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Ledger Drawings

 Collection
Call Number: WA MSS S-4448

Scope and Contents

Ledger drawings created by Oglala Lakota artist Dwayne Wilcox, 2008-2018. The collection includes 48 titled drawings, which appear in his book, Visual/Language: The Ledger Drawings of Dwayne Wilcox (Staunton, Virginia: George F. Thompson Publishing, 2021), edited by Karen Miller Nearburg. One drawing has an inkjet print affixed to its recto. The collection also includes nine untitled drawings on versos, which are probably preparatory drawings for other work.

Drawings executed on blank sheets of paper from a ledger for an electoral board published approximately 1900, except or a single drawing on a blank sheet of paper from a ledger for section, township, and range published approximately 1900. Drawings signed and dated by the artist.

Dates

  • 2008-2018

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The Dwayne Wilcox, Ledger Drawings, is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Dwayne Wilcox on the Walter McClintock Memorial Fund, 2020.

Arrangement

Arranged in order the images appear in Dwayne Wilcox, Visual/Language: The Ledger Drawings of Dwayne Wilcox, edited by Karen Miller Nearburg (Staunton, Virginia: George F. Thompson Publishing, 2021) followed by a self-portrait that does not appear in the work. Untitled drawings that appear on the verso of the titled drawings are listed at the end, chronologically by date of creation.

Associated Materials

John Willis Collection of Lakota Art (WA MSS S-4447). Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Extent

3.3 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.wilcoxledger

Abstract

Ledger drawings created by Oglala Lakota artist Dwayne Wilcox, 2008-2018. The collection includes 48 titled drawings, which appear in his book, Visual/Language: The Ledger Drawings of Dwayne Wilcox (Staunton, Virginia: George F. Thompson Publishing, 2021), edited by Karen Miller Nearburg. One drawing has an inkjet print affixed to its recto. The collection also includes nine untitled drawings on versos, which are probably preparatory drawings for other work.

Dwayne Wilcox (born 1957)

Dwayne "Chuck" Wilcox is an Oglala Lakota artist born at Kadoka, South Dakota, and raised at Wanblee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He served in the United States military. A self-taught artist, Wilcox created his first commissioned artwork in 1974 and transitioned to a full-time art career in 1987 with an emphasis on ledger drawings. Example of his work are collected in Visual/Language: The Ledger Drawings of Dwayne Wilcox (Staunton, Virginia: George F. Thompson Publishing, 2021), edited by Karen Miller Nearburg.

Ledger Drawings

Ledger drawings are traditionally representational drawings of scenes from the lives of nineteenth century Plains Indians, with an emphasis on martial accomplishments. Ledger drawings were so named for the ruled ledger books in which they were often executed which the creators obtained from soldiers or traders. Many twentieth century and twenty-first century Native American artists have also integrated ledgers in their work.

Processing Information

Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards. For more information, please refer to the Beinecke Manuscript Unit Processing Manual.

Title
Guide to the Dwayne Wilcox, Ledger Drawings
Status
Completed
Author
Matthew Daniel Mason
Date
June 2021
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository

Contact:
P. O. Box 208330
New Haven CT 06520-8330 US
(203) 432-2977

Location

121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours

Access Information

The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.