Diné (Navajo) Painting of Boy with Bow and Arrow [SOLD]

Beatien Yazz has had a long and colorful career as an illustrator, artist and teacher. He was born on the Navajo Reservation around 1928 and began painting at the age of eight. He was encouraged by the traders at the Wide Ruins Trading Post who gave him paper and crayons to create images of everyday life on the reservation.

He was a member of the Army Signal Corps during World War II and afterwards spent a brief period as a Navajo Tribal Policeman.

He is known for his detailed depictions of Diné culture. In this painting Yazz has presented a young Diné warrior with his bow and arrow. He is dressed in traditional clothing and his face is painted as if ready for the hunt or battle. Yazz used deep crimson hues associated with the desert landscape of the Diné. The boy's headband and loincloth as well as the strap of his quiver are all deep red. It is an exceptionally well executed painting.

The painting is not framed but is shrink-wrapped for protection. It appears to be in original excellent condition.

Provenance: From the personal collection of a member of the Balcomb family, owner of Balcomb's Gallery, at one time located in Arizona, then Taos, Gallup, and Albuquerque, but closed since 1976.