When:
Sept. 20, 2019 – Feb. 22, 2020
Where:
Missoula Art Museum
Meet the Artist
Friday, October 25, 5-8 PM
Art Swing @ MAM
Exhibition Description:
Lillian Pitt presents her newest artwork in Honoring My Ancestors, a solo exhibit opening at MAM in September. Pitt is celebrated nationwide for making contemporary artwork in the deep tradition of Pacific Northwest Native American artists. Recent works in the exhibit include prints, masks, and a new series of Sally bags.
About Lillian’s Sally Bags
Traditionally, a Sally bag was a woven basket used to gather roots, medicines, nuts, and seeds by Native American women of the mid-Columbia River region. The weaving technique is unique to this region with distinguishing motifs of human figures and animals. Lillian’s richly colored Sally bags are made with blown glass and are adorned with traditional shapes and symbols. All of Lillian Pitt’s works honor the cultural legacy of her ancestors from the Wasco, Warm Springs, and Yakama nations in the form of contemporary artworks.
Learn More
About Lillian Pitt:
Born on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon, Lillian Pitt is one of the most highly regarded Native American artists in the Pacific Northwest. A descendant of Wasco, Yakama and Warm Springs people, Pitt creates work that draws on over 12,000 years of Native American history and tradition of the Columbia River region. She aims to give voice to her ancestors through her contemporary artistry, expressed in clay, bronze, wearable art, prints, and most recently, glass.
Lillian Pitt’s works have been exhibited regionally, nationally and internationally. They can also be found in public spaces, like parks, schools and cultural institutions throughout the Pacific Northwest. A notable example of these works is featured at the Vancouver Land Bridge, one of the seven “confluence” projects along the Columbia River, designed by renowned architect Maya Lin.
Pitt has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the 2007 Earle A. Chiles Award for Lifetime Achievement and the 1990 Governor’s Award of the Oregon Arts Commission, which declared that she had made “significant contributions to the growth and development of the cultural life of Oregon.
Learn More About Lillian Pitt:
One of the most highly regarded Native American artists in the Pacific Northwest:
