INDIAN SUMMERS - Nespelem Art Colony 1937-40

May, 2017. During the summers of 1937 to 1940, artists Worth Griffin and Clyfford Still, representing Washington State College hosted an art colony in Nespelem, Washington bringing artists from across the country to paint on the Colville Indian Reservation. The art colony created the first extensive visual record of the Native Americans of Eastern Washington, tribes that were thought to be rapidly diminishing in the 1930s. The artists painted warriors and descendants of the Chief Joseph band of Nez Perce, Chief Moses’ Sinkiuse, the San Poil, Nespelem, Okanagan, and Palouse. Based on the book by Jeff Creighton of the same name, Indian Summers explores the forming of the art colony at Nespelem, the headquarters of the Colville Confederated Tribes in north-central Washington. It was an art colony in the true sense of the word, producing a prodigious amount of regional art. The artists put in exhaustive hours during the week on portraits and landscapes, then sketched the construction of Grand Coulee dam on weekends. Thousands of paintings were produced. WSC’s art department, (now WSU) came of age during this period. Well known WSU artists, including Worth Griffin and Clyfford Still, spent their formative years at the college and served as instructors at Nespelem. The art gallery at WSU was formed to house the collected portrait works of Worth Griffin painted during this time. WSU has over 50 portraits of Native Americans from the Colville tribes in their Worth Griffin collection. If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends. Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell to never miss a new video from KSPS PBS. Follow us: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: KSPS PBS is your public television station serving Spokane, Washington, and the surrounding area. We produce and broadcast high-quality programming that educates, informs, and entertains audiences of all ages. Visit our website at to learn more about our programs, events, and community engagement initiatives. If you believe in the power of public media, consider making a donation to support our mission. Thank you for watching KSPS PBS.