Diné (Navajo) Cardboard Cutout Female and Horse [SOLD]

Chuck and Jan Rosenak, authors and collectors of Navajo folk art, give credit to Navajo trader Jack Beasley of Farmington, New Mexico, for bringing attention nationwide to the crafts of the Navajo.  Jack had operated a trading post in the 1970s and then he and his wife opened a gallery in Farmington, New Mexico, in 1989.  Quite familiar with the arts of the Navajo from his trading post days, Beasley featured it in the gallery and concentrated on the folk art style of which by then he was quite familiar.  Beasley was partly responsible for igniting the fire in the Rosenaks for folk art of the Navajo.

There are many Navajo who now make folk art—wood carvings, mud toys, pictorial weavings, and other forms, but one artist stands out among the many.  Mamie Deschillie single handedly introduced the cardboard cutout folk art form to the world and the Rosenaks make it known through the books they published.

This cardboard cutout is of a female Navajo beautifully dressed in a shiny red dress and bedecked with Navajo-style jewelry.  She rides a cheerful green horse guiding him with fabric reins.  Mamie did not purchase materials for her creations but gathered leftovers and scraps that had no other use.  She was not above using worn out long johns or any other small scraps she found.   Her figurines bring a smile to everyone who views them.

The horse is signed with the name of the artist on its front leg.  The figurine is provided with a metal stand for proper display.

Condition: original condition

Provenance: from the extensive collection of a Santa Fe resident who is unfortunately moving to another city and found it necessary to greatly reduce her collection.

Recommended Reading:  The People Speak: Navajo Folk Art by Chuck and Jan Rosenak