Fritz Scholder lithograph collection

Fritz Scholder was an American artist who created works in several mediums including paintings and sculpture. Scholder was born October 6, 1937 in Breckenridge, Minnesota to a German-American father and San Luiseno Indian mother. Scholder gained renown early in his career and exhibited his works in numerous shows which received favorable reviews. In 1961 he was asked by Tarmo Pasto and Raymond Witt to participate in the Rockefeller Art Indian Project at the University of Arizona and soon accepted a graduate assistant position at that University's Fine Arts Department. In the late 1960's, he was hired as a teacher at the Institute of American Indian Arts located in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

In 1967, Scholder created a series of paintings that depicted Native Americans in a modern context which had subjects driving pickup trucks and drinking from beer cans. The pieces were associated with the fledgling New Indian Art Movement and Scholder stated that with these works he wanted to eradicate stereotypes of Native Americans that were prevalent in art and society as a whole. The works were immediately received with controversy and subsequently influenced a generation of Native American artists.

The 1980's – 1990's was a period of recognition and transition for the artist. In 1982 he relocated to Manhattan and it was during this period the themes of his artworks started to take on a more personalized tone. Also during this time his works were shown in major exhibits and became additions to several permanent museum collections, including San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. As the decade progressed his works were shown in major world museums, he was the subject of numerous one man shows as well as being honored with several awards. In 1994, Scholder removed back to Arizona and founded his own private press, Apocrypha, and again relocated to New Hampshire. Throughout this time period, Scholder's works were exhibited in numerous one man exhibits throughout the world, were the subjects of several monographs, and was the recipient of acolytes and awards. Scholder died in 2005 in Scottsdale, Arizona.