Santa Fe Indian School Studio Painting of Two Eagle Dancers [SOLD]

This painting is by Ramos Sanchez of San Ildefonso Pueblo. Ramos’ father was Able Sanchez, the famous painter, and as a child Ramos used to make drawings and sell them to the tourists who came to see his father.  He was around age 17 when he painted this. He has only recently returned to painting. He was eighty when he showed his work at Indian Market.

When Dorothy Dunn became the director of The Studio at the Santa Fe Indian School in 1932, she encouraged her students to draw images derived from cultural traditions. This painting of Eagle Dancers is a good example of work done in The Studio. The Eagle Dancers are expertly rendered and are placed on a blank background which is typical of The Studio style. Young Sanchez did an excellent job of portraying the Eagle’s ceremonial details.

This piece is part of a collection of ten paintings done at The Studio of the Santa Fe Indian School.  The director of The Studio at that time was Geronima Cruz Montoya of San Juan Pueblo.  It is likely all of the paintings were done in the same class because they were framed in a similar manner. Some of the paintings had writing on cardboard on the back with the date 1943 and the stamp of The Studio at the Santa Fe Indian School.

While this painting had no writing other than the signature, it is one of the few that we have been able to identify the artist.

It is believed that Conrad Hilton purchased this painting for his first hotel in Albuquerque and that is what the H-Hotel, which is written on the backing of the painting, represents.  A similar notation appears on most of the paintings in this group.  In an interview with Ramos Sanchez, in May 2015, he indicated that Hilton purchased paintings by students for his first hotel in Albuquerque.  He stated that Hilton paid him $400 when he was used to getting only a few dollars for his paintings.

Condition: excellent condition with new mat board and backing and original frame and glass.

Recommended Reading: American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas by Dorothy Dunn.  This book is currently not available from Adobe Gallery

Provenance: from a family in Albuquerque who unfortunately did not know its history or provenance.