George Longfish, Longfish

George Longfish (b.1942) is an international noted artist. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, earning a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts and Master’s of Fine Arts degree. Longfish was the director for the Graduate Program in American Indian Art at the University of Montana in 1972 and a Professor of Native American Art at the University of California, Davis from 1972-2003 and Director of the C.N. Gorman Museum from 1974-1996. He is well known for his mixed media paintings that stress the importance of owning one’s cultural information and passing it to future generations. He draws upon Native symbolism to inculcate his work with Native traditions and beliefs, while using non-Native commercially based icons to undermine the stereotyped representations. Longfish’s works often use humor and irony to address issues of decolonization and Native identity. He is best known for his large, vivid paintings incorporating stenciled text.

A longtime UC Davis faculty member, Longfish published essays regarding the history and placement of contemporary Native art. His commitment and dedication to furthering the works of Native artists has contributed immensely to the identity and visibility of the contemporary Native American art movement. Longfish has exhibited extensively including: the Hunt-Henry Gallery, Chicago; the Henry Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle; the Oakland Museum, Oakland, California; the Art Institute of Chicago; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Casa de las Americas, Havana, Cuba; the Alternative Museum, New York, and in Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Columbia and Ecuador.