Fine Art - Native American Paintings Santa Clara Pueblo, Kha'p'oo Owinge Paintings

Early Original Painting “Man of the Moon” by Helen Hardin

Helen Hardin, Santa Clara Pueblo Painter

Category: Paintings
Origin: Santa Clara Pueblo, Kha'p'oo Owinge
Medium: acrylic on board
Size:
4-⅝” Height x 2-⅝” Width (image);
Item # C4916C
Price: $2250

Man of the Moon is an earlier miniature painting by Helen Hardin, offering a small glimpse into the experimental beginnings of a visionary artist whose voice would help reshape the landscape of contemporary Native American art.

The painting features a solitary standing figure illuminated by moonlight. Rendered in earthy tones, the figure is set against a dark bluish-gray background, with the moon's radiant glow casting delicate outlines of light across the head, abdomen, and arms. The soft, ethereal illumination creates a sense of both stillness and spiritual presence, emphasizing Hardin's interest in the intersection between the human form and cosmic forces.

What sets this piece apart is the distinctive technique Hardin employed — thin layers of paint suspended between coats of acrylic varnish, creating a luminous, multidimensional surface. The softly pebbled texture was achieved by blowing paint through an atomizer, a rudimentary form of airbrush that produced an irregular, organic effect. This method would go on to define much of Hardin's later work, contributing to the shimmering, iridescent quality that became a hallmark of her mature style. Interestingly, it's believed her mother, Pablita Velarde, also adopted this atomizing technique in some of her own paintings.

Signed Tsa-Sah-Wee-Eh — her Tewa name meaning "Little Standing Spruce" — in the lower right, the painting's original backing reads "A contemporary Indian Painting," underscoring Hardin's dual commitment to tradition and innovation. Born in 1943, she forged a unique artistic path that blended Native symbolism with modernist abstraction. Though her life was tragically cut short in 1984, works like Man of the Moon offer profound insight into her early vision and lasting legacy.