William Vann Flores
- BORN
-
October 2, 1927
Appleton, Wisconsin
- DIED
-
April 18, 2001
Anadarko, Oklahoma
- EDUCATION
-
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City, OklahomaKansas City Art Institute
Kansas City, Missouri
William Vann Flores began drawing at a young age with caricatures of the local high school football team, signing his artwork as “Will-Yum.” Born in Wisconsin and raised in Anadarko, Oklahoma, William was the only child of Jessie Vann, a member of the Cherokee Nation. He quickly decided he wanted to pursue art, doing illustration work and joining the print club at Chilocco Indian School in Newkirk, Oklahoma. After graduation, he began a career as a printer for the Anadarko Daily News, where he was better known as Bill Flores.
After his marriage to Marilyn Wells in 1949, Bill moved with his wife to Kansas City, Missouri, to study at the Kansas City Art Institute, where he earned his degree in 1952. During this time his art appeared in several exhibitions, including at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he completed illustrations for various organizations, his art appearing on a public service announcement for safe driving in Oklahoma. After returning to Oklahoma from Kansas City, Bill continued his work for the Anadarko Daily News until 1958, when he became a technical illustrator for the Tinker Air Base, eventually reaching the position of medical illustrator.
While the profession of medical illustration was highly rewarding, it was also highly technical and required precision and focus. To relax his artistic talents, Bill continued caricature and cartooning, creating the whimsical and humorous art that he is best known for. His art could be found in local and regional art galleries with exhibit names such as The Light Side of Indian Life and Indian Satires.
William Vann Flores passed away in 2001 at the age of 74. He is remembered by his colleagues as inspiring and good humored, with a positive outlook on life.
Note
Interview with Bill Flores - https://youtu.be/AYZ0Gc3ewPw?
Tribal Affiliation: Cherokee - Tohono O'odham (Papago)
Ancestral Affiliation: No Ancestral Affiliation with Missouri – Artistic Practice in Missouri
Locations of Practice: Anadarko, OK; Oklahoma City, OK
For more information on Native peoples in the Missouri region, please visit Native American Art in Missouri: A Brief Historical Context.
Trail of Tears Art Show
Organized by Cherokee National Museum
Organized by Cherokee National Museum
Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market
Organized by Heard Museum
Organized by Heard Museum
Annual American Indian Exposition
Organized by Caddo County Free Fair Board
Organized by Caddo County Free Fair Board
Contemporary American Indian Paintings Exhibition
Organized by Philbrook Museum of Art
Organized by Philbrook Museum of Art
Contemporary American Indian Paintings Exhibition
Organized by Philbrook Museum of Art
Organized by Philbrook Museum of Art
Indian Satires Exhibition
Organized by Henson Gallery
Organized by Henson Gallery
The Light Side of Indian Life Exhibition
Organized by A.L. Jenkins Art Gallery
Organized by A.L. Jenkins Art Gallery
American Indian Paintings Exhibition
Organized by Institute of American Indian Arts
Organized by Institute of American Indian Arts
Five Civilized Tribes Museum Competitive Show
Organized by Five Civilized Tribes Museum
Organized by Five Civilized Tribes Museum
Oklahoma Indian Art League Exhibition
Organized by Oklahoma State University
Organized by Oklahoma State University
Award, Five Civilized Tribes Museum Competitive Show
Awards & Exhibitions 12
Contemporary American Indian Paintings Exhibition
Organized by Philbrook Museum of Art
Organized by Philbrook Museum of Art
Contemporary American Indian Paintings Exhibition
Organized by Philbrook Museum of Art
Organized by Philbrook Museum of Art
Indian Satires Exhibition
Organized by Henson Gallery
Organized by Henson Gallery
The Light Side of Indian Life Exhibition
Organized by A.L. Jenkins Art Gallery
Organized by A.L. Jenkins Art Gallery
American Indian Paintings Exhibition
Organized by Institute of American Indian Arts
Organized by Institute of American Indian Arts
Five Civilized Tribes Museum Competitive Show
Organized by Five Civilized Tribes Museum
Organized by Five Civilized Tribes Museum
Oklahoma Indian Art League Exhibition
Organized by Oklahoma State University
Organized by Oklahoma State University
Trail of Tears Art Show
Organized by Cherokee National Museum
Organized by Cherokee National Museum
Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market
Organized by Heard Museum
Organized by Heard Museum
Annual American Indian Exposition
Organized by Caddo County Free Fair Board
Organized by Caddo County Free Fair Board
Award, Five Civilized Tribes Museum Competitive Show
References
Artist clippings file is available at:
"William Vann Flores: artist file." Spencer Art Reference Library, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri.
Bibliography
Select Sources
“Student To Draw For Junior Red Cross,” Caddo County Tribune, October 18, 1.
Bert Seabourn, “Oral History Interview with Bert Seabourn,” interviewed by Julie Pearson-Little Thunder, Spotlighting Oklahoma: Oral History Project, Oklahoma State University, December 1, 2010, https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://dc.library.okstate.edu/digital/api/collection/ona/id/21/download&ved=2ahUKEwig58jI_u-HAxVxlYkEHTpOEPoQFnoECCMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2gYyFg1F4vcjVII1726C1t.
