Original Painting titled “Doe and Fawn” by Pablita Velarde [SOLD]

"Doe and Fawn" is an original painting by Pablita Velarde of 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 unique 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.

With this piece, Velarde presents a sweet scene in which a doe and fawn run through a desert landscape. They leap in unison, extending their front legs forward toward the dry earth. In the background, a cliff twists and turns, forming a jagged horizon line near the center of the image. Geometric shapes with kiva step patterns appear in the background and, in a unique touch, within the doe and fawn themselves.

The painting is signed Pablita Velarde. It is framed in the neutral-colored wood frame that Velarde preferred for much of her career.

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, and she is generally regarded as a significant figure in the world of Native American art. Velarde passed away in 2006.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Original Painting titled "Doe and Fawn" by Pablita Velarde is from a private New Mexico collection

Recommended Reading: Old Father Storyteller by Pablita Velarde

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