Masterpieces of Primitive American Art Part II [SOLD]

MASTERPIECES OF PRIMITIVE AMERICAN ART are silkscreen prints by famous Santa Fe artist Louie H. Ewing.  A group of six silkscreen prints was issued in an edition of 500 copies as the second set of screens hand printed by Louie H. Ewing.  They were published by the Laboratory of Anthropology of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1943 exclusively for its members.

 There are six screen prints in the edition and they are as follows:

I.    Sculptured Fetish

II.   Antique Pueblo Embroidery

III. A Pueblo Pictograph

IV.   18th Century Pueblo Olla

V.    Navajo Silver Ghato

VI.   Panamint Coiled Basket

Each of the prints was issued in color on quality heavy paper stock and enclosed in original printed paper wrap portfolio covers.  On the inner panel of the portfolio covers is a full description of the discovery, interpretative study and other details of the original object from which that screen print depicts.

In this offering, it is one, single print of an Antique Pueblo Embroidery, with the following explanation:

            “One day some years ago an Indian of the Pueblo of Acoma was rummaging through a dark interior store room of this ancient ‘city of the sky.’ There, plugging a crevice in a wall, he found two of these beautiful embroidered breech-cloth ends.

            “From other small fragments with authenticated datings, we know that the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest had a well-developed art of embroidery on textiles in prehistoric times, even as early as the 12^th century.  In this early period a native cotton was used for both the needle-work and the fabric to which it was applied.

            “In the example shown here a fine handspun cotton cloth has been embroidered with native dyed wool.  Though patterned in the ancient decorative tradition, this use of wool, of course, proves that this piece was produced after the introduction of sheep by the Spanish conquerors.  Collateral evidence indicates that the garment of which this was a part was in use toward the close of the 18^th century.”

This single print bears the artist’s signature and the cover indicates that this is copy number 480 of the 500 issued.

Condition:  Silkscreen print is in excellent condition.  The paper cover enclosing the print has wear around the edge