“Pumpkin Flower Dance” by José Encarnacion Peña [SOLD]

"Pumpkin Flower Dance" is an original painting by José Encarnacion Peña of San Ildefonso Pueblo. Peña's dance procession appears in a diagonal line, leading from the left border up to the upper right corner. The dancers appear in identical poses, facing the viewer, which seems to have been the artist's preferred perspective. Three spectators appear, facing the opposite direction. The remainder of the image is unpainted, with no landscape or environmental element of any kind.

We have handled many of Peña's works over the years, and this is undoubtedly one of the strongest. The colors are vibrant, the composition is appealing, and the figures display notably detailed work. Most significantly, the unique character of Peña's work seems to shine within this particular offering.

The painting is signed Soqween and titled Pumpkin Flower Dance in pencil in lower right. It is framed beautifully in high quality materials.

José Encarnación Peña (1902-1979) Soqween - "So Kwa A Weh" (Frost on the Mountain) was painting at San Ildefonso Pueblo at the same time as Tonita Peña, Richard Martínez, Luís Gonzales, Abel Sánchez, and Romando Vigil. In his early years, he was not as prolific as his peers. It was during the last ten years of his life that he became most productive. He is represented in the collections of the Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe; Museum of New Mexico; Denver Art Museum; and many others. Though similar in spirit, Soqween's works are very different from those of his contemporaries. His works are simple, often using just two or three colors. His outlines, often done in light gray, are less important to his compositions than the thick blocks of bold colors with which they are filled. These blocks of color are the tools with which he composed his subjects: pueblo dancers, in traditional regalia, often viewed head-on instead of in profile. Soqween's style is a simple, charming, and unusual variation of the "flat" style that he and his peers were taught at the Santa Fe Indian School.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this "Pumpkin Flower Dance" by José Encarnacion Peña is from a private collection

Recommended Reading: Southwest Indian Painting: a Changing Art by Clara Lee Tanner

Tags: painting, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Tonita Peña, Richard Martínez, Luís Gonzales, Abel Sánchez, Romando Vigil, Tonita Peña, Santa Fe, Dorothy Dunn, José Encarnacion Peña