Original Painting of a Corn Dance Banner Carrier [SOLD]

Tonita Peña began painting when she was seven years old. She was the only woman painter in her generation and was part of the original group who participated in the contemporary watercolor movement.

In this painting, Tonita used tempera paints to depict a corn dancer carrying a banner. The early pueblo style of painting, which has no ground plane and no background, was meticulously carried out in this piece.

Joe Herrera has stated that when his mother first started painting she signed all of her paintings only with her Indian name . This lasted until sometime around 1915. A variation of this signature occurred shortly before or at the time she became pregnant with her second son, Joe H. Herrera, probably in 1917 or 1918. In 1921 she began using both names in her signatures, one name above the other. 

 

Then around 1930, she added cartouches to her signature block, as in this painting. Her cartouches were always pueblo pottery symbols from her adopted pueblo of Cochiti. She had been born at San Ildefonso Pueblo but moved to Cochiti at age 12 to live with her aunt and uncle, Martina and Florentino Montoya, who also had moved from San Ildefonso to Cochiti Pueblo.

The painting is in excellent condition and has recently been framed using archival materials and a cherry colored wood frame. The painting shows no damage at all.