Untitled Painting of a Colorful Turkey [SOLD]

It is quite likely that Gerónima Cruz Montoya (1915 - 2015) P'otsúnú - White Shell thoroughly enjoyed painting this marvelous turquoise turkey.  He was important enough to devote the whole area of the paper to his presence. A few streaks of yellow lines in the sky are his only companion.  His waddle is composed of a few red dots, sufficient to declare the image to be that of a turkey, and no other bird.

Most collectors of Native American Paintings are fully aware of the career of P’otsúnú, and how, following the curriculum established by Dorothy Dunn, she continued the arts program at Santa Fe Indian School (SFIS) for another twenty-five years, teaching some of the most important Indian artists of their generation. Afterwards she would return to San Juan (now Ohkay Owingeh) Pueblo to develop and teach adult education courses and help emerging artists. But for all her accolades as an instructor, it is for her talents as an artist that she is also known.

What may be little known about her by most collectors is that, as a child, she was taken from her native pueblo and sent to the SFIS, as was the routine for all Pueblo Indian students of the time. The irony is that she hated the place at first; running away from the legacy that she would help develop. Like many early students of the SFIS, she resented being taken from her pueblo to the boarding school, but the tutelage of Dorothy Dunn, founder of the famous "The Studio" fostered in the young girl a love of art that remained for the remainder of her life. Montoya would succeed Dunn as the director of the arts program at SFIS, and oversee it for the next quarter century, before leaving to start the San Juan Crafts Co-Op. She retired in 1973 to focus on her art.

Just two years before her death, at the age of 98, she visited Adobe Gallery to see the exhibit of her former students of the SFIS.  She walked through the gallery and looked at each painting and made comments about the student of that piece. Her comments were so clearly stated that there was no question that she remembered each of the students and their actions of the time.  It was a real treat for the staff to follow her around the gallery and listen to her reminisce about her teaching years at the SFIS. She obviously had great respect and love for her former students.

The painting is signed in lower right and dated 1978.  It has recently been framed using archival materials and a wood frame.  It is ready to hang and enjoy.

Condition: this Untitled Painting of a Colorful Turkey is in very good condition

Provenance: from a gentleman from Albuquerque

Recommended Reading: The Worlds of P´otsúnú: Geronima Cruz Montoya of San Juan Pueblo by Jeanne Shutes and Jill Mellic

Photo source: Picture of Gerónima Cruz Montoya from the website of University of Arizona/Arizona State Museum.