Robert Draper Painting "Untitled—Summer Storm on Navajo Reservation" [SOLD]

This original painting was made by Diné artist Robert Draper. There is something about the quiet solitude of the Navajo Reservation, especially when a summer storm is approaching. It appears lonely, cold, and quiet—yet there is an underlying sense of serenity and silent solitude. In this piece there is a single donkey standing out in the open and it is the only creature visible—not a human or human habitat in sight.

Draper, having grown up and spent his entire life on the reservation, captures the feeling of the reservation especially well. His use of mostly black and white in the sky with only highlights of color in the landscape emphasizes the cold and foreboding nature of the approaching storm, and also emphasises the beauty of the moment.  Rain, of course, is always greeted with gratitude in the high desert, and Draper managed to work that feeling into this wonderfully stormy scene.

The painting is signed Robert Draper in lower right.  It is framed in a carved wood frame.

Diné artist Robert Draper (1938-2000) was born with the name Robert Martin (son of Janet Descheeny, Navajo, and Frank Martin, Hopi - Laguna) in Chinle, Arizona.  From the age of two, he lived with his grandparents.  He was given their surname of Draper when he entered school at the age of eight. He attended Chinle Boarding School on the Navajo Reservation, Intermountain Indian School in Utah for four years, and the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. He served a tour of duty in the U.S. Marine Corps.  Draper strayed from the two-dimensional style of painting that was favored by his peers, instead focusing on painting in a more European style. He is best known for his realistic scenes of the Navajo Reservation’s beautiful landscape.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: private Colorado collection

Recommended Reading: Southwest Indian Painting: a changing art by Clara Lee Tanner

Relative Links:  Hopi Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, Navajo Reservation, Fine Art - Native American Paintings, Robert Draper, Diné Painter