The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

A colorful, painted hide shirt with intricate geometric patterns made of small glass beads. The top half of the shirt is painted a green shade and the bottom half is painted a yellow shade. Locks of human hair are attached as a fringe along the rectangle patches of glass bead detailing.

Hide Shirt

c. 1890

America, Native North American, Central Plains, Lakota Sioux, 19th century

hide, pigment, glass beads, human hair
Overall: 97.8 x 150 cm (38 1/2 x 59 1/16 in.)
Bequest of David S. McMillan 1984.1046
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Only Lakota (Sioux) chiefs had the right to wear painted shirts, an honor they earned through bravery.

Description

Traditionally, only Lakota (Sioux) head chiefs had the right to wear painted shirts, an honor they earned through sacrifice and bravery but lost by failing in their responsibilities. By the time this example was created, European Americans had confined the Lakota to reservations, and painted shirts had become the privilege of battle veterans rather than of active warriors. Family members probably donated the locks of hair, each representing a war exploit.
  • Update on pre-acquisition history pending.
    ?-1984
    Estate of David S. McMillan, Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1984-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Gallery 231 - Native North American Textile Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27, 2019-November 9, 2020).
    Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 7-May 30, 2010).
  • {{cite web|title=Hide Shirt|url=false|author=|year=c. 1890|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1984.1046