Clifford Fragua

Cliff Fragua was honored as the Indian Arts and Crafts Association’s 2005 Artist of the Year. He is a native of Jemez Pueblo and comes from a family of well-known and respected potters. In fact, he too learned how to work with clay but found stone to be a more meaningful way to express his artistry.

Fragua attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe where he began taking three-dimensional art classes including ceramics, jewelry-making and sculpture. He found he was more in tune to sculpture. While at IAIA, under the guidance of Allan Houser, he created his first stone sculpture in 1974. He also studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and at the Pietrasanta Stone Workshop in Italy.

During the past several years, Fragua has been working on a special sculpture he is carving from Tennessee marble.

In November, 2000, Fragua was chosen unanimously by the State of New Mexico Popé Commission to create a larger than life-size statue of the Indian Warrior, Popé. The sculpture was commissioned as New Mexico’s entry in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. Popé was responsible for organizing the successful uprising of the Pueblos in 1680 leading to the overthrow of the Spanish. Historians identified this chapter as the “Pueblo Revolt.” It was the first successful revolution against foreign oppressors on North American soil.

The National Statuary Hall was created in 1864. Each state was invited to provide two statues in bronze or marble for permanent display. The Popé statue is New Mexico’s contribution to this tribute to great Americans.

Fragua is known for his sculptures portraying Indian women. Women have always been an important part in Pueblo society. Drawing heavily on his cultural and ancestral teachings, Fragua’s work shows his pride in his Native American heritage and his deep understanding of the spirituality of the stone.