New Mexico Pueblo Indians are proud of the pottery made by their ancestors and have brought some of the early designs back to life by recreating those designs on new vessels. That is what this jar represents. Lilly M. Salvador has recreated designs from an historic Acoma jar that is in the Smithsonian which she states dates to circa 1800.

In her recreation of the Smithsonian's historic jar, Lilly Salvador provides us with a look at what must be an amazing 19th century vessel.  Each of the four birds is unique in presentation from contemporary Acoma birds, which are generally more realistic parrot representations.  The birds on this jar have a wonderful body-oval in shape, dual wide bands, and horizontal black elements within. The black heads of the birds resemble those of parrots, yet differ in style.  The head feathers are orange with black dots outlining their edges. Two of the birds are presented in orange color and two in a darker rust color. Between each bird is a floral plant that is in bloom.  The rim is black and the underbody is in traditional Acoma deep red. The bottom is flat.

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPottery #AcomaPueblo #AcomaPottery #PuebloPottery #SouthwestIndianArt #SantaFePottery #FinePuebloPottery #ContemporaryPottery #LillySalvador

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, formerly known as San Juan Pueblo, has a significant history in relation to New Mexico.  In 1598 the new Spanish settlement near this pueblo was made the first capital of the New Mexico province of New Spain by Juan de Oñate. It is 25 miles north of Santa Fe, which replaced it as the capital when founded in 1608.

San Juan Pueblo was the northern terminus of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, an important historic trail from Mexico City used by settlers and traders from 1598 to 1884. San Juan Pueblo was also the home of Popé, the leader of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 against the Spanish.  In 2005, San Juan Pueblo went back to its pre-Spanish name Ohkay Owingeh.

This bowl is of the pre-revival style that was traditional to the pueblo before the 1935 style change.  The bowl was stone-polished on the interior and exterior. Red slip was applied to the exterior of the rim.  The underbody of the vessel was then allowed to receive fire clouds during the firing process-the only decoration of such pottery.  This bowl is likely from the first quarter of the 20th century.

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPottery #OhkayOwingehPueblo #OhkayOwingehPottery #PuebloPottery #SouthwestIndianArt #SantaFePottery #FinePuebloPottery #HistoricPottery

Pablita Tafoya Chavarria was born in 1914 at Santa Clara Pueblo. She started making carved blackware, black-on-black jars, bowls, vases, wedding vases, plates, and miniatures in 1930. Her favorite designs were Avanyu, hummingbirds, flowers, and clouds. She passed away in 1979.

Pablita married Jose M. Chavarria and they had eleven children: Clara Shije, Reycita Naranjo, Thomas Chavarria, Elizabeth Naranjo, Florence Browning, Mary Singer, Mary Agnes Carlisle, Loretto Chavarria, Joe M. Chavarria, Mildred Chavarria, and José N. Chavarria. Clara, Reycita, Elizabeth, Florence, and Mary were active potters through the end of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first.

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPottery #SantaClaraPueblo #SantaClaraPottery #PuebloPottery #SouthwestIndianArt #SantaFePottery #FinePuebloPottery #ContemporaryPottery #PablitaChavarria

Narciso Platero Abeyta (1918-1998) Ha So De was a Navajo painter and silversmith. He was also, among other things, a Golden Gloves boxer and one of the hundreds of Navajo Code Talkers who served in the Marines during World War II. He and wife Sylvia Ann had seven children, many of whom-Tony Abeyta, Elizabeth Abeyta Rohrscheib and Pablita Abeyta-became notable artists themselves. He is highly revered by collectors of Native American paintings, and his works are included in numerous prestigious public and private collections.

Abeyta received his initial art education at the Santa Fe Indian School, whose art instructor Dorothy Dunn commented on his abilities in her book American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas: "Ha-So-De developed a markedly unique style, although, in his formative period, his admiration for the work of (Navajo painter Andy) Tsihnahjinnie could be clearly seen. It was a fine influence and used honorably by the younger painter. His paintings of hunt and home scenes were broad in brushwork and flowing in line, at times appearing almost nonchalant. He was never concerned with small detail but only with the sweep and dash of movement in wild, free scenes. His was a positive art." He received further education at the University of New Mexico, where he studied under famous modernist painter Raymond Jonson.

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPainting #NativeAmericanPainting #FineArt #Painting #Navajo #Diné #SantaFeNM #FinePuebloPainting #HaSoDe #NarcisoAbeyta

Maria Martinez used a variety of signatures during her long career.  The first signature on black pottery was Marie-a signature used when she made the item and Julian painted the design.  His name was omitted in the early years because pottery was considered "woman's work."  It was only after they were convinced that his painting did not constitute doing "woman's work," but was the work of an artist, that his name was confidently added alongside Maria's.  The Marie signature was used between 1923 and 1925. Spivey 2003 This pottery plate is signed into the clay with the name Marie.  It is accepted then that Maria made the plate and Julian painted it between 1923 and 1925. 

