Untitled Pueblo Basket Dance Participants by Awa Tsireh [SOLD]

This painting does not show the artist signature on the front. There is a notation on verso, in ink, that attributes the painting to Romando Vigil of San Ildefonso Pueblo. Further there is an Santa Fe art gallery label on verso also attributing the painting to Romando Vigil, circa 1930, and stating that it came from the collection of Alice Corbin Henderson.

Coincidentally, a statement in the book by J. J. Brody (see reference below), would cast doubts as to the attribution to Romando Vigil. Brody states: "In 1925, he (Awa Tsireh) brought Alice Corbin Henderson a picture that evolved from these pottery-derived innovations, a vignette of a highly stylized Pueblo dancer: static, frontal, bilaterally symmetrical, and emblematic, with every detail isolated by a black outline and filled in with a block of flat bright color." Brody then refers to plate 73 in the book that is an almost identical painting to this one and it is signed Awa Tsireh. The two paintings could not be more similar.

It is our belief that this untitled painting of Pueblo Basket Dance Participants was executed by Awa Tsireh and not signed by him as it was gifted to Henderson from Awa Tsireh. This was not an uncommon occurrence in the early days of Pueblo paintings. Perhaps an art gallery attributed it to Romando Vigil, however it is in no way like works by Vigil but is definitely like previous paintings by Awa Tsireh.

The painting is framed in a gold leaf, hand carved wood frame by Tres Mowka of Santa Fe.

Alfonso Roybal (1898-1955) Awa Tsireh (Cat-tail Bird) was many things to his pueblo of San Ildefonso. He was a farmer, pottery painter, museum employee, painter, and silversmith. He had many trades and skills but is primarily remembered today as a painter and metalworker. He began painting in 1917, which places him among the very first pueblo painters. His artworks were featured in "Awa Tsireh: Pueblo Painter and Metalsmith", a comprehensive exhibition at Phoenix's Heard Museum. His works are included in many major public and private collections, including that of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.

Awa Tsireh was recognized beyond his native world as an outstanding artist. His watercolors were sent by Alice Corbin Henderson to the Arts Club of Chicago for a special exhibit in 1920. His paintings appeared in early exhibits in Santa Fe, and he was among the several artists to receive prizes at the first Santa Fe Indian Market. In 1925, the Chicago papers were generous in their acclaim for his exhibit in the Newberry Library. The Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts in New York in 1931 included Awa Tsireh paintings. He is generally regarded as one of the most influential pueblo painters, and his works continue to increase in value as his historical significance continues to be recognized.

Condition: excellent original condition

Provenance: this Untitled Pueblo Basket Dance Participants by Awa Tsireh is originally from the collection of a Santa Fe family, sold to a client by Adobe Gallery in 2013 from whom we now have it back to make available again

Reference: Pueblo Indian Painting: Tradition and Modernism in New Mexico, 1900-1930 by J. J. Brody, 1997

TAGS: Native American Fine Art, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Native American Paintings, Diné - Navajo Nation