Original Watercolor titled “Middle Mesa” [SOLD]

Baje Whitethorne Sr. (1950-present) Giggling Boy, was born on August 9, 1950 on the Navajo Reservation near Shonto, Arizona.  His last known residence was Flagstaff, Arizona. He attended Tuba City High School, Arizona; University of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff; Grand Canyon College, Phoenix; and Boilermaker National Apprenticeship Program in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Baje Whitethorne is an accomplished illustrator, having illustrated award-winning children’s books. He has received numerous awards and accolades for his work, and has been exhibited in major galleries and museums. His son, Baje Whitethorne Jr., has followed in his father’s footsteps and is also an artist.

This large watercolor painting, titled “Middle Mesa” and dated 1987, is an exemplary work from this talented Navajo painter.  The image begins at its bottom, with a finely detailed encampment built upon the Southwestern soil. The ground appears almost purple and is dotted with pinks, whites and oranges.  Behind that lies a series of small hills, which appear to be snow-covered. Behind those hills, the titular mesa, shrouded in darkness after the sunset, reaches up into the sky. The sky—which occupies about 90% of this large composition—is depicted in one of its most beautiful states: immediately after sunset.  To the viewer who is not familiar with the natural wonder that is the post-sunset Southwestern sky, Whitethorne’s color choices might seem exaggerated or non-naturalistic. Anyone who has spent time in the region, however, will recognize that this image was most definitely inspired by the artist’s actual surroundings.

It’s a dramatic shift—from bright yellow to rich, dark blue—that begins near the horizon, behind which the sun has just retreated for the night.  Further away from the mesas, above the birds and beyond the clouds, the sky’s colors shift—subtly, at first, into warm orange and then red. The sun’s warm colors bleed into the sky’s cool colors in the center of the image, creating a gorgeous purple that, again, is unique to the Southwestern sky.  Above this, the night sky is cool and blue, with streaks of green and yellow left over from the sun’s recent passing. The skill and grace with which Whitethorne recreated this spectacular scene are truly remarkable.

In the grasses in the foreground is a small folding chair, popularly regarded as Baje's personal trademark. He is quoted as saying: 

"When I was a boy, my parents and grandparents brought home a new card table with six metallic blue chairs. In the summer months, I would put my face against the cool seat of the chairs. Now, I include the chair in my artwork because it reminds me of my boyhood and because it draws people into my artwork when they try to find it."

“Middle Mesa” is signed and dated by the artist, placed underneath multiple complementary mattes, and framed beautifully in a wood frame.  On the back of the painting is its title and a note that the piece received a blue ribbon at the 1987 Scottsdale Indian Art Show.

Condition: this Original Watercolor titled "Middle Mesa" is in excellent condition

Provenance: from the collection of a Santa Fe family currently consolidating two homes into one and found it necessary to sacrifice a number of paintings.

Recommended Reading: The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters by Patrick Lester