The New York Historical to Receive a Landmark Promised Gift of Works by Indigenous Artists from Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang

Image credits: 1) Diné Weaver, USA flag, late 19th century. Handspun wool, vegetal and native dyes. The New York Historical, Promised gift of Agnes HsuTang and Oscar Tang, The Hsu-Tang Collection 2) Fritz Scholder (La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, 1939-2005), Patriotic Indian, 1975. Lithograph. The New York Historical, Promised gift of Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang, The Hsu-Tang Collection. Agent of the Estate of Fritz Scholder and the Collection of Fritz Scholder

Exhibition to Celebrate the Collection to Open in April 2026

In celebration of the nation’s approaching semiquincentennial, The New York Historical announced today that the 222-year-old institution has received a landmark collection of promised gifts of modern and contemporary Indigenous works from Chair Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang and her husband Oscar Tang. As the first beneficiary of a portion of the Hsu-Tang Collection of modern and contemporary art, The New York Historical will showcase the promised gifts in an exhibition, House Made of Dawn: Art by Native Americans 1880 to Now, Selections from the Hsu-Tang Collection, from April 22 – August 2, 2026.

The promised gifts include works by more than 100 artists of diverse Indigenous heritage, such as Nampeyo of Hano (Tewa), Maria Martinez (San Ildefonso), Angel De Cora (Ho-Chunk), Zitkala-Ša (Yankton Dakota), Awa Tsireh (San Ildefonso), Gerónima Montoya (Ohkay Owingeh), The Kiowa Six, Acee Blue Eagle (Muscogee), Helen Hardin (Santa Clara), Lee Marmon (Laguna), Fritz Scholder (Luiseño), Alan Houser (Apache), TC Cannon (Kiowa), Earl Biss (Crow), Billy Soza War Soldier (Luiseño), Linda Lomahaftewa (Hopi), Harry Fonseca (Nisenan), Frank LePena (Nomtipom-Wintu), Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith (Salish), Emmi Whitehorse (Navajo), Linda Haukaas (Sicangu Lakota), Anita Fields (Osage), Rick Bartow (Wiyot), Roger Broer (Oglala Lakota), Joe Baker (Lenape), Preston Singletary (Tlingit), Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti), Courtney Leonard (Shinnecock), Frank Buffalo Hyde (Onondaga), Dakota Mace (Diné), Kapulei Flores (Kānaka Maoli), Tom Jones (Ho Chunk), Jeffrey Gibson (Choctaw/Cherokee), and many others, in diverse mediums of paintings, watercolors, sculptures, prints and drawings, photography, textiles, baskets, mixed media, ceramics, glass, precious metal, and rare books.

A special preview installation currently on view features select works from the collection: Fritz Scholder’s lithograph Indian Contemplating Columbus, an American flag created by an unrecorded Navajo weaver, and Cara Romero’s photographic work Dans L’ombre.

“In college, I was inspired by N. Scott Momaday’s novel House Made of Dawn to take a road trip across the country,” said Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang, chair of the board of trustees of The New York Historical. “I remember being awestruck by the sights of Shiprock and Antelope Canyon, and feeling humbled but also uplifted. It is our hope that these remarkable works of visual history—collectively named after Momaday’s masterpiece alluding to an ancient Navajo invocation for reconciliation—will inspire meaningful conversations on the occasion of our nation’s semiquincentennial. Oscar and I are simply thrilled that this promised gift can help The New York Historical advance its enduring mission of history and civics education through a contextual understanding of Native American art.”

“We are truly honored to be the recipient of this important promised gift from Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO, The New York Historical. “This gift and the accompanying milestone exhibition further exemplify Agnes’ institutional vision as board chair that began with the critically acclaimed 2023 exhibition Kay WalkingStick / Hudson River School, to foreground Indigenous cultural expressions and advance an artistic and historical discourse that illuminates the integral role of Indigenous histories in the shaping of the United States.” 

