Fritz Scholder (1937- 2005)

  Fritz Scholder was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota, and studied at Sacramento State University and the University of Arizona, where he also taught. Scholder is one-quarter American Indian and has chosen to honor his heritage in his artistic life. Inspired by Gauguin, and concerned with color and form, he believes that his work is expressionistic in nature. Strong feelings about Indian life are translated in work that has an almost mystical quality. Many of his subjects are shown dancing, since activity, Scholder believes, is closely allied with magic, and magic and art are a natural complement. Scholder has received many honors. His work has been exhibited to critical acclaim internationally and can be found in at least fifteen American museums, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, the Dallas Museum of Contemporary Art, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.