Original Painting “Rug Dancer” Katsina [SOLD]

Kyrate Tuvahoema attended Indian schools at Hopi, New Mexico and Arizona. His paintings were few; he contracted tuberculosis shortly after leaving school and spent much of his remaining life in sanatoriums in Arizona. He passed away in 1942 at the young age of 28. Most of his paintings were created in the late 1930s and seem to be in museum collections—the Museum of Northern Arizona, Museum of the American Indian, Gilcrease Museum and the Eiteljorg Museum.

Pueblo Indian painters of the 1930s omitted the background of Katsina figures, putting the emphasis of the illustrations on the intricate details of the figures. The focus was on the woven designs of the fabric, the details of the masks, the colors of the body paint as well as the feathers, animal hides and jewelry that accompanied the dancers.

This painting was executed in the style that was popular in the 1930s. Tuvahoema labeled it  “Rug Dancer.” It has some similarities to the Marao Katsina, which is related to the various Tasap or Navajo Katsinas. The artist rendered with precision the various details of the mask, body paint and kilt of the dancer. One side of the Katsina is painted red, the other blue with white zig-zag lines going up the chest and arms. There is an evergreen ruff around the neck and the mask is white with black and red designs.  It is a rare painting by a talented young artist. “Rug Dancer” was signed K. Tuvahoema, Hopi in the lower right corner.

Condition: the painting has slight smudges around the figure, but the figure itself is clear and undamaged.

Provenance: the Original Painting "Rug Dancer" Katsina is from a collection in Santa Fe

Recommended Reading:

- Southwest Indian Painting: A Changing Art by Clara Lee Tanner

- Kachinas: A Hopi Artist’s Documentary by Barton Wright