New York Historical to receive landmark Indigenous Art Collection from Agnes and Oscar Tang

The New York Historical announced it will receive a landmark promised gift of modern and contemporary Indigenous works from Chair Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang and her husband, Oscar Tang, in celebration of the nation’s upcoming semiquincentennial.

The collection, which includes works by more than 100 artists of diverse Indigenous heritage, will be featured in an exhibition titled House Made of Dawn: Art by Native Americans 1880 to Now, Selections from the Hsu-Tang Collection, running April 22 through Aug. 2, 2026. Featured artists include Nampeyo of Hano (Tewa), Maria Martinez (San Ildefonso), Fritz Scholder (Luiseño), Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith (Salish), Emmi Whitehorse (Navajo), and Lee Marmon (Laguna), among many others. The works span painting, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, photography, mixed media, and rare books.

A preview installation currently on view highlights select pieces, including Scholder’s lithograph Indian Contemplating Columbus, an American flag 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,” Hsu-Tang said. “It is our hope that these remarkable works of visual history…will inspire meaningful conversations on the occasion of our nation’s semiquincentennial.”

Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of The New York Historical, said the promised gift “further exemplifies Agnes’ institutional vision…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.”

The exhibition spans artists from the late 19th century through contemporary practitioners, highlighting early innovators of the “Flat Style,” modernist pioneers, and the three generations of teachers and students who propelled the Institute of American Indian Arts to prominence. It also marks the first New York museum exhibition of photography pioneer Lee Marmon’s work, including a rare first edition of his 1954 image White Man’s Moccasins.

Curated by Wendy Nālani E. Ikemoto, vice president and chief curator at The New York Historical, in consultation with Hsu-Tang, the exhibition is part of broader programming highlighting Indigenous art in the upcoming Tang Wing for American Democracy.

A special conversation will mark the exhibition’s opening on April 22, featuring Ikemoto, artist Cara Romero, representatives of Fritz Scholder’s estate, Dakota Hoska of the National Gallery of Art, and Agnes Hsu-Tang.

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