GENE KLOSS (American 1903-1996)
Hoop Dancer by Firelight - c. 1960
Oil on canvas
Signed lower left and verso with exhibition label for Gallery ‘A’ Taos, New Mexico
26 inches x 20 inches

Hoop dance is usually called the "entertaining dance" in the Native American tribes. These kinds of dramatic dances are staples of Indigenous performances for non-Indigenous audiences, but are rare at powwows. Because of the complexity of the hoop dance, it takes years of practice to master. Most consider the inventor of modern hoop dance to be Tony White Cloud, who popularized it to America by performing it in the movie Valley of the Sun in 1942. During World War II, White Cloud traveled with Gene Autry across America and Europe promoting war bonds to fund the war effort by performing the Hoop Dance. He later danced in Autry’s movie, Apache Country, in 1952.



Born in Oakland, CA on July 27, 1903. Gene Glasier Kloss was introduced to etching by Perham Nahl at UC Berkeley where she graduated in 1924. After marrying poet Phillips Kloss in 1925, she furthered her art studies at the CSFA and CCAC. She continued spending winters in Berkeley after settling in Taos, NM in 1925. Nationally known for her etchings of Southwestern subjects, she also produced many watercolors and oils. Mrs. Kloss died in Taos on June 24, 1996.

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