Neil David Chicken Thief Hano Clown [SOLD]

In this carving of a Hano Clown, Neil David, Sr. captured the moment when the clown caught the escaping rooster.  This is one of David’s famous antics of Hano Clowns.  He is famous for his humorous clown carvings.

Neil David, Sr. is a Hopi-Tewa from the First Mesa village of Polacca. The Hopi-Tewa live at First Mesa and have done so since the arrival of immigrants from the Northern New Mexico pueblo villages in the early 18th century.  These black and white striped clowns are from the New Mexico Tewa villages but have been assimilated into all the Hopi Mesas. The Hopi-Tewa still speak the Tewa language even after living with the Hopi for centuries. These clowns are the fathers of the katsinas, the purveyors of village mores, and the keepers of tradition.  Although their avowed purpose is to amuse, the direction their humor takes is, as usual, concerned with that which is beyond the accepted Hopi way of life, be it outsiders, neighboring tribes, individuals, or attitudes that seem aberrant to the group.

Neil David is an internationally known artist, admired for his drawings, paintings and katsina doll carvings.  He was a founding member and full-time member of The Artist Hopid, a group of Hopi artists who exhibited their works together.  He is an exceptional artist of paintings and carvings.  His Hano Clowns are favorites of many collectors.  Neil David has a wonderful sense of humor and expresses such in his carvings.

Condition: this Neil David Chicken Thief Hano Clown is in very good condition

Provenance: Purchased by Adobe Gallery from the carver in 1987, sold to a client in New York from whom we now have it back to sell.

Recommended Reading: Clowns of the Hopi by Barton Wright