Moses Old Bull
A Closer Look
A shape is a two-dimensional representation of an object showing its width and length. The outline of a figure is called a skeletal shape. Geometric shapes use straight lines and angles, and organic shapes use curvy, free-flowing lines. In Winter Horse Raiding Episode, Moses Old Bull uses colored pencils to draw shapes. Look at the drawing and find the skeletal, geometric and organic shapes. Create a story of your own and draw it using different kinds of shapes.
About the Painting
Moses Old Bull drew Winter Horse Raiding Episode on paper with colored pencils. The Apsaalookas (Crow) Tribe are trying to protect and recover their herd from Old Bull and his men. Old Bull and the other Teton Lakota are defending themselves, and a man has been wounded. The entire story is told in this drawing in three scenes that move counter-clockwise in a circle, beginning in the lower right corner. A collector probably added the words and lines that separate the different scenes.
About the Artist
Moses Old Bull was from the Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux tribe, a nephew of the famous Sioux chief, Sitting Bull. Starting about 1830, Indians began using the white man's art materials—paper and pencils—to make their drawings. Before that they drew on animal skins, walls and rocks. Moses Old Bull was an old man when he drew Winter Horse Raiding Episode in 1910. He was remembering an event that took place when he was young.
Write About It
- Make a list of what you see.
- How did the artist use the elements and principles of design?
- What do you think the painting means? How does it make you feel?
- Select two paintings to compare & contrast.
