T. C. Cannon
Kiowa-Caddo painter and print maker (1946-1978)
Tommy Wayne Cannon (Kiowa/Caddo, September 27, 1946 – May 8, 1978) was an important Native American artist of the 20th century. He was popularly known as T. C. Cannon. He was an enrolled member of the Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma and had Caddo and French ancestry.
Early life
Cannon grew up in Zodaltone and Gracemont, Oklahoma. His parents were Walter Cannon (Kiowa) and Minnie Ahdunko Cannon (Caddo). His Kiowa name, Pai-doung-a-day, means "One Who Stands in the Sun." He learned about the art of the Kiowa Six, a group of Native American painters who achieved international reputations in the fine art world and who helped to develop the Southern Plains Flatstyle of painting. Stephen Mopope and Lee Tsatoke Sr., grandson of Monroe Tsatoke, particularly influenced the young artist.
T. C. Cannon enrolled in the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe in 1964, where he studied painting with Fritz Scholder (Luiseño). He created works that brings recognition to the late 20th century native artists.
After graduating from IAIA, he enrolled in the San Francisco Art Institute but left after two months and enlisted in the army.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “T. C. Cannon” as kiowa-Caddo painter and print maker (1946-1978). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7668165. VIAF identifies the subject as 96614703. The Library of Congress control number is n87127888. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1946, 1978 and 1964.
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This entry incorporates text from “T. C. Cannon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.