Original Painting “Untitled—Antelope Dancers Under Rainbow” [SOLD]

Awa Tsireh, from San Ildefonso Pueblo, was many things to his pueblo; he was a farmer, pottery painter, museum employee, painter and silversmith. He was painting before 1917. He was the oldest of the early group of pueblo painters. His formal education had not extended beyond primary grades. He was versatile in his styles of painting and was equally comfortable with representational or semi-realistic, representational plus conventional, or abstract.

Awa Tsireh was early recognized beyond his native world as an outstanding Indian artist. His watercolors where sent by Alice Corbin Henderson to the Arts Club of Chicago for a special exhibit in 1920. His paintings appeared in early exhibits in Santa Fe, and he was among the several artists to receive prizes at the first Santa Fe Indian Market. In 1925, the Chicago papers were generous in their acclaim for his exhibit in the Newberry Library. The Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts in New York in 1931 included Awa Tsireh paintings.

Awa Tsireh's style was basically a form of naïve realism used to portray everyday and religious scenes, with the human figure predominant. This painting is typical of his style. There is no ground line, not even a patch of earth appears beneath or around the figures. This is a good representation of his "representational style," in which he usually painted pueblo religious or ceremonial scenes—in this case two antelope dancers.

The gorgeous orchestration of color in the costumes and rainbow shows a remarkable manipulation against the starkness of the white background paper. The artist anchored the painting with intricate corner decorations and rain clouds and sun symbol above the rainbow. He signed in lower right.

Condition Report: there are two small spots of foxing on inverse, bottom, and center. There is a slight darkening of paper from light exposure. There is an area of slight discoloration from bottom center at matt up right figure's arm. Frame has scuff marks, stains and finish loss. Acidic paper hinges on image paper and matting. The matt material is acidic.