SAIC Alum Amanda Crowe Celebrated for Her One-Of-A-Kind Carvings

Known for her one-of-a-kind carvings of bears, squirrels, bulls, and other native animals Amanda Crowe (DIP 1952) was renowned for her contributions to the art world and her preservation of her Cherokee heritage and traditions. Her legacy was recently celebrated in article by Artsy magazine which detailed her artistic journey and how she found her way back to North Carolina and the ancestral homeland of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Crowe’s most recognizable sculptures were made between the 1950s and her death in 2004. She grew up surrounded by objects carved by other members of her tribe and was inspired to start carving as well. She later studied at SAIC where she experimented with sculptural mediums like plaster, stone, metal, and carved wood. According to Artsy, Barbara Duncan of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian described Crowe's impact in her obituary in the Citizen-Times saying, “Whether you look at her art as modern art, Cherokee art, or Appalachian folk art, Amanda Crowe was a tremendous artist. She will have a lasting impact on this community for generations.”