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPottery #SanIldefonsoPueblo #SanIldefonsoPottery #PuebloPottery #SouthwestIndianArt #SantaFePottery #FinePuebloPottery #ContemporaryPottery #MarieMartinez

This bowl by Lupe Paytiamo has a very attractive design on the exterior with kite-looking black shapes floating around the sky.  Parallel black lines fill the centers of the design elements.  The interior of the bowl was left in the natural state, not polished.  A rather sloppy white slip was either dripped or painted near the interior rim, almost as if a child got hold of the paint brush.  The exterior view of the bowl is quite attractive and is the view that should be enjoyed.

Written in pencil on the base is "July 8, '61 Made in Acoma Lupe Paytiamo."

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPottery #AcomaPueblo #AcomaPottery #PuebloPottery #SouthwestIndianArt #SantaFePottery #FinePuebloPottery #ContemporaryPottery #LupePaytiamo

This very small Zia Pueblo storage jar could possibly be from the early 20th century.  It is in the shape of a storage jar, but in miniature scale.  The main body design consists of tilted and connected red domino-like rectangles, outlined in black, with some having paired ovals attached to a corner.  Above those elements are black arches.  The base is concave, whereas a true storage jar would have a flat bottom.  The rim is painted black and there is a pair of framing lines below the design area.  A wide matte red band was wiped on under the framing lines and almost covers the entire red area below the design. 

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPottery #ZiaPueblo #ZiaPottery #PuebloPottery #SouthwestIndianArt #SantaFePottery #FinePuebloPottery #HistoricPottery

This small Zia Pueblo jar is a four-color example-cream, black, red and orange.  One bird is red and the other one is orange, both outlined in black and both resting on the lower framing line.  The tipped feathers also alternate between red and orange.  The background color has turned a soft cream/yellow from decades of age. 

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPottery #ZiaPueblo #ZiaPottery #PuebloPottery #SouthwestIndianArt #SantaFePottery #FinePuebloPottery #HistoricPottery

What happened in Gallup, New Mexico, on April 28, 1909?  Apparently it was an important enough event to cause a Laguna Pueblo potter to memorialize that date on this pottery bowl. It is possible that it was a tragic event involving a Laguna Pueblo member or family.  Perhaps, too, it was a joyful event that involved a Laguna member. Let's hope it was the latter.

This bowl is a good example to explain where so many similar twisted-handle bowls at Isleta Pueblo had their beginnings.  This type bowl was typical at Laguna Pueblo. When members of Laguna Pueblo migrated to Isleta Pueblo in 1879 they took with them their pottery styles and designs which were then adopted by Isleta potters and eventually replaced what was then traditional Isleta pottery style.  The Laguna polychrome pottery style then became what we know today as the Isleta polychrome style.

This bowl, however, is from Laguna and not from Isleta.  It was made with Laguna clay and has the traditional Laguna chain-like line of flowers.  It is a four-color bowl with that deep red color seen at Acoma and Laguna in the late 1800s and very early 1900s.  

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPottery #LagunaPueblo #LagunaPottery #PuebloPottery #SouthwestIndianArt #SantaFePottery #FinePuebloPottery #HistoricPottery

Charlie Lee (1926-2003) Hush Ka Yel Ha Yah (Warrior Who Came Out) was a Navajo painter who was educated by Geronima Montoya at the Santa Fe Indian School.  During his high school years, he met Navajo artist Harrison Begay. Lee claimed to have unsuccessfully attempted to create works in Begay's style. Nevertheless, he wound up creating many works that were obviously influenced by Begay.  After completing high school, he returned to the Navajo reservation and then back to Santa Fe, as he "did not feel at home at all" on the reservation. He continued studying music and art, and was ultimately moved to become a missionary.  He attended Springfield, Missouri's Central Bible Institute and then returned to the Navajo Nation.

Like many Navajo painters, Lee's most commonly depicted subjects are horses and everyday rituals.  Clara Lee Tanner's Southwest Indian Painting: A Changing Artdescribes Lee as a "good example of an Indian who started painting in the Navajo traditional style and then developed an occasional flourish in the direction of more realism.  His late-1960s paintings demonstrated more ability and versatility than are to be noted in his earlier efforts." Tanner goes on to list his accomplishments: "Yel-Ha-Yah has exhibited extensively in the Southwest.  He has won various prizes, including two firsts at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque in 1947. Later recognition of his better work includes a Scottsdale second award in 1963 and a third prize at the 1969 Gallup Show."  Lee passed away in 2003. 

