Quick-to-See Smith, Jaune (1940- ) Native American artist, whose best-known works combine traditional Native American symbols with a sophisticated understanding of modern abstraction. Native American identity and social issues form the focus of many of her paintings and collages.

Quick-to-See Smith was born at the Saint Ignatius Mission on the Combined Salish and Kootenai (Flathead) Reservation of western Montana, and traces her ancestry through the Salish, Shoshone, and Cree tribes. In 1976 she received a B.A. degree in art education from Framingham State College in Massachusetts, and in 1980 earned an M.A. degree in fine art from the University of New Mexico.

In the early 1980s Quick-to-See Smith began to create paintings that address the complexities of Native American identity, both on the personal level and as a communal experience. Since 1990, many of her works have drawn attention to specific issues affecting this community, including preservation of the environment, racial and gender stereotyping, and problems of alcoholism.

For a large-scale collage titled Genesis (1993, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia), Quick-to-See Smith layered dripping blue, yellow, and red paint; news clippings about Native Americans; and line drawings of a bison and other Native American symbols. The result is a composition that combines the vigorously applied paint of abstract expressionism with images that suggest stories to the viewer.

In addition to her own artistic activity, Quick-to-See Smith has worked to organize other Native American artists. She curated several touring exhibitions of contemporary Native American art and also founded two cooperative associations for Native American artists. Since 1991 she has designed a number of publicly funded art works that focus on native peoples of various regions.