Continuity and Diversity: The Art of Arthur Amiotte

Continuity and Diversity showcases more than 60 paintings, fabric works, and collages created between 1967 and the present by Arthur Amiotte, a renowned Lakota artist with an international reputation. This retrospective—the most comprehensive presentation of his work to date—traces six distinct phases of the artist’s creative development, offering a profound look into his evolving vision and enduring cultural voice.

The works in this landmark exhibition have been drawn from over 20 collections, including major loans from the Aktá Lakota Museum (Chamberlain), The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School (Pine Ridge), the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation (Crazy Horse), and the artist himself.

Born in 1942 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, Amiotte was mentored in his early years by the influential Yanktonai painter Oscar Howe. He holds a bachelor’s degree in art education and a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies—combining anthropology, religion, and art—and has been awarded two honorary doctorates.

Amiotte’s leadership in the arts has been recognized through appointments to numerous prestigious institutions, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian Advisory Committee and the Presidential Advisory Council on the Arts at the Kennedy Center. He has also served as a trustee for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming; as a board member of the Native American Art Studies Association; as a commissioner for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Indian Arts and Crafts Board; and on the Council of Regents for the Institute of American Indian Arts.

His accolades include a Lila Wallace–Reader’s Digest Fellowship at Giverny, grants from Arts International, the Getty Foundation, and the Bush Leadership Program, as well as the South Dakota Governor’s Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in the Arts and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native American Art Studies Association.

With over 100 exhibitions—including more than 20 solo shows—Amiotte’s work is held in 18 public and nearly 100 private collections across the country.

This retrospective is cosponsored by the Aktá Lakota Museum at St. Joseph’s Indian School; The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School; the Journey Museum in Rapid City; Northern Galleries at Northern State University; the South Dakota Art Museum; the University Art Galleries at The University of South Dakota; and the Visual Arts Center at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls. Support from the South Dakota Arts Council is made possible with funding from the State of South Dakota and the National Endowment for the Arts.