Cochiti Pueblo Original Painting of a Group of Koyemsi by Joe Herrera [SOLD]

This painting of a group of Koyemsi (Mudheads) was created by Cochiti Pueblo artist Joe Herrera.  They are depicted in the middle of a spirited dance.  Some are depicted in a position often seen in earlier Pueblo works: in profile, with one raised leg, leaning forward slightly while dancing across the image horizontally.  Others move a bit more wildly, turning their heads toward the viewer as they dance.  A baby Mudhead emerges from a pouch on one of their backs, reaching up toward the one who trails behind.

Herrera expanded on the traditional style by adding elements from the area surrounding the Mudheads.  A bowl full of food appears near the lower left corner, and a basket of cornmeal near the lower right corner.  A third design appears in the center. These elements rest on a thin black line, which crosses the image horizontally.  As always, Herrera’s work is stylish and attractive.  His bold, bright colors give the image energy, and his subtle shading adds depth and texture. 

The painting is signed Joe Herrera in lower right. It is framed nicely, using a thin black frame and multiple layers of carefully arranged matting. 

Joe Hilario Herrera (1923-2001) See Ru was an innovative and successful Native American painter.  His father was from Cochiti Pueblo, and his mother—pioneering painter Tonita Vigil Peña (1893-1949) Quah Ah—from San Ildefonso.  Though his artistic inheritance and early art education came from his mother, Herrera is rightly considered to be from Cochiti Pueblo. He attended the Santa Fe Indian School, served in the US Army during World War II, worked at the Laboratory of Anthropology, and eventually completed a degree in art education at the University of New Mexico.  Dorothy Dunn’s American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas states that he “did justice to a fine tradition in his authentically drawn ceremonial subjects.  His work was unlike that of his renowned mother, Quah Ah, for his was coolly decorative where hers was warmly natural.”  Herrera passed away in 2001.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Cochiti Pueblo Original Painting of a Group of Koyemsi by Joe Herrera is from the collection of an Arizona family

References:
- Southwest Indian Painting: A Changing Art by Clara Lee Tanner
- American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas by Dorothy Dunn

Relative Links: Cochiti Pueblo, Tonita Vigil Peña - Quah Ah, San Ildefonso, Native American Paintings, Joe Hilario Herrera (1923-1990s) See Ru