Jaune Quick-to-see Smith

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith is a Salish artist and enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Over five decades, she developed a bold visual language combining abstraction, humor, and cultural commentary to confront issues of race, colonization, and Indigenous survival.

Blending personal stories with mass media and art historical references, her work critiques American identity while celebrating Native resilience. Beyond her own practice, Smith has been a tireless advocate for Indigenous artists, curating key exhibitions and helping shift art world narratives.

She was the first Native artist to have a painting acquired by the National Gallery of Art and, in 2023, became the first to receive a retrospective at the Whitney Museum with Memory Map.