ever taught at his prestigious summer school in Chadds Ford, PA. He proclaimed her a genius and helped her publish two short stories with illustrations in Harper's Monthly, yet her reluctance to passively follow the instructions of a white man led to friction between them. I wrote more about Pyle and De Cora here for the Brandywine River Museum of Art.
Quick note: The names of Katharine Pyle and Frederic Remington are misspelled as the more common Katherine and Frederick, respectively. The former occurs both times she is mentioned in the text and in the index.
Displaying 1 of 1 review