Carl Sweezy
Carl Sweezy (1881-1953) was an Arapaho artist known for his significant contributions to Native American art, particularly through his engaging and culturally rich paintings. He began his artistic journey as a child and honed his skills in watercoloring during his education. At the age of twenty, Sweezy became an informant for anthropologist James Mooney, assisting in a study of the Cheyenne and Arapaho by restoring historical shields and replicating design patterns. Encouraged by Mooney to develop his distinctive "Indian" style, Sweezy's most productive artistic period occurred during this collaboration. He continued to paint for the rest of his life, ultimately retiring in 1920 to focus solely on his artwork. Sweezy's paintings often depict vital themes such as buffalo hunting, horseback riding, and significant historical events, including the defeat of Custer and ceremonial practices like the Sun Dance. His works are recognized as important ethnographic records and are housed in prestigious collections, including those of the National Museum of the American Indian and the Oklahoma Historical Society Museum.
Carl Sweezy
- Born: c. 1879
- Birthplace: Near Darlington, Oklahoma Territory (now in Oklahoma)
- Died: May 28, 1953
- Place of death: Lawton, Oklahoma
Category: Artist
Tribal affiliation: Arapaho
Significance: Sweezy was one of the earliest to use the Native American narrative genre style of painting, and he developed it beyond ledger-book-style drawings
Sweezy began drawing as a child and learned to do watercoloring in school. At age twenty, he became an informant for James Mooney, anthropologist of the Smithsonian Institution, when the latter did a study of the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Mooney needed an artist to restore paint on old shields and to copy designs, and Sweezy did that for him. Mooney liked his work and encouraged him to continue his “Indian” style of painting. Although Sweezy’s most prolific period was while he worked with Mooney, he continued painting the remainder of his life and retired in 1920 to dedicate himself completely to painting.
Sweezy’s paintings are important ethnographically and represent important values. He portrayed such themes as hunting buffalo, riding horseback, the defeat of Custer, ceremonies, and portraits, including details of costumes. His paintings of the Sun Dance are some of the best early visual documentation of that ceremony, and his portraits give details of dress and ritual paraphernalia. His work has been included in many exhibitions, and it is included in the collections of the National Museum of the American Indian, University of Oklahoma Museum of Art, and the Oklahoma Historical Society Museum, among others.