Untitled (Geronimo/Goyathlay)
Artist
Joseph Kahze
(American, Mescalero Apache)
Date20th Century
Mediumbeadwork on canvas
DimensionsImage: 9 15/16 × 5 3/4 in. (25.2 × 14.6 cm)
Support: 11 15/16 × 7 5/8 in. (30.3 × 19.4 cm)
Support: 11 15/16 × 7 5/8 in. (30.3 × 19.4 cm)
ClassificationsTextile
Credit LineGift of Edith and Ernest Schwartz, 2008
Object number2014.13
DescriptionBeadwork depicting Apache leader Geronimo/Goyathlay based on a well-known historical photograph.eMuseum Notes
This work appropriates a well-known, iconic 1887 photograph of Bedonkohe Apache leader Geronimo for its composition. The use of this image of Geronimo (Goyathlay) clutching a rifle rendered in beading suggests a critical perspective on the history of NM and SW Apaches. Geronimo fought against colonization of Apache homelands and aggressively pursued revenge attacks against Mexicans after his mother, wife and children were killed in a raid by Spanish Mexican soldiers. He later added US whites to his vendetta. He is known as the “last Apache holdout” and has become a symbol of Indigenous People’s resistance.
On View
Not on view
Joseph Henry Sharp
circa 1895
