“Changing Woman” Pigment Print by Helen Hardin [SOLD]

Among the strongest and most sought-after work by Santa Clara Pueblo artist Helen Hardin is a series of three exceptional aquatint etchings. "Changing Woman," "Medicine Woman," and "Listening Woman" comprise what is commonly referred to as Hardin's WOMAN SERIES. Hardin, the daughter of influential Santa Clara Pueblo artist Pablita Velarde, was primarily known as a painter. In 1979, art dealer Sue Di Maio began encouraging Hardin to explore printmaking. Hardin's contemporaries-Fritz Scholder and R.C. Gorman, most notably-had been creating lithographs successfully for years, but she believed these artists' prints to be inferior to their paintings. She was not excited about the possibility of exploring printmaking.

Hardin begrudgingly attended a meeting with Ricardo Ximenez, master printer and operator of El Cerro Graphics in Los Lunas, New Mexico. After a lengthy meeting regarding technical details and the receipt of a persuasive follow-up letter, Hardin agreed to go to work with Ximenes. She found herself to be well-suited to the medium and, after her earliest efforts were successes, began to enjoy it. She created and released 23 etchings in total, all during the last four years of her life.

This is a pigment print reproduction of "Changing Woman." It was created in 2002 by those who handle Hardin's estate. It is signed Helen Hardin Estate and dated "2002." It is a bit smaller than the original etching; otherwise, it's a faithful and accurate reproduction. It is framed nicely, under a cream-colored mat in a wood frame.

Helen Hardin (1943-1984) Tsa-Sah-Wee-Eh or "Little Standing Spruce" was an innovative and influential painter from Santa Clara Pueblo. Hardin was born in 1943 to Santa Clara Pueblo painter Pablita Velarde and Caucasian civil servant Herbert Hardin. Inspired by her mother, she began creating and selling paintings as a teenager. She went in a different direction than her mother and her mother's peers, creating more contemporary works that depict Native American symbology with striking geometrical patterns and abstract imagery. She died of cancer in 1984, leaving behind an astounding body of work for her many admirers to enjoy.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this "Changing Woman" Pigment Print by Helen Hardin is a private collection

Recommended Reading: Changing Woman: The Life and Art of Helen Hardin by Jay Scott

TAGS: Santa Clara Pueblo, Pablita Velarde, Native American Prints, Native American Paintings