four vertically configured sheets of yellowish paper (received affixed together with tape) of different sizes; top sheet has stylized image of three heads, seen from above--2 with wavy blonde hair, one with black hair and moustache, wearing suit jackets and shirts with dollar signs down the front, drinking from black straws in a milk bottle with a band of dollar signs; red hearts with cracks and symbols and circles in lower quadrants; second sheet from highly stylized symmetrical pattern of three heads with bands of dollar signs around spoked medallion, separated by colored circles; intertwined red, purple, and green hearts; verso: unfinished design at center, similar to recto, with triangular pencil guide marks; second sheet from bottom has geometric design with eight-pointed star at center, surrounded by various multicolored geometric circular bands; geometric rectangular border primarily in green and red; bottom sheet is text: Titled Husbands in USA

Titled Husbands in USA, c.1935

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In the early half of the twentieth century, at a moment when modernism, abstraction, Art Nouveau-style designs, and Native American art established a place in fine art museums across America, Sully quietly began to revolutionize Native and American art by intentionally and carefully making connections between these seemingly unrelated genres, and, in doing so, perhaps unintentionally transformed the field of American art. Working without patronage, in near obscurity and largely self-taught, Sully produced over 130 intricately drawn and vividly colored three-panel ‘personality prints’ and several detailed drawings that captured the culture of her Dakota community and other Native nations; scenes she observed while living in New York City; and vignettes of popular culture of the 1920s and ‘30s.

In addition to personality portraits, Sully created several works related to broader themes of the day. In Titled Husbands in the USA, the artist pokes fun at the glitter and celebrity of European noble men marrying wealthy American women. Three men suck from a milk bottle labeled with dollar signs, and broken straws extend from the sides of the milk bottle like broken wings. Attached to them are red hearts, all marked with the signs of rupture, and wedding bands. The middle panel extends the top panel design into kaleidoscope fashion, and the bottom panel further abstracts the composition into one that resembles both stain glass windows found in churches and those found in Lakota quilled and beaded hide robes.

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Details
Title
Titled Husbands in USA
Artist Life
(Dakota), 1896 - 1963
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2023.56.8
Curator Approved

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four vertically configured sheets of yellowish paper (received affixed together with tape) of different sizes; top sheet has stylized image of three heads, seen from above--2 with wavy blonde hair, one with black hair and moustache, wearing suit jackets and shirts with dollar signs down the front, drinking from black straws in a milk bottle with a band of dollar signs; red hearts with cracks and symbols and circles in lower quadrants; second sheet from highly stylized symmetrical pattern of three heads with bands of dollar signs around spoked medallion, separated by colored circles; intertwined red, purple, and green hearts; verso: unfinished design at center, similar to recto, with triangular pencil guide marks; second sheet from bottom has geometric design with eight-pointed star at center, surrounded by various multicolored geometric circular bands; geometric rectangular border primarily in green and red; bottom sheet is text: Titled Husbands in USA
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