Native American Art Still Very Much Alive

Ralph T. Coe was quoted saying in the New York Times article, ““There is an idea of the dying American Indian, and we keep counting them out. But I keep wondering, if we have counted them out, why is all of this here?”  Although the title of the article notifies us of his death, the article itself largely documents the works of Ralph T. Coe.  Mr. Coe, a former museum director and a private art collector, played a large role in promoting Native American Art.  In the 55-year period of fascination with Native American Art, Mr. Coe managed to collect over 1100 objects and curated several major exhibitions.  The objects were gathered with Mr. Coe’s travels to many different reservations in Canada and America.  There, he learned about the techniques and symbolism of the art.
Mr. Coe’s exhibition titled “Lost and Found Traditions: Native American Art, 1965-1985” was one of the first major exhibitions dedicated to the art of Contemporary Native American artists.  Another of his exhibit,“The Responsive Eye: Ralph T. Coe and the Collecting of American Indian Art,” showed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I chose this article mainly because I remembered being really interested in the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas exhibit at the Met when we went to see the Big Bambu. And I also agree with Mr. Coe’s quote; Native American Art is very much alive. We just don’t really see much of it, because there aren’t many people who advocate it.
Unfortunately, I am unable to upload pictures of his collection, but the provided link of his exhibition has some pictures.