Frank Fiske (1883 to 1952)
Frank Fiske was born in June 11, 1883, the son of a military man stationed at Fort Bennett, (Dakota Territory) South Dakota. In 1889 his father was hired as a civilian wagon master at Fort Yates, near the Standing Rock Reservation. As a child, Frank attended school both at the fort and at the Indian boarding school. During part of his boyhood, Fiske learned the trade of photography from S.T. “Dick” Fansler, the post photographer. In 1900, when Fiske was 17, he took over the studio. For the next two decades he photographed the residents of Standing Rock, almost always in their traditional dress. Hew won the North Dakota Art Award in 1950 for his portraits of Native Americans. He passed away in 1952 in North Dakota after suffering a stroke.
Information courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions, Inc., March 2007