The Responsive Eye

Ralph T. Coe and the Collecting of Indian Art

by Ralph T Coe

Over the past three decades, Ralph T. Coe has traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada to assemble this collections of Native American art, one of the finest in private hands today. Immersed in the cultures of Native America, he has come to know artists and artisans, traders, dealers, and shop proprietors, selecting the very best they have to offer. This catalogue tells the stories of nearly two hundred of these objects, combining art history with personal reminiscence.

Ralph T. Coe has collected American Indian art for half a century, forming a renowned collection that represents all regions and periods of American Indian art. This attractive catalogue presents two hundred works from Coe's remarkable collection. Featured are exquisite examples of prehistoric stone objects, button blankets, crest objects, masks, canoe and tipi models, dolls and figurines, woven basketry, tobacco paraphernalia, and a selection of contemporary works, all of which bring to life the vivid cultures of the American Indian throughout the centuries. In the accompanying text, Coe entertainingly describes his extensive travels in the United States and Canada as he searched for objects for his collection. The catalogue also includes an essay by Eugene V. Thaw about Coe's contribution to the awareness of the artistic heritage of American Indian art; an overview of the collecting of American Indian art by Jonathan King; and a discussion of aesthetic theory in relation to this art form by Judith Ostrowitz

340 pp ~ 230 color photos — ©2003