Untitled Drawing of a Campfire Gathering [SOLD]

Navajo artist Robert Draper was the child of a Navajo mother and a Hopi-Laguna father.  Raised by his grandparents on the Navajo Reservation, he attended—and eventually became an instructor at— the Chinle Boarding School.  He was also educated at the Inter-Mountain Indian School in Utah and the Institute of America Indian Arts in Santa Fe.  Draper mostly painted realistic landscapes, focusing on everyday life on the Navajo Reservation.

This piece is atypical for Draper, not in subject matter but in execution.  At first glance, it may appear to be a sketch, but a more thorough look reveals a very well-composed drawing.  Using pen and ink he depicts seven couples, hand in hand, dancing around a fire.  The shapes of the dancers suggest movement and motion.  Nearby, a woman and her infant look on.  Under a shelter, five men with mouths agape create the music to which the couples dance. 

Draper creates shadows and beautiful field of light with watercolor, starting with almost nothing near the fire and eventually turning black.  The soft black watercolor and the bold black ink lines work together very well, resulting in a unique departure from Draper’s usual style of painting.

Condition:  it is in excellent condition

Provenance: from the collection of a Santa Fe resident