Untitled Female Eagle Dancer in Art Deco Style [SOLD]

Adee Dodge (1911-1992) was the grandson of the first Navajo Tribal Chairman, Chee Dodge.  He studied at the University of New Mexico and received a master's degree from Columbia University in Comparative Linguistics and Anthropology. He started painting while recovering from war wounds he received while serving in the South Pacific during World War II.  A self-taught painter, he focused his work on preserving the symbols and stories of the Navajo religion. His work has been featured in Arizona Highways and at the Smithsonian. His style is unlike any other Diné artist.

His trademark was the Navajo hair-roll, which is a symbol of the Navajo people. Under this he would sign his name, Adee.  He would also include birds: the bluebird, which symbolizes the Seagoing people of the East and the flying swallow, symbol of the Swallow people of the West.

In the Introduction to The American Indians of Abeita, His People, Joseph Stacey said "...There have been some great names in the roll of Navajo artists...Adee Dodge, one of the most prolific Navajo artists, is collected for his spirit horses and fastidiously drawn interpretations of Navajo myths and legends."

In this painting, there is a single female Eagle Dancer.  Her right foot is resting on a circle of water. She appears to be mostly nude with only white feathers representing the eagle’s tail feathers.  The gray outlining on her body adds tremendously to defining musculature. The bluebird in the upper left is traditional to the artist’s works. His signature is in lower left and the date ‘68.

Dodge passed away on January 4, 1992 in Albuquerque at the age of 81.

Condition: this Untitled Female Eagle Dancer in Art Deco Style is in excellent condition.  Recently framed with archival materials.

Provenance: this Native American Painting is from the estate of a New York client who amassed a large art collection by Native American artists.

Recommended Reading:  Lester, Patrick D. The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters,1995.

Note: when we say Diné, as opposed to Navaho or Navajo, we are referring to the people and not the government.  Since 1969, their government refers to itself as the Navajo Nation.