San Ildefonso Watercolor of Indian Ceremonial Dancer [R]

Paintings by Richard Martinez seem to be rarer than those by other early San Ildefonso artists. Perhaps he was not so prolific. Apparently he painted as early as 1920 and as late as 1950 but probably no later than that.  It is often the case that purchasers of pueblo art in the 1950s and earlier were souvenir buyers, not art collectors, and a large number of those paintings were not retained or taken care of, so perhaps that is the case with works by Martinez.  Fortunately, some buyers were serious collectors and as a result we do have some works of merit by him.

This small but magnificent painting is possibly a dancer of the Comanche Dance that is, even today, still performed at San Ildefonso Pueblo.  It appears to be on a thick light brown paper.  It is signed in lower left.

Condition:  original condition although not examined out of the frame.

Provenance: ex. coll. California Indian art collector

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