Shonto Begay Untitled Depiction of a Crow [SOLD]

This monoprint was created by Diné artist Shonto Begay. A monoprint is similar to a monotype, and often created using a similar process. While the two terms are often used interchangeably, there is a notable difference: a monotype is a totally unique artwork, and a monoprint is part of a series of similar but slightly different images. Within a series of monoprints, a common visual element is repeated in each image while other elements or characteristics change from print to print. Often, the repeating visual element comes from an image that is carved or etched into a plate, and the colors vary throughout the series.

With this piece, Begay offered a depiction of a crow in profile. The dark, smoky gray and black tones used for the crow stand in stark contrast to the warm colors used for the background, making the bird's presence strong and sharp. In the background, orange, red, and yellow tones combine to form the color palette of a raging fire. Paw prints, an animal figure, and two human hand prints appear within the flames. As is often the case with this medium, the artist created interesting visual elements and textural variations by removing and manipulating inks before the print impression was made.

The print is signed and dated in lower right. It is mounted with the entire paper visible over a black backing, under acrylic, in a simple wood frame.

Award winning Diné artist Shonto W. Begay (1954- ) began painting professionally in 1983, and since then has been in numerous shows and exhibitions including the Wheelwright Museum, the Museum of Northern Arizona, Arizona State Museum, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, and the American Indian Contemporary Arts Museum in San Francisco. He has won prizes at Indian Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. His father, Mailboy Begay, was a medicine man and his mother, Faye Begay, a weaver. He spent his childhood in the traditional manner, learning to herd sheep and live in a balanced way in tune with nature. He began drawing as a child, observing, and recording the changing seasons of the desert and its inhabitants. Begay attained an associate degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and a bachelor degree from the California College of Arts and Crafts. Before he began to paint professionally, he was a park ranger in Wyoming and Arizona.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Shonto Begay Untitled Depiction of a Crow is from a private New Mexico collection, acquired from the artist in 1996

Recommended Reading: Shonto Begay - His Life and Work. by Hanna Lieff (Author) 2004

TAGS: drawing, painting, Diné of the Navajo Nation, Shonto Begay