Larry Bird | |
Other Names: | Larry Littlebird |
Birth Name: | Lawrence A. Bird |
Nationality: | Kewa Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo |
Lawrence A. "Larry" Bird or Larry Littlebird (born 1941) is a Kewa Pueblo/Laguna Pueblo painter, filmmaker, actor and writer from Santo Domingo, New Mexico.[1] [2] He has utilized ink and tempera in his works, which often display a loose, abstracted style. Bird has exhibited his artwork across the country[3] [4] and has works in the public collections of several institutions including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.[5]
Bird first attended the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) for design in 1963.[6] He worked for a time at the Museum of New Mexico and was the recipient of an Interior Design (magazine) Award for Painting. In 1971, a critic called Bird's painting "Son Returning Home" "one of the finest combinations of contemporary art and Indian heritage," saying the painting displayed "great grace and power."[7]
Bird returned to the IAIA in the 1980s as an instructor. He later began working in the performing arts as a filmmaker, producer, writer and actor, and was one of the first Native American artists to create films about Native people.