Special Value Offer: The owner has authorized a price reduction of 25% from the original price of $950 to a new price of $712.50.

José Encarnación Peña (Soqween or “Frost on the Mountain”) was among the many painters at San Ildefonso Pueblo working in the 1920s: namely, Tonita Peña, Ricardo Martínez, Luis Gonzáles, Abel Sánchez, and Romando Vigil.

“A little-known San Ildefonso artist is Encarnación Peña. One of the early artists, he produced little through the years. Like so many others, he was greatly influenced by the more outstanding men of his village, particularly in delicacy of style in painting dancers.” (Dunn, 1957)

Peña is well represented in the collections of the Denver Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum of the American Indian (Smithsonian), Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Museum of Northern Arizona, Millicent Rogers Museum (Taos), Southwest Museum (Los Angeles) and the Laboratory of Anthropology of the Museum of New Mexico.

Among his awards is “Best example of original use of traditional material” awarded by SWAIA in 1957.

This painting by Peña depicts a buffalo dancer in full regalia. His color usage is subdued and the details are very soft, as delicate as Dunn suggests.

Condition: The painting is in excellent condition and is surrounded by rust-colored matting and a simple black frame. It is signed and titled at lower left.

Provenance:ex. coll. California collector of Native art