Virginia Alice Stroud (March 13, 1951 – November 8, 2024) was a Native American painter from Oklahoma.Lester, 533 She was an enrolled citizen of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and a Muscogee descendant.
Early life Virginia Stroud was born in Madera, California, on March 13, 1951."Virginia Alice Stroud (1951-)." AskArt. (retrieved 1 June 2010) Her mother died when she was eleven, so Stroud moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma, to live with her sister. She sold her first painting at the age of 13.
Stroud graduated from Muskogee High School in 1968. From 1968 to 1970, she attended Bacone College and studied art under Cheyenne painter Dick West, who made her his studio assistant. She then attended the University of Oklahoma.
In her late 20s, Stroud was adopted, following Kiowa tradition, as a daughter of Evelyn Tahome and Jacob Ahtone, a Kiowa couple.
Pageants and the Tear Dress In 1969, Stroud served as Miss Cherokee Tribal Princess. She went on to win the title Miss National Congress of American Indians in 1970, and in 1971, she was crowned Miss Indian America XVII.Conley, 229 When Stroud competed for the title of princess in 1969, Cherokee women wanted her to represent the tribe in a "traditional" Cherokee outfit, which was problematic since Cherokee women wore contemporary mainstream fashions for at least two centuries and wore very little clothing before that. A committee of Cherokee women, appointed by Chief W. W. Keeler designed a dress based on a hundred-year-old Cherokee dress owned by a Cherokee lady, Wynona Day, and from surrounding Southeast tribes' formal regalia, and they created the "Tear Dress."Cochran, Wendell. "The Cherokee Tear Dress Eyewitness Accounts." People's Path. 2001 (retrieved 1 June 2010)Coleman, Travina. "Cherokee tear dresses, a passion." Muskogee Phoenix. 4 Feb 2008 (retrieved 1 June 2010) Elizabeth Higgins (Cherokee Nation) sewed the first tear dress for Stroud.
Art career Stroud painted with tempera and gouache and was a fine art printmaker. She also has written and illustrated several children's books. She drew inspiration from Bacone school Flatstyle painting and historical ledger art, as well as ancient pictographs. Over her career, Stroud developed a narrative style with minimal facial details in her people and lavish floral backgrounds.Power, 199 She also painted kinetic wooden sculptures and fine art furniture.
Her work is in such public collections as the Gilcrease Museum, Millicent Rogers Museum, Philbrook Museum of Art, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, Cherokee Heritage Center, and Cherokee Nation Entertainment.
Of her work, Stroud said: "I paint for my people. Art is a way for our culture to survive... perhaps the only way."
Death Stroud died in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, on November 8, 2024, at the age of 73.
Honors In 1970, Stroud became the youngest Native artist to win first place in the Woodlands division of the Philbrook Museum's annual juried art show. In 1982, the Indian Arts and Crafts Association honored Stroud as Artist of the Year.Power, 199 The Five Civilized Tribes Museum declared Stroud a Master Artist in 1986. In 2000, she was given the Cherokee Medal of Honor.
Published works Doesn't Fall off His Horse: A Cherokee Tale. Dial, 1994. . A Walk to the Great Mystery: A Cherokee Tale. Dial, 1995. . The Path of the Quiet Elk: A Native American Alphabet Book. Dial, 1996. ."Virginia A. Stroud: Bibliography." Amazon.com (retrieved 1 June 2010)
See also Sharron Ahtone Harjo (Kiowa)
Notes
References Conley, Robert L. A Cherokee Encyclopedia. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2007. . Lester, Patrick D. The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters. Norman: Oklahoma University Press, 1995. . Power, Susan C. Art of the Cherokee: Prehistory to Present. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2007.