Haskell Student

Marguerite M. Nellis, artist

1906–1998

Haskell Student, circa 1939

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: soft-ground etching

Dimensions:
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 318 x 242 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 12 1/2 x 9 1/2 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in

Credit line: Gift of the WPA Arts Project

Accession number: 0000.0421

Not on display

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Kansas artist Nellis created portraits of local people of color as part of a Works Progress Administration arts project designed to provide economic relief to American citizens, including artists, during the Great Depression. Among those Nellis depicted were these three Native American students, all of whom were enrolled at Haskell Institute located in Lawrence. Originally established in 1884, Haskell Institute was one of the earliest and largest government-run boarding schools in the United States. By the time Nellis met these students in the 1930s, it had begun offering accredited high-school classes and some post–high school courses. Today, Haskell Institute lives on as a four-year intertribal college, Haskell Indian Nations University.