Do you know about Indian ledger drawings?

Let me say right off that this is NOT a ledger drawing, This is a quick similarity I sketched last night. I had been practicing with my fountain pen and thought that the page would be a good one for ledger-style art. Ledger art is the exclusive domain of certain American Indian tribes, and its really wonderful.

I'm greatly influenced by old pieces and the style of ledger art. Here's the Wiki definition, which is a good one: Ledger art is a term for narrative drawing or painting on paper or cloth, predominantly practiced by Plains Indian, but also from the Plateau and Great Basin. Ledger art flourished primarily from the 1860s to the 1920s. A revival of ledger art began in the 1960s and 1970s. The term comes from the accounting ledger books that were a common source of paper for Plains Indians during the late 19th century.

 

Most of the surviving and most famous ledger art was produced by Indians who were imprisoned at places like Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida or otherwise captive on reservations. Much of it was produced for tourists but some was a way to depict life events and stories, as these tribes had no written language. I think it's fascinating and beautiful, particularly the old ones that were made before the commodification of ledger art.

 

Wikipedia does a good job of explaining the finer points of this unique art form. Indian ledger artists today make some pretty amazing pieces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledger_art

 

And that's my post for today. In the future I will be making more of these little gems using some really interesting stuff I discovered in my husband's recycling bin. It has to do with golden eagles. Stay tuned!

Jenny