Arrow Makers

Art Historical Context

**Arrow Makers** by Carl Moon (ca. 1937–1943) captures a moment in Native American life, depicting men dressed in traditional Indian attire intently crafting arrows. This painting, now in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collectiongift of Mrs. Florence O.R. Lang showcases Moon's dedication to documenting Indigenous cultures of the American Southwest, where he worked as both a photographer and painter in the early 20th. Moon, known for his ethnographic approach, portrayed Navajo, Hopi, and tribes with respect and detail, often from his fieldwork in the 1900s–1930s. Created during a time o...