sketch of a bird's head with beak open, in black and white; yellow, red, purple, orange ground with various sizes of text from ads for consumer products; text in LRC: "WOOLWORTH'S Golden Value DAYS"

%C2%A9 Neal Ambrose-Smith

Wake Up and Get to the Sale, 2010

Not on Viewexpand_more

Ambrose-Smith is a noted contemporary Native American painter, draftsman, printmaker, and educator who lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Born and raised off the reservation, he is of Salish, Metic and Cree heritage, descendent of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation of Montana.

He is the son of the internationally renowned Native American painter and printmaker Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. As a child, he was introduced to many of the leading Native American artists who visited his mother's studio. Their example strongly influenced his own work and choice of subjects, which generally explore the social, political, and cultural issues of contemporary Native American life.

Images of Pop culture are also prominently featured in many of Ambrose-Smith's works, often with a humorous or ironic twist on contemporary American society. Among his recurrent subjects is the roadrunner, the terrestrial bird of the desert regions of the American southwest that prefers walking or running to flying. Here, the vigorously drawn oversized head of a roadrunner dominates the composition. Surrounded by various commercial product labels, the furtive bird squawks out the command to "Wake up and get to the sale!"

Details
Title
Wake Up and Get to the Sale
Artist Life
(Kootenai Salish), born 1966
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2011.53.1
Provenance
The artist; (Joe Zanatta Contemporary Art, Shawnee, Kansas, 2011); sold to MIA, 2011
Curator Approved

This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know

sketch of a bird's head with beak open, in black and white; yellow, red, purple, orange ground with various sizes of text from ads for consumer products; text in LRC: "WOOLWORTH'S Golden Value DAYS"

© Neal Ambrose-Smith

Because of © restrictions, we can only show you a small image of this artwork.