Eka Numu, Red Comanche
Artist
Nocona Burgess (American, b. 1969)
Date
2014Medium
Oil on canvasDimensions
Canvas : 12 x 12 in. (30.48 x 30.48 cm)Credit Line
Hope College CollectionObject Number
2021.10
Label
Artist Nocona Burgess is an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma. Descended from a prominent family of chiefs and artists, Burgess is interested in finding contemporary ways to portray the enduring strength and vitality of Native American culture. He often bases his paintings on historical photographs, which he recreates using bold colors and forceful brushwork to give the subjects greater power and presence. This painting is based on a 19th-century portrait of an as yet unidentified Comanche subject. The term “Eka” used in the painting’s title is the Comanche word for “red” while the word “Numu” is derived from the Comanche name for themselves. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Comanche ranked among the most powerful indigenous tribes in the Southern Plains region of North America and they still exist there as a proud nation today.
