12 Facts About Richard Aitson

Richard Aitson was a Kiowa-Kiowa Apache bead artist, curator, and poet from Oklahoma.

Richard Aitson was born on December 26,1953, in Anadarko, Oklahoma.

Richard Aitson's mother was the Kiowa traditionalist Alecia Keahbone Gonzales, who taught the Kiowa language at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

In 1976, Richard Aitson produced documentaries for the Bicentennial Commission about Native American events.

Richard Aitson worked at the Squash Blossom Gallery in Aspen, Colorado, in 1979, which is where he first curated art shows.

Richard Aitson has since curated many group shows, including "Winter Camp 2000" at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

Richard Aitson taught Native American literature at Anadarko High School and taught at Bacone College as an adjunct professor of art.

Richard Aitson was invited to join the prestigious Kiowa Gourd Clan and had to learn beading to create his gourd dance regalia.

Richard Aitson describes his art as "contemporary-traditional" and he creates beaded dance regalia for the Native American community as well as bead art for fine art collectors and museums.

Richard Aitson is known in particular for his fully beaded, functional cradleboards, but he makes miniature cradleboards with extremely minute beads.

In 1992, Richard Aitson had a solo exhibition at the US Department of Interior's Southern Plains Indian Museum in Anadarko.

Richard Aitson's work has earned numerous awards, including the Red Earth Festival's Grand Award in 1997 and the Southwest Museum's Jackie Autry Purchase Prize in 2005.