of Native American Art, in Dallas, Texas. The Gallery was
devoted to carrying authentic Native American art to collectors
in the Dallas & Fort Worth metrolex. The Gallery of Native
American Art was founded by the Wilson Hummingbird family,
and focused exclusively on Oklahoma Indian art (our initial
collection included Gina Gray, Merlin Little Thunder, Valjean
Hessing, Jane Mauldin and Doc Tate Nevaquaya). In the years
that followed, the Gallery expanded its Southern Plains and
Southeast Woodlands collection to include Northern Plains and
Southwest works of art. It was always an imperative to maintain
a true balance of traditional and contemporary styles of art.
The
Gallery
closed in 1998 and relocated its collection to
Sequoyah's
Book and Coffee House, where works had been
exhibited
since 1994. In that time, the Hummingbird family took
a
much needed rest, while the director, Edward Hummingbird
travelled
extensively and rebuilt a collection of traditional Indian
painting.
In 1999, the Gallery reopened as The Blue Deer Gallery.
While
the name has changed, the Hummingbird family continues
to
offer their collective expertise to arts patrons in and around the
Dallas
and Fort Worth metroplex. The Blue Deer Gallery now
features
an extensive collection of important Indian paintings and
drawings,
as well as Navajo textiles, Pueblo pottery, Cherokee
basketry
and museum quality jewelry creations. The gallery has
expanded into general Indian art brokerage, and often uses the
name Blue Deer Art Brokerage.
Today,
the Blue Deer Art Brokerage remains one of the few
American Indian owned and operated art businesses. Edward
and Gary Hummingbird possess a collective knowledge of
American Indian art, culture and history that is matched by very
few. The Blue Deer Art Brokerage has recently branched out
into contemporary art from mainland China (the Lan Lu Gallery).
Doc Tate Nevaquaya and
Wilson Hummingbird
Edward Hummingbird,
Gallery Director