STIGLER, Okla. — The art world and beyond is mourning the loss of renowned Choctaw artist Norma Howard, who passed away on Tuesday at 65.
"She captured the Choctaw style, their heritage, cultural ways," said Cherokee artist Vivian Cottrell, remembering her friend.
Cottrell marvels at the intricacy and detail of Howard's paintings, but that's not the only thing that sets her work apart.
Chelsea Herr, the curator of Indigenous art at the Gilcrease Museum, explains, "Her technique was to create tiny brush strokes, called hatch marks, that actually look like a basket weave. Choctaw people are known for creating very intricate baskets, and she imbued that technique in her watercolor painting strokes."
Herr calls Howard's style a source of pride for the community. "To be able to see yourself as a Choctaw person and especially as a Choctaw woman reflected in that work is very emboldening, right?"
Herr said Howard's work was on display at the Gilcrease Museum, off and on, for 26 years, where tens of thousands of visitors got to enjoy her pieces.
Another place featuring her work is Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, N.M. Its owner, Leroy Garcia, made the following statement:
It was an honor to represent Norma over the last twenty years. She was a beautiful, kind soul who was an amazing, self-taught artist. I was very proud of her many accolades, especially her many awards at Indian Market. She painted imagery of her life as a child on the rez as well as scenes from what would be memories of her homeland and culture that have mainly disappeared. I will miss her until we meet again.
"One thing that Norma valued and uplifted in her artwork more than anything else were those quiet, reflective, and kind of intimate moments," Herr said.
Those who knew her say those moments will forever live on through her art. Cottrell adds, "It's been an honor to know her, to watch her, and, you know, as a friend, she's going to be missed."
The Gilcrease Museum plans to feature the artist's work again when it reopens.
Howard's memorial service is on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Stigler First Assembly of God.
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