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Earl Biss

1947 Renton, Wasington - 1998 American Southwest

BiographyEarl Biss was born in Renton, Washington, on September 29, 1947. He was given his child name of Meadow Lark Boy and later as a man named Spotted Horse, as with the tradition of his people, the Chippewa. He spent his childhood in the Northwest. In 1965-1966 Biss attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico under the guidance of Fritz Scholder. He later completed his studies at the San Francisco Art Institute in California in 1966-1972.

Biss then traveled to Europe for a year of independent studies. He maintained a studio in the Netherlands countryside, using his spare time to learn from the works of the Old Dutch Masters. He then traveled down through France to settle for six months on the Isle of Corfu in Greece. He attributes most of his work’s influences to Turner, Monet, Whistler, Munch and Kokoschka. Biss discovered his own style, incorporating old styles with modern styles. He combined America’s Abstract Expressionism and Europe’s Old Age Masters to create an expression of his cultural heritage. His subject matter is drawn from the landscape and rich spiritual background of his people. In 1998 he died in the American Southwest.

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