Katsina Dance Scene by Raymond Naha [R]

This original painting was made by Raymond Naha, a Hopi Pueblo artist who is known for creating works in a unique and advanced style. Naha's works focus on the sort of imagery one would expect of an early Hopi or Pueblo painter, including ceremonial scenes and depictions of daily life. What is unique is the manner in which he painted these scenes. His figures were modeled with notable depth and in incredible detail, using light and shadow to enhance perspective and heighten realism. Elaborate landscapes and detailed pueblo architecture often appear in the background.

This Katsina dance scene displays all of the aforementioned qualities. Seven Katsinam dance in a semicircle in the foreground, allowing the viewer to study their intricate and ethnographically accurate regalia and paraphernalia. Clowns appear in the background, cavorting atop the kiva. Further into the background, a row of buildings appears. Each figure was completed with great care, as was the environment in which they exist, so the scene as a whole feels immersive and rewarding.

The painting is signed R. Naha in lower right. It is framed in a carved wood frame under glare-resistant Tru Vue glass.

Raymond Naha (1933-1975) grew up being influenced by some of the most innovative Native American artists of his time. He was born on December 5, 1933, at Polacca, which is at the foot of the Hopi Reservation's First Mesa. He was the son of Daisy Hooee Nampeyo and Ray Naha, making him the great-grandson of famous potter Nampeyo of Hano. During his life he was influenced by a diverse group of people, beginning with his mother, who had left Hopi at a young age after Anita Baldwin, a wealthy benefactress from California, offered to help pay for eye surgery to rid her of cataracts. Baldwin sent Daisy to school at L'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, where she studied sculpture and painting. Eventually Baldwin took Daisy on an around-the-world tour to see other kinds of art. Daisy Hooee was Naha's first teacher, and her influence shows in the European characteristics apparent in his paintings. He exhibited widely and won numerous awards, including the Indian Arts Fund in Santa Fe in 1962. He died in 1975, leaving behind a large body of work.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Katsina Dance Scene by Raymond Naha is from a member of the Balcomb family, who had art galleries in New Mexico and Arizona in the 1970s

Recommended Reading: 100 YEARS OF NATIVE AMERICAN PAINTING by The Oklahoma Museum of Art, Oklahoma City

TAGS: Native American Paintings, Fred Kabotie, Hopi Pueblo