Magnificent Blue Stallion by Tahoma [R]

Special Value Offer: The owner of this magnificent blue horse has suggested we offer it at almost 25% less from the original price of $6500 to a new price of $5000.

If there was one subject that Tahoma painted to perfection, it was horses.  As all Navajo, he had a respect and love of horses and he knew intimately how to portray them at their best.  This blue stallion presents itself as bold, strong and in command.  He is standing on a hill with his head raised to the wind with every muscle in his body taut. 

Quincy Tahoma’s native name, Water Edge or Near Water, is not a translation of his Diné name but is the name of his mother’s clan.  He soared to fame as an artist from his early school years up to the mid-1940s and then his life took a turn.  He was a phenomenal artist and was recognized as such but he was finding it hard to fit into society.  He had not lived on the Navajo Reservation since early childhood, having lived with friends in Scottsdale and Santa Fe most of his adult life.  He was a wanderer who could not seem to settle into a home.  He often visited friends in Taos, San Juan and San Ildefonso Pueblos and sometimes would extend his visits for weeks.  He seemed to be searching for a place to belong.  Unfortunately, he passed away in 1956 at the age of 39.  His loss was the Indian art community’s loss as he was an amazing artist who had only begun to be recognized for his immense talent.

Recognition as a great artist was evident in the number of Indian artists who began to emulate his style in their paintings.  The Gallup Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial chose one of his paintings as the poster art in 1957, the year following his death, and paid a tribute to him in the center spread of that year’s program.  His legacy is the wonderful paintings he left the art world.  He painted in a large number of styles and painted a large number of subjects, but all were “finished in beauty,” as words from a Navajo chant proclaim.

Recommended Reading:  Quincy Tahoma, The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist by Charnell Havens, et al.  This book is currently not available from Adobe Gallery

Condition: appears to be in original condition but has not been examined out of the frame.  It is matted and framed using acid-free materials.

Provenance: from the extensive collection of a resident of Idaho.