Ben Pease

“My expressions of existence examine narratives shaped by the invention of the “West,” aiming to understand history while recognizing the enduring power and vitality that continue to shape our present.” —Ben Pease

Crow/Northern Cheyenne artist Ben Pease stands firmly upon the ideal of education via creativity, as a contemporary storyteller. He and his family are currently residing in Billings, MT, USA.

Pease's work is well known for its unique and culturally relevant style using historic photographic references while also touching on current events and issues simultaneously. You may have seen his use of both antique and contemporary items collaged into his work to create literal and conceptual reference points.

As minorities in the world of Art, contemporary Indigenous artists are confronting issues like cultural appropriation, exotification, racism and stereotype disguised as appreciation and oblivion. Pease's work continually yet respectfully asks how & why?

"Many times, the question is more important than the answer. What really matters, is the path."

Exploration & Knowledge are the driving force behind the Artist's creativity.

Keep your eye on this Artist for years to come.

Read some fabulous press about Ben in Mountain Living Magazine

AVAILABLE WORKS

Ben Pease - "Stands for the People"

$27,400.00

Mixed media

52” x 80”

Ben Pease - "Race Day"

$30,700.00

58" x 123" canvas.

Ben Pease - "Hourglass"

$11,232.00

Acrylic on board

48” x 36”

Ben Pease - "Ahpeetaaliche"

$9,360.00

Acrylic on board

48” x 30”

Ben Pease - “Bade”

$2,000.00

24" x 20, Acrylic on Canvas

Ben Pease - “Untitled”

$410.00

Pen and ink on vintage photograph

9.25” x 7”

Ben Pease - “Untitled”

$410.00

Mixed media

9.25” x 7”

“Untitled”

$800.00

Ink on ledger

6.5” x 4.5”

Ben Pease - "U.S. Army Green Blanket"

$35,600.00

Antique wool U.S. Medical Corps, cattle marker glass beads, cotton fabric

86” x 65”

“Akbaleeíassee translates to guardian; literally, “someone who watches over us.”

“Akbaleeíassee- Green Blanket”
In the modern era, wool blankets like Pendletons are integrated into every aspect of our Apsáalooke existence, given at birth & in grief, in dispute, in celebration, and presented in honor.

Blankets came to our Nations by many roads, arriving initially as gifts and trade goods, then evolving to rations and treaty annuities, and at times even as carriers of disease. While making this work during the COVID pandemic, I learned of a 1838 smallpox epidemic that devastated the Crow people in what is presently known as Southeastern Montana.

Elders tell of scaffold burials resting in the “Eagle” sandstone cliffs, tied to trees and buried in caves or overhangs above what is now downtown Billings, remembered in Apsáalooke oral histories and physically onsite in a single small plaque. At the same time, every other cemetery in the city is watered, pruned, and kept. That contrast stayed with me as I watched my own relatives endure COVID at rates few communities experienced in this country.

Two centuries apart, two sicknesses asked our people the same question this blanket asks now: who watches over us?”

Ben Pease - "Antique Hudson's Bay Blanket"

$36,000.00

Hudson’s Bay 3.5 bar wool blankets adorning beaded trade beads, cotton giveaway cloth, and cattle marker oil sticks

80” x 64”

“The Hudson’s Bay point blanket carries a second history. It was currency in the fur trade that remade the Northern Plains, and its stripes are now marketed back to Native people as heritage.

Onto this one I layered four portraits: Queen Elizabeth II, Justin Trudeau, Chief Crowfoot, and Louis Riel,two figures of the Crown, and two leaders who had to answer to it. Crowfoot accepted a hard peace to carry his people through the collapse of the buffalo. Riel went to the gallows for defending a nation the Crown refused to recognize.

I drew them over one another because that is how our histories are layered into the same story, inseparable. Watching my own community endure the pandemic at rates few others in this country faced, I returned to the question these four faces hold between them: which of our leaders watch over the people, and which watch over themselves.”

Ben Pease - "Apsaalooke Mirror"

$2,080.00

Acrylic on panel

20” x 16”

Ben Pease - "A Man's Worth"

$5,616.00

Mixed media

36” x 24”

This painting of White Man Runs Him, “Morning Star”, adorned with the War Eagle or Thunderbird medicine, celebrates the enduring Apsaalooke traditions. Passed down from his father, Bull-Chief, this sacred symbol embodies strength and spiritual connection, central to Apsaalooke beliefs. Created by a direct descendant who shares this ancestral legacy, the artwork honors the continuity and power of these spiritual practices within the Apsaalooke community.

Ben Pease - "Homo Americanus"

$1,000.00

Mixed media

11” x 14”

Ben Pease - "Do You See Me, The Way I See Me?"

$2,750.00

1910’s Sears Catalogue Sheets, acrylic, digital rendering on exhibition rag on canvas, 2018

29” x 23”

Ben Pease - “Trivialized and Triumphed”

$1,600.00

Mixed Media on Canvas, 20" x 20, 2017

Ben Pease- “To the Original, Come, The Blessings”

$5,400.00

Chief Two Moons, Northern Cheyenne, Acrylic, Mixed Media on Canvas, 40" x 30

Ben Pease - “Chief Medicine Crow Study”

$4,680.00

Mixed media

20” x 24”

Ben Pease - “Chief Pretty Eagle”

$450.00

Mixed media on canvas, 13x11

Ben Pease - "Ihkaléaxe at Night"

$11,500.00

36” x 48”

White Man Runs Him, known as “Morning Star”, embodies a nuanced chapter in American history, particularly highlighting the role of stereotypes in shaping perceptions of Native American tribes. His alignment with General Custer as a scout during the Plains Indian Was is a reflection of the Crow people’s historically friendly disposition towards outsiders. However, this openness, in the context of broader Native American relations with the U.S. government and military, has sparked debates about loyalty and identity within and outside Native communities.

The Crow’s willingness to engage with non-Native entities often led to stereotyping, casting them in a singular light that didn’t’ fully encompass the complexity of their motivations and actions. This oversimplification has contributed to divisive tribalism, overshadowing the nuanced realities of their choices and alliances. Morning Star’s story, therefore, is not just about personal resilience and adaptability; it’s also a commentary on the impact of stereotypes in shaping the history and intertribal relations of Native Americans.

His legacy raises important questions about the interpretation of historical actions and the long-standing consequences of how Native American tribes are perceived and judged based on their responses to colonization and change. Morning Star’s journey thus serves as a focal point for understanding the intricate dynamics of tribal relations, the weight of stereotypes, and the ongoing dialogue about identity and survival within the diversity Native American Nations.