W. Langdon Kihn and Model, ca. 1935. Wide World Photos.

W. (WILFRED) LANGDON KIHN (1898-1957)

Like George Catlin before him, W. (Wilfred) Langdon Kihn (1898-1957) was interested in studying the American Indian but not from a purely artistic point of view. He wanted to use the canvas to capture the life, customs, and experience of the American Indian. At the age of nineteen he accompanied his teacher Winold Reiss on a trip to Montana to visit the Blackfoot Indian reservation . This trip marked Kihn’s first contact with American Indians, and created within him a life-long passion for documenting their culture.

Khin’s portraits, illustrations, and sketches use strong, graphic lines, no doubt a quotation of American Indian designs he studied. While the dress of the figure and the space around them is often abstracted, the faces of Kihn’s sitters are always expressive, perhaps showing sorrow, pride, or stoicism.

The following images are from the W. Langdon Kihn papers, microfilm reels 3701-3713.

PENCIL SKETCHES, GREEN CORN DANCE COSTUMES, SAN ILDEFONSO, N.M.

44.5 x 30.2 cm.

Illustrations

Illustration of  man and woman walking, print, 9.5 x 15.5 cm.	Illustration,  woman and child, 8.5 x 7 cm.

Man on horseback, print, 10 x 6 cm.

Man and flying eagle, print, 10 x 6 cm.	Dance around fire, 9.5 x 15.5 cm.

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