About the Artist

(Born 1951) Virginia Alice Stroud is of Cherokee and Creek descent. Stroud attended Bacone Junior College and the University of Oklahoma. Her intention to major in art education and to teach art in either primary or secondary school changed due to Dr. Richard West's encouragement.

In May 1970 she became the youngest Native American artist to receive first place honors in the Woodlands division of the 25th Annual American Indian Artists Exhibition at Philbrook Art Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1972 she won the Heritage Award at the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma. More recently she received the Woody Crumbo memorial award, Best of Show, Best of Painting and Best in the traditional category at the 1992 Indian Market in Santa Fe.

Stroud's work has appeared on the cover of Oklahoma Today, Southwest Art and in the first issue of Four Winds magazine. Her work was also illustrated in Indianische Kunst im 20 Jarhhundert, a German publication and in Beyond Traditional, Contemporary Indian Art and Its Evolution by Jerry and Lois Jacka, 1988.

Books illustrated by Virginia Stroud include:  Doesn't Fall Off His Horse (1994), The Story of the Milky Way (1995), A Walk to the Great Mystery (1995) and The Path of Quiet Elk: A Native American Alphabet Book (1996).