When this painting was completed in 1944, Tahoma was very active.  His friends who had joined the military for World War II were returning home and Tahoma was in love with a young lady in Santa Fe.  The overall activity in Santa Fe was bustling and sales were good for him.  He was displaying his art at the studio of T. Harmon Parkhurst and residents were actively purchasing it.

The Museum of New Mexico Gallery featured Tahoma's work in the summer of 1946 and also forwarded two of his paintings to Oklahoma for the first annual Philbrook Indian Art competition at which Tahoma won first prize in the Southwestern painting division of the competition.  He had achieved the status as one of the best Indian painters in the land.

For anyone interested in the life and art of Tahoma, I strongly recommend the recently-released book "Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist" by Havens and Badertscher. This painting is included in the book (p.89) as well as several of the other Tahoma paintings we currently have in the gallery.

Condition:  The painting appears to be in original condition but it has not been examined out of the frame.

Recommended Reading:  "Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist" by Havens and Badertscher

Provenance:  ex.coll. Debra Hall