Original Diné Painting of Buffalo Hunt by Beatien Yazz [SOLD]

This original painting was created by Diné artist Beatien Yazz.  Having recently mounted an exhibition of Yazz’ paintings, we have studied his work extensively during the past few months.  What has come to our attention is his remarkable versatility.  His preferred subjects—wildlife, scenes of daily life, ceremonial functions—are decidedly Diné, but the manner in which he portrayed these scenes expanded in many different directions from the traditional style. 

This piece is a particularly unique offering from the influential Diné artist.  It’s a hunt scene, with two Native men on horseback pursuing a trio of buffalo.  Each man has chosen a target and readied his weapon.  The man on the left side sits comfortably on his horse, drawing his bow.  On the right side of the image, a buffalo veers inward, forcing the horse to buck its spear-wielding rider up into the air.  Yazz’ work with each of these figures is excellent.  They are rich in depth and dimension, and beautiful in tone and color.  This is an exceptional example of Beatien Yazz’ work.

The painting is signed Beatien Yazz and dated ‘77 in lower right.  It is framed in a beautiful carved wood frame, under blue matting with a brown interior band.

Beatien Yazz (1928-2012) Little No Shirt (Jimmy Toddy) was a painter who was born in 1928 on the Navajo Reservation.  At an early age, Yazz met Bill and Sallie Lippincott, traders at Wide Ruins Trading Post. They recognized Yazz’s talent and made available to him scraps of paper and other equipment so that he might practice his artwork.  Alberta Hannum’s book Spin a Silver Dollar tells the story of the Lippincotts and the young Navajo boy they encouraged. The book was illustrated by the boy himself—Beatien Yazz. He served in the U.S. Marines in World War II and was a member of the famed Navajo Code Talkers. Following the war, he returned to the reservation and began to paint in earnest. He specialized in subjects familiar to him in his daily life on the reservation. He has been eminently popular with collectors since the 1950s.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Original Diné Painting of Buffalo Hunt by Beatien Yazz is from the collection of a family from Arizona

Recommended Reading: YAZZ Navajo Painter by Wagner and Brody

Relative Links: Navajo Reservation, Spin a Silver Dollar, Paint the Wind, paintings, Beatien Yazz, Navajo Nation Painter