Elizabeth Hickox
Wiyot basket maker form California (1870s–1947)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elizabeth Conrad Hickox (1872/5–July 19, 1947) was a Wiyot master basket weaver and was considered one of the finest basket-weavers of her time.[1] Her baskets differ from other Lower Klamath baskets through her own unique use of shape, technique, color scheme and design.[2][3]
Elizabeth Conrad Hickox | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | ca. 1872/1875 Karuk Territory, California |
| Died | July 19, 1947 California |
| Citizenship | Wiyot Tribe |
| Known for | Native American basketry |
| Spouse(s) | Frank Merrill, Luther Hickox |
| Patrons | Grace Nicholson |
Early life
Elizbeth Conrad Hickox's birth year has been given as 1872[2] and 1875.[1] Hickox's mother was Wiyot and her father, European-American.[4] It was reported that Hickox's mother, Polly, had been abducted by her later husband, Charles Conrad.[5] When Elizabeth was in her teens, she married Frank Merrill (Karuk), and they had two children together, Jessie and Bruce.[6] She later married Luther Hickox in 1895.[6] Luther Hickox owned a gold mine, was a part owner of a sawmill and later became a justice of the peace.[4] The couple enjoyed a high social status among the Karuk people, as well as financial security.[6]
Hickox lived along the Salmon River in Northern California.[1]
Artwork
Hickox used various materials to weave her baskets including grape root twining, white bear grass (Xerophyllum tenax), dyed Woodwardia fern, black maidenhair fern and dyed porcupine quills.[7] She tended to use the fern Adiantum aleuticum, a dark material in contrast to the porcupine quills dyed yellow with Letharia vulpina.[8] The choice to mostly use dark materials contrasted with the yellow was her own choice, and not subject to marketplace demands.[9] Between 1911 and 1934, she made about five baskets a year.[8]
Hickox and her daughter, Louise, weaved and sold their baskets to Grace Nicholson, who continued to buy their work even during the Great Depression.[10] Though Hickox was Wiyot, Nicholson marketed her baskets as "Karuk" because they lived in the Karuk area.[4] Before Hickox met Nicholson, she had already chosen to create fine-art baskets.[11] After Nicholson stopped purchasing baskets in 1934, Hickox continued to weave "for pleasure, utility and gift-giving."[12]
In 2020, the art of Hickox was exhibited in the exhibition Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.[13]
Death
Hickox died on July 19, 1947.[14]
Public collections
Elizabeth Hickox's baskets can be found in numerous public collections, including the following:
- Autry Museum of the American West (Southwest Museum of Los Angeles)[15]
- Denver Art Museum
- Field Museum of Natural History
- National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution[8] the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art,[16]
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.[17]
- Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University[18]
- University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology