Oil Painting of Navajo and Horse Startled by Storm [SOLD]

Most of the Beatien Yazz paintings we have had in the past have been of acrylic or casein paints but he is acknowledged as having painted in oil paints.  This painting appears to be oil on canvas board, the first one I recall seeing.  He is also known to have painted murals at the Navajo Tribal Court Room in the Navajo Police Headquarters, Fort Defiance, AZ.  He is credited with pottery designs, tile designs, prints, fabric designs and designs for greeting cards.  We tend to think of him just producing paintings but he was much more involved in art than that.  He was a very talented man who had a long career from just a young boy to an octogenarian.

This painting of a young Navajo riding his horse and being suddenly startled by a lightning storm is dramatic.  The sky is white with clouds and lightning strikes over various parts of the canvas.    The horse rears up and the rider stays in the saddle.  The colors used in the horse and rider are strong and well organized, making the rider and horse stand out amongst the stark white clouds and brown earth.  This contrast in intensity forces focus on the main elements of the painting—the horse and rider.

The painting is signed and dated in lower right:

B. Yazz © 77 

Condition: original condition

Recommended Reading:  Yazz: Navajo Painter by J. J. Brody.  This book is currently not available from Adobe Gallery

Provenance: from the collection of an Albuquerque resident