Watercolor Painting of a “Basket Dance” [SOLD]

Michael Chiago has quite a list of awards and honors to his credit.  He was commissioned to paint murals for the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Terminal, Sacaton (AZ) Memorial Hospital, public schools throughout Arizona, Heard Museum, and for the poster for the inauguration of the Arizona Governor in 1991.  He illustrated books for Ruth Underhill and Tom Bahti.  Exhibits of his art and collections of his art are too many to list here.

His past life included attending St. John’s Indian School in Arizona in 1964 and Maricopa Community College in 1972.  He was in the U. S. Marine Corps and served in Vietnam.  He is a commercial artist, dancer and full-time painter since 1970.

This watercolor painting of a Tohono O’odham Basket Dance is an exercise in color.  The women wear colorful skirts and ribbon shirts and the men are in colorful clothing too. The background color of the painting emphasizes the brightness of the painting by providing what could be back lighting in an artistic sense.   The painting is signed and dated 1991.

Condition: appears to be in original condition

Recommended Reading: The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters by Patrick Lester.  This book is currently not available from Adobe Gallery

Provenance:  from the Marvin and Betty Rubin Collection.  Purchased by them from the Heard Museum