The Absentee Shawnee Tribe is excited to announce their recent acquisition of an original artwork by twentieth century Woodland artist, Ernest Spybuck (1883–1949).
The artwork, which was donated to the tribe in early 2025, underwent extensive restoration work, led by Dallas based art conservator, Lyzanne Gann.
The art reception will begin at 10:00 AM on September 11, 2026, at the historic Jacobson House Native Art Center located at 609 Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK. Light refreshments will be served.
Living in Indian Territory at the dawn of the twentieth century, Ernest Spybuck was a self-taught Indian artist and member of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe. Known for his depictions of Indian culture and life in the early 1900s, Spybuck’s art repertoire is a collection of vignettes that offer a glimpse into Indian life and culture happening in early Indian Territory. His style of painting and aesthetics were unique for Indian painters of the twentieth century, especially in contrast to the popular flat line style of work being created by many Indian artists at that time.
Spybuck paintings have made their way all across the United States in some of the top institutions including the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Norman, the Heard Museum in Phoenix, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of the American Indian in New York.
He was also commissioned to produce murals for the Creek Indian Council House and Museum in Okmulgee, Oklahoma and at the Oklahoma Historical Society Museum in Oklahoma City.
The recent acquisition will be on view at the Jacobson House through September 12th. Admission is free.
