Terry Saul

Chief
Terry Saul
Born
Carl Terry Saul

April 2, 1921
Sardis, Oklahoma, U.S.
DiedMay 1976(1976-05-00) (aged 54–55)
Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S.
Other namesTabaksi, C. Terry Saul
EducationBacone College,
University of Oklahoma,
Art Students League of New York

Chief Carl Terry Saul (1921–1976) also known as C. Terry Saul and Tabaksi, was a Choctaw Nation/Chickasaw illustrator, painter, muralist, commercial artist, and educator.[1][2] He was a leader of the Choctaw/Chickasaw tribe. He served as Director of the art program at Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma, from 1970 until 1976.[3][4]

Biography

Saul was a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.[5] He attended Bacone College,[1] where he studied under Acee Blue Eagle,[6] and Woody Crumbo.[6] His classmates at Bacone College included Walter Richard “Dick” West, Sr. and Oscar Howe, all of which started the early process of departing for traditional Native art and painting-styles, and moving towards Surrealism and engaging in modernist aesthetics.[7]

He served in the United States Army during World War II.[8] After the war, Saul continued his studies at University of Oklahoma, Norman (OU), where he received a BFA degree (1948) and MFA degree (1949); and at the Art Students League of New York, from 1951 to 1952.[1][8] Saul was the first Native American student to receive a MFA degree from the University of Oklahoma.[9]

In 1960, he lived in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and in addition to painting, Saul worked at the Phillips Petroleum Company.[10] He is known for his watercolor paintings, and casein paintings depicting Plains Tribes heritage and ceremonies.[11][10] He later returned to teach at Bacone College, where he served as the Director of the art program from 1970 to 1976.[3] One of his students was Joan Brown.[12]

His artwork is in museum collections, including the Gilcrease Museum,[13] Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art,[14] and the Philbrook Museum of Art.[15]

Publications

  • Grerory, Jack; Strickland, Rennard (1972). Choctaw Spirit Tales. Chief Terry Saul (illustrations), Indian Heritage Association (1st ed.). Muskogee, OK: Hoffman Printing Company.

References

  1. ^ a b c Visions and Voices: Native American Painting from the Philbrook Museum of Art. Philbrook Museum of Art. 1996. pp. 229–230. ISBN 978-0-86659-013-6.
  2. ^ Clark, Blue (2020-09-03). Indian Tribes of Oklahoma: A Guide. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-8061-6762-6.
  3. ^ a b Lawson, Russell M.; Lawson, Benjamin A. (2019-10-11). Race and Ethnicity in America: From Pre-contact to the Present [4 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-4408-5097-4.
  4. ^ "Clipped From The Daily Oklahoman". The Daily Oklahoman. 1974-11-10. p. 255. Retrieved 2022-10-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Remembering William Terry Saul, Native elder, journalist and cosmically cool musician". The Oaklandside. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  6. ^ a b Neuman, Lisa K. (2020-03-09). Indian Play: Indigenous Identities at Bacone College. University of Nebraska Press. p. 204. ISBN 978-1-4962-0932-0.
  7. ^ White, Mark A. (2013). Mesch, Claudia (ed.). "A Modernist Moment: Native Art and Surrealism at the University of Oklahoma". Journal of Surrealism and the Americas. 7 (1): 52–70.
  8. ^ a b "Terry Saul - Biography". AskArt.com. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  9. ^ Sheets, Nan (1958-04-13). "33 Artists, Prize-Winners All: Indian Works Now on Display". The Daily Oklahoman. p. 56. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  10. ^ a b "Saul Picture Goes to Wash". Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise. 1960-12-11. p. 21. Retrieved 2022-10-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Terry Saul Works in Linear Fashion". Newspapers.com. The Arizona Republic. June 13, 1965. p. 70. ISSN 0892-8711. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  12. ^ Broder, Patricia Janis (2013-12-10). Earth Songs, Moon Dreams: Paintings by American Indian Women. Macmillan. p. 261. ISBN 978-1-4668-5972-2.
  13. ^ "C. Terry Saul". Gilcrease Museum. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  14. ^ "Chief Terry Saul". OU.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  15. ^ "Choctaw Sick Dance, Terry Saul (Chief Terry Saul; Tobaksi, Ember of Fire or the Coal), Choctaw, Watercolor". Native Voices. Retrieved 2022-10-10.