Jaune Quick-To-See Smith

(Confederated Salish/Kootenai, 1940-2025)

Cheyenne #47

collage and mixed media on paper

signed JQTS Smith (lower right); titled (on the reverse)

30 x 22 1/4 in.

Provenance:

Private Collection, Iowa.

A gift from the above.

Private Collection, Colorado.

Lot Note:

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith's Cheyenne Series (see also Lot 107) is a foundational body of work where the artist first developed her signature visual language: a juxtaposition of Indigenous symbolism and modernist abstraction. By layering images of horses, tepees, cacti, and petroglyphs—drawn from her Salish, Kootenai and Shoshone heritage—onto canvases marked with the expressive brushwork and gestural energy of artists like Robert Rauschenberg or Paul Klee, Quick-to-See Smith established a vital dialogue. The series, named after her own horse, interrogated traditional culture and memory as a means of commenting on contemporary Indigenous identity and the Western landscape, effectively laying the groundwork for the more explicitly political themes seen in her seminal later works.

In overall very good condition. Paper is hinged at top left and right and adhered to board intermittently along left and right edges. Pinholes visible at upper left and right. Gentle (1/4-inch) crease within bottom left corner. Additional images available upon request.

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Adam Veil

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Adam Veil serves as Vice President and a Fine Art Specialist at Freeman’s.

Veil joined Freeman’s in 2021 following years of experience in both the auction world and the academy. His area of specialization is pre-WWII American Art, although he has lectured and published on topics ranging from Mexican landscape painting and Old Master printmaking to art market economics.

Veil earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in art history from Penn State University and pursued doctoral studies at Indiana University Bloomington. Prior to joining Freeman’s, Veil was Head of Fine Art at a Washington, D.C.-area auction house, and Executive Director of the Santa Fe Art Auction, where he oversaw market-setting auctions of classical and contemporary Western, Southwestern, and California art. He has also held positions in provenance research, art fair operations, and as editor and producer of The Conversation, a popular Los Angeles–based contemporary art podcast. Concurrent with his role at Freeman’s, Veil is a professor at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches courses in Renaissance, Modern, and American art history.

Western and Contemporary Native American Art

Cheyenne #47

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