What is Ledger Art?

July 18th, 2024

Ledger art is a traditional Native American art that emerged in the late 1800s due to the destruction of buffalo herds and the forced movement of the Plains tribes onto reservations. 

The Plains tribes have a long tradition of pictorial history, first through petroglyphs and pictographs and later through painted buffalo hides. These hides were adorned with colorful art that told stories, depicted visions, and recorded history. But when bison were hunted to near extinction and tribes were forced onto reservations, they no longer had a medium for their pictorial art and history. Book pages, maps, and ledger books became the canvases for images of tribal life. Traditional implements gave way to colored pencils, crayon, and watercolors.

Bull Buffalo Hunt by John Isaiah Pepion

Contemporary ledger artists still use historical documents as the backgrounds for their compositions, linking them both conceptually and formally to the historic ledger art of their ancestors while exploring expressions of ceremony, preservation, and healing.

The Fallen Chiefs Medicine Lodge by John Isaiah Pepion

Horse Lodge by John Isaiah Pepion

Still Getting Down by John Isaiah Pepion

John Isaiah Pepion is an acclaimed artist, muralist, and educator who hails from the Piikani Band of the Blackfeet Nation (northern Montana). His ledger art incorporates traditional design elements into contemporary illustrations. The art journey is ceremonial for him, as his understanding of his past, family, and culture grows with his work. He descends from a family of artists who have been practicing ledger art for hundreds of years. You can view his available work at FoR Fine Art here.

John Isaiah Pepion is an acclaimed artist, muralist, and educator who hails from the Piikani Band of the Blackfeet Nation (northern Montana). His ledger art incorporates traditional design elements into contemporary illustrations. The art journey is ceremonial for him, as his understanding of his past, family, and culture grows with his work. He descends from a family of artists who have been practicing ledger art for hundreds of years. You can view his available work at FoR Fine Art here.