Between 1910 and 1920, there was great activity among several groups of Southwest Pueblo Indians in reviving painting as a general expression. There is no way to state precisely the first date of the artistic attempts of these early artists, but one painting by Ma Pe Wi is dated 1917.

Ma Pe Wi was from Zia Pueblo and was among the earliest of the Pueblo painters. He was encouraged to paint while he was employed at the School of American Research in Santa Fe. He, along with Awa Tsireh and Fred Kabotie, as young men, were allowed to paint two or three hours a day, and supposedly were not subjected to any white influence whatsoever.

Ma Pe Wi was one of the young Pueblo artists chosen to paint murals for the 1933 Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts at the Corcoran Gallery of the Smithsonian. By 1936, Ma Pe Wi was painting a variety of subjects.

In this painting, and in an accompanying painting (our Item # C3004.02A), Ma Pe Wi features a single Pueblo clown in active participation of a ceremonial function. As was his style, the painting was executed in a two-dimensional flat style without any ground plane or background features.

The painting is signed in lower right Ma.Pe.Wi. It is beautifully framed using acid-free materials, linen mat and silver fillet around the inner mat, a silver wood frame and museum protective glass. The accompanying painting (our Item # C3004.02A) is framed to match.

Condition: The painting has not been examined out of frame but the visible portion appears to be in original excellent condition.

Original Painting of a Zia Pueblo Clown

Recommended Reading: Indian Painters of the Southwest: The Deep Remembering (Contemporary Indian Artists) (click here to view details of book) by Katherin L. Chase. (Available from Adobe Gallery)