Special Value Offer: San Ildefonso Pueblo Painting of a Horse [SOLD]

Special Value Offer: The consignor has requested that we reduce the price of this painting by 1/3rd from the original price of $450 to a new price of $300.

At the time Atencio painted this horse, he was 14 years old and attending the Santa Fe Indian School.  He was well above average as an artist.  His use of color and shading is well attended.  The horse is rendered in excellent proportions and detail with a face that is expressive.

A newspaper article dated 1944, a year before this painting was completed, in reference to an art exhibit stated "Rating second by way of red stars is Gilbert Atencio of San Ildefonso Pueblo, a nephew of the famed pottery maker Marie Martinez. His "Corn Dance" and "Wedding" are perhaps the outstanding paintings of the show, the former having been purchased by Liane Adams and the latter by the museum."  This article is indicative of this talented young artist's abilities.

Atencio was one of the youngest pueblo artists in the 1940s.  He had spent two years at the Santa Fe Indian School.  By the age of 20, he had exhibited at the Santa Fe Museum and in Gallup and Albuquerque as well as the Philbrook Art Center in Oklahoma.  He had already been awarded six first prizes, six second prizes and five third prizes by the age of 19.

 He was the son of Isabel M. Montoya and the nephew of Maria Martinez. He was educated at San Ildefonso Day School and graduated from the Santa Fe Indian School in 1947. He served in the U. S. Marine Corp after which he worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a medical illustrator for most of his adult life.  His attention to detail in medical illustrations carried forth into his paintings of pueblo life.

This painting is a wonderful example of the talent of Atencio as a very young teenager.  He continued to express such talent throughout his career.  The painting is signed in lower right and dated 45.

Condition:  very good condition

Provenance:  from a gentleman in Albuquerque

Recommended Reading:  Southwest Indian Painting: A Changing Art by Clara Lee Tanner