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPainting #NativeAmericanPainting #FineArt #Painting #Navajo #Diné #SantaFeNM #FinePuebloPainting #CharlesLee

Fritz Scholder, a painter and printmaker who was one-quarter Luiseño, vowed early in his career never to "paint the Indian." Scholder eventually became interested in Native art and culture-particularly that of the New Mexico Pueblo Indians-when he moved to Santa Fe to teach at the newly-established Institute of American Indian Arts.  Scholder was inspired by the ideas presented to him by his young Native students, and ultimately decided that he himself needed to tackle the subject.  He painted his first Indian during the winter of 1967, and would go on to create hundreds of images of Indians.  They were fresh, beautiful, and occasionally controversial.  They have become some of his most iconic images.

In 1970, Scholder signed a contract to create a series of lithographs at Albuquerque's Tamarind Institute.  He had experimented with lithography in college, and described the process as "laborious and terribly technical."  Under the guidance of Tamarind's experienced printers, however, Scholder began to enjoy the lithography process. Scholder was invigorated by what was, to him, a new way to create and present his ideas.  His first major project at Tamarind was his "Indians Forever" suite, which was presented in a portfolio containing eight of his best early pieces.

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPainting #NativeAmericanPainting #Luiseño #PuebloPaintings #SantaFeNM #FineArt #Print #FritzScholder

Fritz Scholder (1937-2005)  was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota. He was one-quarter Luiseño, a tribe from Southern California. It was apparent early on that he was a very talented artist. His high school teacher was famous Yankton Dakota artist, Oscar Howe, who recognized and encouraged his talent. In 1955, he attended the Mid-West Art and Music Camp at the University of Kansas where he was voted "Best Boy Artist" and President of Art Camp.

After high school Scholder went on to study with artists Greg Kondos, Lloyd Kiva New, Charles Loloma and Wayne Thiebaud among others. In 1964, after receiving his MFA at University of Arizona, Scholder accepted the position of instructor in Advanced Painting and Contemporary Art History at the newly-formed Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In 1970, Tamarind Institute moved from Los Angeles to Albuquerque. Scholder was invited by Tamarind to do the first major project, a suite of lithographs, Indians Forever. It was the beginning of a large body of work in that medium for the artist. Scholder/Indians was published by Northland Press, the first book on Scholder's work.

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPainting #NativeAmericanPainting #Luiseño #PuebloPaintings #SantaFeNM #FineArt #Print #FritzScholder

Fritz Scholder (1937-2005) was a world-renowned painter, printmaker and sculptor of Luiseño descent.  Trained as an abstract painter, he had little interest in the representational paintings of ceremonial functions that were being made and sold by Native artists.  Anglo-American artists' portrayals of Indian subjects were, in his opinion, a "tremendous visual cliché." Scholder, who at one point had vowed never to create works with Native themes or subject matter, would become one of the most famous and influential figures in the world of Native American art.  

In 1964, Scholder moved to Santa Fe to teach painting at the newly-established Institute of American Indian Arts.  He was surrounded by Native art, and began adding pieces to his personal collection.  He began attending ceremonial functions at the neighboring Pueblos.  Most importantly, he was inspired by the artworks being created by his young Native students.  In 1967, he began creating images of Indians in his own singular style.

In 1969, Scholder signed a contract with Albuquerque's Tamarind Institute to create a portfolio of similarly-themed lithographs. His compositional talents and unique eye for color were well-suited to the unique medium.  Even his earliest attempts at Tamarind were artistic successes.  His Indians Forever suite, completed in 1971, contained depictions of Indians that ranged from nearly traditional to radically innovative. 

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPainting #NativeAmericanPainting #Luiseño #PuebloPaintings #SantaFeNM #FineArt #Print #FritzScholder

Fritz Scholder (1937-2005) was a world-renowned painter of Luiseño descent.  Scholder, who at one point had vowed never to create works with Native themes or subject matter, became a widely influential figure in the world of Native American art.  His Indians Forever Suite, created at Albuquerque's Tamarind Institute in the early 1970s, was the beginning of Scholder's experimentation with lithography.  

In "Kachina Dancers", Scholder presents a straightforward depiction of a ceremony that is of the utmost importance to the Hopi people: the Niman (or "Going Home") ceremony.  This ceremony marks the end of the six-month period during which, according to Hopi tradition, the Katsinas live among the Hopi people, revealing themselves through ceremonial dances and serving as the Hopi people's links to their gods. The katsinas pictured here are called Hemis Katsinas.  