“Mrs. Bill Flores Joins Husband In Kansas City,” Caddo County Tribune, August 31, 1950, 6.
“Local Club Helps Spread Safety Slogan,” Durant Weekly News and Bryan County Democrat, November 3, 1950, 1.
Wallace Kidd, “Not Kidding,” Anadarko Daily News, August 8, 1952, 1.
Kansas City Art Institute, ed. Rod Zoglin (Kansas City: Kansas City Art Institute, 1970), 16, 37.
“Indian Art To Be Promoted By State League, Says Bushyhead,” Big Basin Herald, July 5, 1973, 1, 5.
“Incidentally,” Anadarko Daily News, July 29, 1949, 1.
“Flores Takes Job As Illustrator At Tinker Air Base,” Anadarko Daily News, March 23, 1958, 6.
“Exhibit Is Set At Yukon Gallery,” The El Reno Daily Tribune, August 29, 1963, 6.
“Bloodthirsty Buffalo,” The Democrat News, April 9, 1968, 6.
Bill Burchardt, “The Humorous Art of Bill Flores,” Oklahoma Today 18 (Spring 1968): 37-39, https://dc.library.okstate.edu/digital/collection/OKToday/id/24204/rec/312.
“Art Show Is To Be Held In Anadarko,” The El Reno Daily Tribune, July 8, 1963, 4.
“Anadarko Youth Named Officer In Indian Club,” Anadarko Daily News, October 22, 1947, 1.
Core Reference Sources
Jeanne Snodgrass King and Heye Foundation Museum of the American Indian, with contributions from the Museum of the American Indian, American Indian Painters: A Biographical Directory (New York: Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, 1968), 58.
Patrick D. Lester, The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters (Tulsa: SIR Publications, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995), 182.
Image Credits
Artwork
William Vann Flores, I Know You, 1974.
Mixed media on board.
© Courtesy Santa Fe Art Auction
William Vann Flores, Don't Look Now, 1977.
Mixed media on board.
© Courtesy Santa Fe Art Auction
Portrait of Artist
Unknown, Portrait of William Vann Flores, 1968.
Photography, Print.
“Blood Thirsty Buffalo,” The Democrat News (Sapulpa, OK), April 9, 1968, pp. 6.
Courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society
Contributors
Katie McClure, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Artist Record Published
Published on August 30, 2024
Learn more
References
Artist clippings file is available at:
"William Vann Flores: artist file." Spencer Art Reference Library, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri.
Bibliography
Select Sources
“Student To Draw For Junior Red Cross,” Caddo County Tribune, October 18, 1.
Bert Seabourn, “Oral History Interview with Bert Seabourn,” interviewed by Julie Pearson-Little Thunder, Spotlighting Oklahoma: Oral History Project, Oklahoma State University, December 1, 2010, https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://dc.library.okstate.edu/digital/api/collection/ona/id/21/download&ved=2ahUKEwig58jI_u-HAxVxlYkEHTpOEPoQFnoECCMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2gYyFg1F4vcjVII1726C1t.
“Mrs. Bill Flores Joins Husband In Kansas City,” Caddo County Tribune, August 31, 1950, 6.
“Local Club Helps Spread Safety Slogan,” Durant Weekly News and Bryan County Democrat, November 3, 1950, 1.
Wallace Kidd, “Not Kidding,” Anadarko Daily News, August 8, 1952, 1.
Kansas City Art Institute, ed. Rod Zoglin (Kansas City: Kansas City Art Institute, 1970), 16, 37.
“Indian Art To Be Promoted By State League, Says Bushyhead,” Big Basin Herald, July 5, 1973, 1, 5.
“Incidentally,” Anadarko Daily News, July 29, 1949, 1.
“Flores Takes Job As Illustrator At Tinker Air Base,” Anadarko Daily News, March 23, 1958, 6.
“Exhibit Is Set At Yukon Gallery,” The El Reno Daily Tribune, August 29, 1963, 6.
“Bloodthirsty Buffalo,” The Democrat News, April 9, 1968, 6.
Bill Burchardt, “The Humorous Art of Bill Flores,” Oklahoma Today 18 (Spring 1968): 37-39, https://dc.library.okstate.edu/digital/collection/OKToday/id/24204/rec/312.
“Art Show Is To Be Held In Anadarko,” The El Reno Daily Tribune, July 8, 1963, 4.
“Anadarko Youth Named Officer In Indian Club,” Anadarko Daily News, October 22, 1947, 1.
Core Reference Sources
Jeanne Snodgrass King and Heye Foundation Museum of the American Indian, with contributions from the Museum of the American Indian, American Indian Painters: A Biographical Directory (New York: Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, 1968), 58.
Patrick D. Lester, The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters (Tulsa: SIR Publications, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995), 182.
Contributors
Katie McClure, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Artist Record Published
Published on August 30, 2024
Updated on None
