19 Facts About Ernest Spybuck

Earnest Spybuck was an Absentee Shawnee Native American artist, who was born on the land allotted the Shawnee Indians in Indian Territory and what was to later become Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, near the town of Tecumseh.

Ernest Spybuck's work was received positively by both Native American and non-native artistic communities.

Ernest Spybuck was born on his Shawnee Tribal Allotment near what was later to become Tecumseh, Oklahoma, to the White Turkey Band of the Absentee Shawnee, of the Rabbit clan.

Many different tribal peoples were settled in close proximity to each other so Ernest Spybuck grew up with the neighboring Sauk and Fox, Kickapoo, and Citizen Pottawatomie people.

Ernest Spybuck attended school at the Shawnee Boarding School near his home and at Sacred Heart Mission in south-central Pottawatomie County.

At the age of 19, Ernest Spybuck married his wife Anna Scott, and the couple had four children, Thomas, Flindie, Hewitt and Virgie Louise.

Ernest Spybuck's assistant brought in Spybuck and some of his work and he was able to examine the man's "unsophisticated" drawings.

Ernest Spybuck appreciated the detailed accuracy of the equipment and dress Spybuck depicted and encouraged him to create watercolors of ceremonies and social life of the tribes in the vicinity.

Ernest Spybuck produced watercolors for Harrington through 1921, and Harrington used some in a couple of monographs published by the Heye Foundation.

One reviewer discounts Harrington's patronage, claiming that Ernest Spybuck was already known for depicting daily life among the local tribes when the two met.

Ernest Spybuck's art matured along with his involvement in the local community, which included participating in activities and ceremonies that interested ethnographers.

Reportedly Ernest Spybuck told Harrington that he preferred painting cowboys, livestock and range scenes, and some say through Harrington's patronage, Ernest Spybuck's style evolved in his choice of subjects and the way he painted them.

Ernest Spybuck's style was representational, featuring local scenes of ceremonies, games, social gatherings and the home life he was familiar with and often participated in.

Ernest Spybuck developed his own unique techniques, such as painting a cross-section "window" in lodge where a ceremony would take place to show the activity inside, while showing the landscape and time of day outside.

Ernest Spybuck's scenes provide subtle hints of attitudes and personalities of individuals and often include whimsical details that contrast with the central activities.

Ernest Spybuck's paintings served as illustrations for numerous anthropological writings.

Ernest Spybuck belonged to a large and influential family within the Absentee Shawnee Nation where he was an active member of the community and became a Peyote leader when the Native American Church was first adopted by Shawnee peoples.

Ernest Spybuck died in 1949 at the age of 66 and was buried in a family plot near his home.

Ernest Spybuck was 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.