Pueblo Harvest Dance [R]

Awa Tsireh was early recognized beyond his native world as an outstanding Indian artist. His watercolors where sent by Alice Corbin Henderson to the Arts Club of Chicago for a special exhibit in 1920. His paintings appeared in early exhibits in Santa Fe, and he was among the several artists to receive prizes at the first Santa Fe Indian Market. In 1925, the Chicago papers were generous in their acclaim for his exhibit in the Newberry Library. The Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts in New York in 1931 included Awa Tsireh paintings.

Awa Tsireh’s style was basically a form of naïve realism used to portray everyday and religious scenes, with the human figure predominant. This painting is typical of his style. There is no ground line, not even a patch of earth appears beneath or around the figures.

The gorgeous close-knit orchestration of color in the costumes shows a remarkable manipulation against the starkness of the white background paper. The artist anchored the painting with intricate corner decorations of colorful bars and butterflies.