Pablita Velarde Original Painting of Pueblo Eagle Dancer [SOLD]

Pablita Velarde, the creator of this Eagle Dancer painting, was an influential artist from Santa Clara Pueblo. Velarde is best known for these earth pigment paintings, which were made with mineral and rock elements. She would grind these minerals into powdery substances using a metate and mano, and then use the powder to create her paints. Her most frequent subjects were pueblo ceremonial dances and scenes of everyday Native life. Pablita worked in water-based paints from time to time, mostly casein, but she is best known for her paintings rendered in the mineral earth pigments. She would first draw her designs on Masonite panels that were treated with a coat of pumice. She then used her ground-up minerals as paint to fill in the areas she had drawn. To mix her paints, she combined the pigments with water and glue, and then painted with commercial paint brushes. She would paint each color with as many as seven layers to gain the consistency she desired. She then would outline the images-again, as many as seven times-to ensure that they were strong in color.

This mineral earth painting features an Eagle Dancer. His knees are slightly bent, his wings are outstretched, and his face is turned toward the ground. Velarde's color palette is mostly earthy and neutral, which is unsurprising given the medium. Brighter colors appear as well, highlighting the intricacies of the dancer's clothing and jewelry. This is an excellent example of Pablita Velarde's mineral earth work.

The painting is signed Pablita Velarde and dated 1977 in lower right. The painting is mounted in a wood frame over a fabric matting, within a larger frame.

Pablita Velarde (1918-2006) Tse Tsan - Golden Dawn was an innovative and influential artist from Santa Clara Pueblo. Velarde was one of the first full-time female students in Dorothy Dunn's art class at the Santa Fe Indian School, where she studied alongside Tonita Peña. These two women are regarded as the first Native American women to support themselves as painters, but it's not just because of this that they are remembered so fondly. It's because of the quality of their works that they have remained so visible in the many years since they have passed. Velarde's works are included in many prominent public and private collections. Velarde passed away in 2006.

Condition: this Pablita Velarde Original Painting of Pueblo Eagle Dancer is in excellent condition

Item Provenance: From the collection of a client to whom we sold this in 2009. Previously, this painting was presented in the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center's special exhibit "TIMELESS BEAUTY" in Albuquerque, New Mexico, January-August 2008. This exhibition celebrated the achievements and impact made by some of the most renowned Pueblo women artists on the preservation, exposure, and development of the indigenous and contemporary art forms of Pueblo people. Curated by the IPCC in collaboration with Santa Fe-based Adobe Gallery and the School for Advanced Research, "TIMELESS BEAUTY" showcased a collaborative collection of artwork created by these influential women.

Recommended Reading: Woman's Work: The Art of Pablita Velarde by Sally Hyer

TAGS: Native American Paintings, Santa Clara Pueblo, Tonita Peña, watercolor, Helen Hardin, Navajo Nation