Navajo Wood Carving of Short Wide Owl by Charlie Willeto [SOLD]

This wood carving by Navajo folk artist Charlie Willeto depicts a creature that is of great significance to the Diné people: the owl. To the Diné, owls are the messengers of death. The owls themselves are not evil, but their appearances can signify that something bad is going to happen. Willeto created many owl carvings during his short but productive career. One might wonder exactly what—as a medicine man—Willeto thought of these harbingers of death. He must have felt strongly about them, as he created many during his short career. Willeto’s owls vary greatly in style, composition and color; it is unlikely that any two are exactly alike.

This particular owl is short in height but very substantial.  It appears to have been carved out of a round log; it’s much wider and deeper than Willeto’s commonly employed shapes.  The log is partially split, providing the gap between its two wings, which are closed and tucked inward. They wrap around its entire body, encircling the piece in columns of upside-down v’s which alternate between black and white. Triangles are cut into the bottom edges, creating feathers at the end of the owl’s wings.

Charlie Willeto (1897-1964) was a Diné artist who was unrecognized during his lifetime but has, in recent years, received a great deal of acclaim for his folk art carvings.  Willeto’s father Pablo Walito was a Diné medicine man; his mother Adzaan Tsosie “Slender Woman” was a medicine woman. Willeto followed into his parents’ profession, and also married a woman who was born into the traditional Diné healing arts. In 1961, Willeto began creating the carvings for which he is celebrated today.  The carvings ranged in size from a few inches tall to nearly life-size, with the majority standing between one and three feet. Willeto is believed to have completed about 400 carvings in total. Today, his works are included in prominent public and private collections including the Smithsonian and the Museum of International Folk Art.

Condition: this Navajo Wood Carving of Short Wide Owl by Charlie Willeto is in excellent condition

Provenance: private collection

Recommended Reading: Collective Willeto: The Visionary Carvings of a Navajo Artist, Museum of New Mexico Press

Relative Links: Navajo Nation - Diné, Charlie Willeto