Pair of Paintings of Hopi Ceremonial Dances by Emerson Quannie [SOLD]

This exceptional pair of early Hopi Pueblo paintings was created by Hopi Pueblo artist Emerson T. Quannie.  When the paintings arrived, we knew that they were older, of Hopi origin, and signed Quannie, but we didn’t have any specifics.  After finding a previously listed work by Emerson T. Quannie that featured an incredibly similar Eagle Katsinam, we can confidently attribute these works to the artist.  The attribution dates them to the 1930s, as that is when Quannie did the majority of his painting.  His is another name that can be added to the long list of talented Native artists whose lives and careers were too short.

These paintings are exceptional examples of the Hopi style of painting.  One painting features a six-figure Snake Dance, and the other features three Eagle Katsinam.  Each figure features incredible depth, detail, and color.  Their movements feel accurate and natural, and their faces are rich in character. Quannie’s technical abilities are evident in the refined execution of these figures. More significant, though, is the general appeal of the pair of paintings as a whole. They are beautiful and extraordinarily well-crafted, with visible age that only enhances their appeal.  We hope to find more opportunities to spend time with Emerson T. Quannie’s works.

Each painting is signed Quannie in lower left.  They are framed in wonderfully colorful painted frames, which appear to be original.

Emerson T. Quannie* (1916-1948) was born in the Hopi Pueblo village of Kykotsmovi in 1916. He attended the Albuquerque Indian School in 1932 and, while there, painted a mural at the Albuquerque Kimo Theater. According to his wife, Quannie did very little painting after leaving the Indian School. She knew of only one painting by him after their marriage in 1939 (Seymour 1988). There are paintings by Quannie in the Denman Collection at the U. S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC; the Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, TX; and the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, AZ. At least one piece was exhibited at the Heard Museum in 1986 in an exhibit entitled "When The Rainbow Touches Down."  It appears that there have been very few pieces by Quannie on the open market for collectors to purchase. His premature death at age 32 explains this lack of material, as does the fact that he worked full time at a trading post as a bookkeeper.

Condition: the age is evident in the paintings and frames, but no major issues

Provenance: this Pair of Paintings of Hopi Ceremonial Dances by Emerson Quannie is from a private New Mexico collection

Reference:  Seymour, Tryntje Van Ness. 1988. When The Rainbow Touches Down. Phoenix, AZ; Heard Museum (exhibition catalog)

Relative Links: Hopi Pueblo, Albuquerque, Native American Painting, Emerson T. Quannie, Hopi Pueblo Painter