Santa Fe Indian School Studio Painting of Three Antelope [SOLD]

When boarding schools for Native American children were established at the turn of the last century, the goal was to “Americanize” the children. Beginning in the 1930s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs changed its policies and lifted the ban on the teaching of traditional arts and crafts. This was during the Great Depression and the motivation for lifting the ban was an economic one, recognizing that Indian arts and crafts was a way to provide Indian people with a source of revenue.

Dorothy Dunn’s The Studio at The Santa Fe Indian School taught painting and drawing to young Native American students. Dunn was aware of the economic value of Indian art and encouraged her students to use their cultural traditions as a basis for their work. The Studio style consisted of two-dimensional, flat images on a bare background.

This painting by student Augustine Bird from Santo Domingo Pueblo features three antelope galloping across the paper, jumping over a few delicately drawn plants. It is very well executed and is typical of The Studio style.

The painting is signed A. Bird on lower right and Augustine Bird Santo Domingo Pueblo Domingo, New Mexico on verso.  It had a piece of cardboard on the back with a pencil notation Augustine Bird, Santo Domingo Pueblo, Domingo, New Mexico. When the piece was re-matted, we saved the cardboard with the notations.  It is available and will be provided.   The frame is original and is identical to the frames of the other paintings in the collection. 

It is believed that Conrad Hilton purchased this painting for his first hotel in Albuquerque as he did with the other similarly framed ones in this group. In an interview with Ramos Sanchez, one of the students, he indicated that Hilton purchased paintings by students for his first hotel.

According to Diane Bird, Archivist at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, Augustine Bird was her uncle and she stated that he did not continue painting as a career after leaving the Indian School.  His career was as a house painter.

Condition: excellent condition with new mat board and backing and original frame and glass.

Recommended Reading: American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas by Dorothy Dunn.  This book is currently not available from Adobe Gallery

Provenance: from a family in Albuquerque who unfortunately did not know its history or provenance.