Bison - Central Plains

He became well-known among collectors of Native American art for his portraits of noted figures, past and present.

One source has indicated that his most famous works were of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce and Chief Red Cloud of the Oglala Sioux, both done on sheepskin. ShipShee also painted works on deer and elk skins as well as velvet and canvas.

While he preferred portraits, ShipShee's landscapes often included buffalo in the scenes. One of those paintings, Bison - Central Plains, was donated to the Kansas Museum of History 1999 by Charles King of Tucson, Arizona. The work is said to have been in the collection of Kansas Governor Alf Landon, and may have been given to Landon by ShipShee himself.

Louis ShipShee moved from job to job, wanting to see what he could of the world. He served in the U.S. Army in World War I, stationed in Siberia. By the 1930s he was working as an instructor of interior decorating at Haskell Indian Junior College in Lawrence, Kansas, where he also gave art lessons. His ability in interior decorating proved successful in both Oklahoma and California.

In the early 1950s ShipShee married and returned to Topeka. Proud of his heritage, he acquired a collection of Native American artifacts, often by trading his own paintings. He died in Topeka in 1975 and is buried in the reservation cemetery on land his father had set aside for that purpose.

The Kansas Museum of History frequently receives requests for appraisals of Louis ShipShee's works. Please note that neither the museum nor the Kansas Historical Society can provide appraisals (see our Appraisal Policy). We encourage individuals to consult the web sites of the American Society of Appraisers, the International Society of Appraisers, or the Appraisers Association of America for searchable listings of appraisers around the United States.

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