Mask depicting Wasco Eiyat, 1987
by Lillian Pitt, Yakima, Wasco, and Springs Nation
Anagama fired clay, feathers, leather, beads, coppper disks
40” high x 12” wide x 3” deep
This incredible mask was featured in the Heard Museum's 3rd Biennial Native American Fine Arts Invitational. This landmark juried group exhibitions ran from October 10, 1987 to February 27, 1988 at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. Curated by Margaret Archuleta, the exhibition featured multi-media and contemporary spiritual imagery by eleven prominent Indigenous artists including Joe Fedderson (Colville), Ullaaq Larry Ahvakana (Inupiat), and David Ruben Piqtoukun (Inuit)
Lillian Pitt is a Native American artist from the Big River (Columbia River) region of the Pacific Northwest. Born on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon, she is a descendent of Wasco, Yakama, and Warm Springs people.
She is one of the most highly regarded Native American artists in the Pacific Northwest. Her works have been exhibited and reviewed regionally, nationally and internationally, and she has been the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions. Her awards include the 2007 Earle A. Chiles Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the 1990 Governor’s Award of the Oregon Arts Commission, which declared that she had made “significant contributions to the growth and development of the cultural life of Oregon.”
Primarily a sculptor and mixed media artist, Lillian’s lifetime of works include artistic expressions in clay, bronze, wearable art, prints, and glass. The focus of her work draws on over 12,000 years of Native American history and tradition of the Columbia River region. Regardless of the medium she chooses to use, Lillian’s contemporary works are all aimed at giving voice to her people.