Named after the 1969 Pulitzer-winning novel House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa) that inspired the formation of the Native American portion of the Hsu-Tang Collection, the exhibition presents distinct artistic expressions and practices of modernism by artists of diverse Indigenous heritage, beginning with late-19th century and early-20th century artists: ceramists Nampeyo of Hano (Tewa) and Maria Martinez (San Ildefonso), professional painters and illustrators Angel De Cora (Ho-Chunk) and Hart Lone Wolf Schultz (Blackfeet), and poet and opera composer Zitkala-Ša (Yankton Dakota).

The exhibition introduces seminal works on paper by early artists such as Awa Tsireh, Julian Martinez, and Quah Ah Tonita Peña (San Ildefonso), Gerónima Montoya (Ohkay Owingeh), Tse Tsan Pablita Velarde (Santa Clara), Acee Blue Eagle (Muscogee), Archie Blackowl (Cheyenne), the Kiowa Six, and many others who invented and advanced the “Flat Style” and achieved international recognition including at the 1932 Venice Biennale. It also features a pair of mid-20th century works by modernist pioneers Oscar Howe (Yanktonai Dakota) and George Morrison (Ojibwe), and works by Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith (Salish) and Emmi Whitehorse (Navajo), who formed the groundbreaking collective Grey Canyon Artists (1977–1981). 

The exhibition also brings to light the artistic accomplishments of three generations of teachers and students, Fritz Scholder (Luiseño), N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa), Allan Houser (Apache), T.C. Cannon (Kiowa), Earl Biss (Crow), Linda Lomahaftewa (Hopi), Billy Soza War Soldier (Luiseño), Joy Harjo (Muscogee), Dam Namingha (Hopi), David Bradley (Chippewa), Anita Fields (Osage), Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Diego Romero (Cochiti), Courtney Leonard (Shinnecock), Frank Buffalo Hyde (Onondaga), and many others, who propelled the Institute of American Indian Arts, known as IAIA, to become a leading force in contemporary American art today.

Additionally, the exhibition marks the first-time important works by photography pioneer Lee Marmon (Laguna) are exhibited at a New York museum, including a rare first edition of his iconic 1954 image White Man’s Moccasins.

The exhibition is curated by Wendy Nālani E. Ikemoto (Native Hawaiian), vice president and chief curator, in consultation with Dr. Hsu-Tang as collector. Works from the collection will also be featured in other installations, as well as in the upcoming exhibition, Democracy Matters, in the new Tang Wing for American Democracy opening in 2026.

Programming
On April 22, Chief Curator Wendy Ikemoto will host and moderate a special conversation to celebrate the exhibition’s opening. Artist Cara Romero (Chemehuevi) whose work is on view in the exhibition, Steven Gonzalez, representing the estate of Fritz Scholder, and Dakota Hoska (Oglála Lakhóta), Curator of Native American and Global Indigenous Art at the National Gallery of Art, and Agnes Hsu-Tang, will discuss the state of contemporary Indigenous art.

Support
Exhibitions at The New York Historical are made possible by the Saunders Trust for American History, the Evelyn & Seymour Neuman Fund, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. WNET is the media sponsor.

About The New York Historical 
New York’s first museum, The New York Historical is a leading cultural institution covering over 400 years of American history. Our offerings span groundbreaking exhibitions; peerless collections of art, documents, and artifacts; acclaimed educational programs for teachers and students nationwide; and thought-provoking conversations among leading scholars, journalists, and thinkers about the past, present, and future of the American experiment. The New York Historical is a museum of museums and a collection of collections. We are home to the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, the Center for Women’s History, the DiMenna Children’s History Museum, and the future American LGBTQ+ Museum. We elevate the perspectives and scholarship that define the United States’ democratic heritage and challenge us all to shape our ongoing history for the better. Connect with us at nyhistory.org or at @nyhistory on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Tumblr.