Sacred Circles Exhibition Records

Following the suggestion of a friend, in 1972, Ralph T. Coe mentioned to a member of the Arts Council of Great Britain that the British people might be interested in an exhibition of Native American art. The following year, the Arts Council decided to mount such an exhibition within the framework of the upcoming American Bicentennial. The Arts Council asked Coe to act as curator of the exhibition; therefore, from 1973 to 1976, in addition to his duties as Assistant Director of the Nelson-Atkins, he traveled throughout North America and Europe locating Native American works of art and securing loan agreements with selected lenders.

In the fall of 1976, the exhibition entitled Sacred Circles: Two Thousand Years of North American Indian Art was shown at London’s Hayward Gallery. This was originally intended to be the exhibition’s only venue, but Coe thought that such a display of Native American art should be seen in its home continent and wanted a North American showing to be held at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Yet, such an endeavor would prove to be difficult because of the fragility of the objects, the complexities of working with over ninety lenders in six countries, and the logistics of transporting the show from London to Kansas City and back again. Many of these obstacles were handled, however, with the assistance of the Arts Council, Hayward Gallery, and the cooperation of most of the lenders. The only thing then standing in the way of a Kansas City showing was the necessary funds to undertake such an exhibit. The financial constraint was overcome by large federal and state grants, a sizable contribution from the American Can Company, chief amongst the many corporate donors, and through the efforts of local businessmen Morton Sosland and W. Coleman Branton who helped raise over $650,000 from local businesses and individuals. Thus, Sacred Circles was exhibited in Kansas City from April 16 to June 19, 1977, its first and only North American showing.