Artwork copyright Karita Coffey. Photo courtesy of the artist, 1986.

Plains Indian Women's Leggings, 1985

Karita Coffey
American Niuam (Comanche) (born 1947)

Location: Washington State Arts Commission, Olympia

About the Artwork

Plains Indian Women's Leggings are a pair of ceramic sculptures created by Comanche artist Karita Coffey. These unique, hand-built forms were executed in reference to authentic leggings that would have historically been made from buckskin. This artwork is part of Beyond Blue Mountains, a collection that was curated by late Tlingit (Native Alaskan) artist Jim Schoppert. It presents the work of Native American artists of diverse heritage, ideas, materials, and styles. The collection takes an in-depth look at the artists’ unique voices and interpretations of tradition.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Washington State Arts Commission.

About the Artist

Karita Coffey (Comanche) creates ceramic sculptures that reference traditional Indigenous objects. She grew up in Oklahoma and attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as a teenager, where she later taught ceramics for twenty-five years. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma and later completed a Master of Arts in education. Her artworks are in the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.