South Dakota Arts Council

South Dakota Arts Council

Pierre, SD

The SDAC is a state government grantmaking agency supported by the State of South Dakota, through the Dept. of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Message
Too Close This Time by Donald F. Montileaux Image: “I have made a choice to share, give, and show my culture to the world through my war horses, buffalo, and warriors who tell the stories. My warriors move the same direction the early warriors used to gather others, four times around the camp and then to victory like the strength and power of the whirlwind on the plains removing all in its way. My work reflects back to my forefathers .. and fiery red, brilliant yellow, and translucent blues ... they would have used.”
“I have made a choice to share, give, and show my culture to the world through my war horses, buffalo, and warriors who tell the stories. My warriors move the same direction the early warriors used to gather others, four times around the camp and then to victory like the strength and power of the whirlwind on the plains removing all in its way. My work reflects back to my forefathers .. and fiery red, brilliant yellow, and translucent blues ... they would have used.”
  • Donald F. Montileaux
  • Too Close This Time, 2008
  • Colored pencil, India ink on ledger paper
  • Framed: 27.5 x 39.5 in (69.85 x 100.33 cm)

Collection: Art For State Buildings x

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Donald Montileaux studied under Oscar Howe and Herman Red Elk, a close friend and mentor. They gave Donald his Lakota name, Yellowbird (Zintkala Zi). He has achieved notoriety nationally and internationally as a master ledger artist. In addition to his work as an artist, he is also well known as an author/illustrator of children’s books. In 2014 he was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame; in 2021 he was awarded the Western America Award for Lifetime Achievement by The Center for Western Studies, Augustana University, Sioux Falls, SD; in 2021 he received the Living Treasure Award of the Lakota Nation, presented at the Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI), in Rapid City, SD; and served several terms on the South Dakota Arts Council board until 2016.

Other Work From South Dakota Arts Council

Good Warriors Watching by Donald F. Montileaux
Moonlight in the Garden by Deborah Mitchell
Sleeping Bear by Jesse Brown Nelson
Endurance by Teri McTighe
Goldfinch and Silver Poplars by Mark W. McGinnis
Blue Birds and Buttressed Pine by Mark W. McGinnis
Window's View by Larry Negaard
Ballad of the Badlands by John Lopez
Ghost Dance by Rebecca Mulvaney
Untitled (#110P) by Bob H. Miller
See all artwork from South Dakota Arts Council