Original Casein Painting “Little Girl Gets her Present” [SOLD]

Harrison Begay (1914-2012) Haskay Yahne Yah - The Wandering Boy was born in 1914 on the Navajo (Diné) Reservation. He attended the Santa Fe Indian School and studied under art teacher Dorothy Dunn. His distinctive style of painting has been popular for over 75 years. His art has influenced an entire generation of Native American painters.  Begay and Quincy Tahoma were close friends and Begay visited Tahoma in Santa Fe.  Begay was with Tahoma the day that Tahoma passed away (1956).

Begay’s paintings display a simple and beautiful life on the reservation.  The faces of the people are happy and the subject matter is always pleasant.  In this painting, Begay has portrayed a young Navajo girl, dressed in full custom attire, on her first ride on her new pony.  The colors are soft and pastel in tint, a style of painting Begay used his entire career.  The Yei rainbow guardian hovering over the little girl is presented as her protection.  Begay often used a Yei rainbow guardian in his work.

On the back of the painting, written in pencil, is Little girl gets her present by Harrison Begay Navajo artist original casein.  The painting has just been framed using all archival materials and a silver-toned wood frame.  It is signed in lower right Harrison Begay and lower left Haskay Yahne Yah. 

Recommended Reading: Southwest Indian Painting: a Changing Art by Clara Lee Tanner. This book is currently not available from Adobe Gallery.

Condition: appears to be in original condition

Provenance:  from the collection of a family from Ohio