Original Copper Plate from Helen Hardin’s “Fireside Prayers” Etchings [SOLD]

This copper plate was used to create Santa Clara Pueblo artist Helen Hardin’s “Fireside Prayers” and “Fireside Prayers II” etchings. Hardin began exploring the idea of printmaking in 1979, due to the encouragement of art dealer Sue Di Maio. Hardin was reluctant, however, as she’d paid attention to her contemporaries’ printmaking efforts and believed their printed works to be inferior to their paintings. After receiving a long and persuasive letter from El Cerro Graphics printer Ricardo C. Ximenez, Hardin began working on the series of aquatint etchings that would include some of her strongest works. Hardin worked with Ximenez at El Cerro until her death in 1984, producing 23 etchings in total.

The “Fireside Prayers” etching was the very first of the 23. As is typical, the plate was altered after the printing of the numbered edition, so that no further prints could be made. In this case, “Cancelled” was etched into the surface, and a cancellation proof—an impression that proves the plate has been altered—was likely printed. Ximenez and El Cerro sold the other plates over the years, but kept the copper plate for “Fireside Prayers” because it was Hardin’s first etching. Now, he has decided to make it available, presenting an opportunity for collectors to own a significant piece of Helen Hardin’s history.

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 her an astounding body of work for her many admirers to enjoy.

Condition: original condition

Provenance: this Original Copper Plate from Helen Hardin's "Fireside Prayers" Etchings is from the collection of El Cerro Graphics printer Ricardo C. Ximenez

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

Relative Links: Helen Hardin, Santa Clara Pueblo, Pablita Velarde, Native American symbols, Native American Paintings, Acoma Pueblo