Gilcrease Museum is temporarily closed for construction.

Get the Full Story

Dancer Wearing Otter Cap / Jim Lacy Red Corn

Essay/Description

In this painting, an Osage man performs in the Straight Dance style that is prominently tied to the I’n-Lon-Schka, an Osage ceremonial dance. His Osage otter cap, adorned with an eagle feather, is reserved for men of distinction. He also wears a scarf, a cloth shirt, and a wool vest decorated with beadwork along the waist seams. There are two medicine ties on the back of his bandoliers. Around both biceps are German-silver armbands decorated with ribbons. The dancer’s black wool leggings and breechcloth feature white and blue ribbonwork along the outside seams. Two sets of bells and yellow garters are tied below his knees at the top of the calf. His Osage-cut moccasins are identifiable by their elongated side flaps. The contours and shapes of the dancer’s body and clothing are emphasized in this Flatstyle painting.

In his left hand, the dancer holds a flat fan of eagle feathers. In addition to painting, Osage artist Jim Lacy Red Corn also made fans such as these.

—Jordan Poorman Cocker, Henry Luce Foundation Curatorial Scholar for Indigenous Painting Collection Research, 2021

This text was developed from an interview with Talee Redcorn, Jim Red Corn’s son, by Jordan Poorman Cocker, January 19, 2021

You may be interested in...

Title(s): 
Dancer Wearing Otter Cap; Dancer Wearing Turban
Creator(s): 
Jim Lacy Red Corn (Artist)
Culture: 
Native American; Osage
Date: 
1959
Materials/Techniques: 
gouache on paper
Paper/Support: 
Portrait; single-sided; 8 13/16 x 11 7/16in (22.3 x 29.15cm) 0.200-0.210mm Cream colored, machine made paper. Evenly distributed fibers in transmitted light.
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Credit Line: 
Purchased with funds gifted by the Frankie Van Johnson Fund
Accession No: 
02.1938
Previous Number(s): 
TL 1997.79; 0227.1938; TL1997.79; 39391
Department: 
Not On View

Our Online Collections site is a work in progress. If you have information about this item that may be of assistance, please contact us.