Recorded from the painting’s back is this description:
Melissa Parr was born on the Umatilla Reservation in 1911. She is a descendant of Chief Joseph on her father’s side; she has a Cayuse mother. She is the niece of Chief Red Hawk and was educated in the schools of the Umatilla Reservation, yet the tribal customs peculiar to her people interest her far more than any of the activities of the white race.
She is considered one of the beautiful Indian women of her tribe. For three different years she won the first honors at the Pendleton Roundup for her costumes and horsemanship. She is a particularly striking woman when dressed in her full regalia. Through intermarriage she has lost much of the sturdy appearance common to many of her own tribe. She is the darling of the roundup.
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The portrait was was painted by American artist Worth D. Griffin in 1935 as part of a commission for Washington State College (now Washington State University). It is one of a series which resides in the collection in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the main WSU campus in Pullman, WA.
In the painting, Melissa is the central focus, occupying most of the canvas. Her long dark hair is parted in the middle and styled in long braids that hang down her chest.
Her expression is serene and focused away from us to her left. She appears to be sitting in front of a light tan plain background and wears a beautifully-patterned blue, red, orange, green, and yellow garment stylized in a pattern commonly propagated as traditional Native American.
Her rich and warm skin tone and softly-rendered features amplify her charm while large, pale circular earrings and a tight white choker necklace help frame her beauty.
Worth Dickman Griffin was born in Indiana, studied in Oklahoma for 3 years and 4 years at the Chicago Art Institute before becoming recognized for his portraits, landscapes, and coastal paintings. From 1933-1958 he was the Chairman of the Fine Arts Department at WSC (now WSU).
Melissa Parr (Reflection at Dawn) by Worth Griffin (American) - Oil on canvas / 1935 - Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (Pullman, Washington) #womeninart #art #portrait #WorthGriffin #artwork #oilpainting #JordanSchnitzerMuseumofArt #Umatilla #portraitofawoman #fineart #womensart #NativeAmerican #WSU