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPainting #NativeAmericanPainting # Luiseño #PuebloPaintings #SantaFeNM #FineArt #Print #FritzScholder

Long before Black-on-black pottery became the staple at San Ildefonso Pueblo, potters there had produced a variety of historic pottery types: Black-on-cream, Black-on-red and Polychrome types predominantly.  Powhoge Polychrome, which was black-on-cream, in the 1850-1880 period, gave way to San Ildefonso Polychrome, starting in the 1890s, in which red paint was added to the design.  Concurrently, some potters began abandoning the red paint on the rim in favor of black, around the same time.

This jar is globular in shape, similar to Powhoge Polychrome, with the addition of a rolled out rim, a shape seen in early San Ildefonso Polychrome.  The cream slip was stone polished, the slip used before potters changed to Cochiti slip around 1905, which did not require stone polishing.  The black vegetal paint and the red paint used in the design of this jar are very strong and bold. The deep red paint seen in San Ildefonso pottery is the same paint used by the men for body decoration.  The lighter red, almost orange, seen on later pottery is from another clay source. It is estimated that this jar dates to circa 1890 or maybe a decade earlier.

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPottery #SanIldefonsoPueblo #SanIldefonsoPottery #PuebloPottery #SouthwestIndianArt #SantaFePottery #FinePuebloPottery #HistoricPottery

Joe Hilario Herrera (1923-1990s) See Ru was an innovative and successful Native American painter.  His father was from Cochiti Pueblo, and his mother-pioneering painter Tonita Vigil Peña (1893-1949) Quah Ah-from San Ildefonso.  Though his artistic inheritance and early art education came from his mother, Herrera is considered to be from Cochiti pueblo. He attended the Santa Fe Indian School, served in the US Army during World War II, worked at the Laboratory of Anthropology, and eventually completed a degree in art education at the University of New Mexico.

His early works were very much in keeping with the style of his mother and her contemporaries.  He painted pueblo dancers in very traditional Indian School style-flat dimension, no ground plane, no background or landscape.  Later in his career, because of the influence of modernist artist Raymond Jonson of the University of New Mexico art department, he took an interest in abstract and modernist painting.  He was one of the first Indian artists to move away from traditional representational art into the more abstract forms of self-expression. 

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPainting #NativeAmericanPainting #CochitiPueblo #PuebloPaintings #SantaFeNM #FineArt #Painting #JoeHerrera

Quincy Tahoma (1917-1956) was a talented Navajo painter who was initially educated in the arts by Dorothy Dunn at the Santa Fe Indian School (The Studio).  Alongside fellow Navajo painters like Harrison Begay and Gerald Nailor, Tahoma learned to create simple, boldly-colored watercolor paintings that depicted Native life and religious rituals.  These artists' subjects were usually pictured in profile and with little background or ground plane. These "flat-style" or "studio style" paintings were and still are popular with collectors of Native American Art.

Tahoma, a naturally gifted artist, evolved quickly as a painter.  His earlier works focused mostly on everyday Navajo life-the scenes he witnessed every day during his childhood. As he grew older and more technically adept, he focused his attention on more complicated scenes. Many of his best images feature muscular Navajo hunters clashing with their surroundings. His works are full of movement and action, but rarely feel violent or indulgent. Tahoma's life and career were, unfortunately, cut short by alcoholism. He passed away in 1956 at age 39. Fortunately for those who appreciate his works, he was very prolific and left behind a large body of work. 

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPainting #NativeAmericanPainting #FineArt #Painting #Navajo #Diné #SantaFeNM #FinePuebloPainting #QuincyTahoma

It is well recognized that it is difficult to determine if a particular jar was made at Laguna Pueblo in the early 20th century because they have a similarity to those made at Acoma Pueblo.  It is easier to attribute a jar to having been made at Acomo, thereby eliminating the justification for having stated it was made at Laguna. If Rick Dillingham was correct in his analysis of pottery from Acoma and Laguna Pueblos, then we have some design facts to use as justification for selecting Laguna as the origin of a jar.

Rick Dillingham stated that an "open chain-like patterning is typical of Laguna wares." Dillingham 1992

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianPottery #LagunaPueblo #LagunaPottery #PuebloPottery #SouthwestIndianArt #SantaFePottery #FinePuebloPottery #HistoricPottery

This single stone bracelet is a classic Navajo creation from the 1950s or 1960s. A single high- grade turquoise cabochon rests in a plain handmade bezel surrounded by thin twisted silver wire. This then rests on three wire bands-two solid and one twisted. The solid bands have delicate stampwork. On either side of the center are stamped appliqué sections with single silver drops. The bracelet is unsigned.

#adobegallery #SouthwestIndianJewelry #Navajo #Diné #Silver #Turquoise #Jewelry #SantaFeNM #NavajoJewelry #SantaFeJewelry