Clara Lee Tanner expressed that Andrew Tsihnahjinnie was one of the most versatile of all Southwestern Indian artists. Perhaps it was his World War II stint in the Marines while stationed in the Pacific Theater that led to his versatility of style. His Pacific tour exposed him to Japanese and Chinese art which apparently had an effect on his works for a time after the war, but eventually he reverted back to his traditional Navajo style of painting. He progressed through many moods, solidifying a style momentarily, and then turning to something new and utterly different, but his subject matter continued to center around Navajo life and activity.

Tsihnahjinnie has portrayed a scene often enacted on the Navajo Reservation. Perhaps the grandfather figure with his back to the viewer is instructing family members or telling them a story. The happy expressions on the listener's faces would make one believe it is a happy or funny story.
The painting is framed using all acid-free materials and a black wood frame. It is signed in lower right but not dated.

Condition: Original condition
Provenance: from the Balcomb family collection
Recommended Reading: Southwest Indian Painting: a Changing Art by Clara Lee Tanner

Title: Diné (Navajo) Painting of a Navajo Family
Artist: Andrew Tsihnahjinnie (1916-2000)
Category: Paintings
Origin: Diné - Navajo Nation
Medium: Watercolor
Size: 14-1/4" x 9-1/4" image-unframed
Item # C3083C

Andrew Van Tsihnahjinnie (1916-2000) was one of the most versatile of all Southwestern Indian artists. He went through many moods, solidifying a style momentarily then turning to something new and utterly different. His subject matter stayed faithful to his heritage even as his style changed. He was chameleon-like in his ability to change and adapt. He is recognized as one of the finest of 20th Century Navajo artists.

Andy Tsihnahjinnie was born near Chinle, Arizona in 1916. He attended elementary school at the Indian School at Fort Apache, but ran away and returned back to the reservation. He then attended school in Santa Fe and became a student of Dorothy Dunn at the Santa Fe Indian School. He was an avid student and was known to have stayed in the studio painting until forced to return to the dormitory. Following his graduation he went to work as an illustrator for the Indian Service.

Tsihnahjinnie's best work is his portrayal of Navajo life and ceremonies. He is known for his attention to detail in paintings. This painting reflects a night dance of Navajo Yei Dancers. The Yei impersonate the Deity Yeibichai of the Diné. The Diné are a spiritual people and everything in their life is a reflection of their beliefs. This dance is performed at the end of a nine-day ceremony and is the public dance following the non-public portion of the previous days.
Over the period of his career, Tsihnahjinnie signed his name in several spellings. For example: A. Tsinajinnie is just one way we have seen it.

José Angela Aguilar, sometimes known as Joe Aguilar, was the son of Susana Aguilar-a well-known potter-and is known to have painted pottery for his mom. He was the husband of Rosalie Simbola Aguilar, originally from Picuris Pueblo and also a potter, for whom he also painted pottery. He was an exceptional painter. Kenneth Chapman included him on a list of fifteen men who painted pottery at San Ildefonso before 1940. His son, Alfred Aguilar, said that his father formed pots, as well as painting them.

There is no mention of him in either Clara Lee Tanner's book or in Dorothy Dunn's book as a painter of paintings; however, there are other references that indicate he was. Snodgrass, in her book, stated "The artist has been actively engaged in art and related subjects since 1944. In 1949, he began painting experiments in new directions." His new direction was the influence of another painter, Joe Herrera, son of Tonita Pena. Seymour stated that in 1987, Aguilar was working in the California aerospace industry doing technical drawings and only an occasional painting for friends.

This painting of a San Ildefonso Antelope Dancer is quite possibly an early one by the artist. It is interesting that the artist placed the left foot and left stick that represents the animal's leg, below the ground plane. It is signed Joe A Aguilar but there is no date. The painting is double matted with acid-free materials and framed in a period wood frame.

Condition: In very god condition with two what may be water spots in lower left directly under the abstract plant design.

References:
Tanner, Clara Lee. Southwest Indian Painting, a Changing Art 1957.
Dunn, Dorothy. American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas 1968.
Stewart, Kathryn. Portfolio II Eleven American Indian Artists 1988.
Seymour, Tryntje Van Ness. When the Rainbow Touches Down 1988
Snodgrass, Jeanne O. American Indian Painters: A Biographical Directory 1968.

Title: San Ildefonso Original Painting of an Antelope Dancer
Artist: José Angela Aguilar (1898-1965)
Category: Paintings
Origin: San Ildefonso Pueblo
Medium: watercolor
Size: 10-1/2" x 13-1/2" image; 14" x 18" framed
Item # 25594

In the 1990s, images of Johnson Antonio's dolls began to appear in newspapers and magazines across the country, and he has received favorable reviews wherever his art has been shown. The Rosenaks stated that when they first met Antonio in 1985, he was driving a horse-drawn wagon. Through sales of his carvings, he soon bought a blue shag-carpeted Chevy van, large enough for his family of eight children.

The Rosenaks say that he is the most successful of the Navajo carvers and an important role model for younger artists. Antonio is from the northwestern corner of New Mexico called the Bisti. Following high school, he went to work for the Union Pacific Railroad. He said "They picked me up in a bus at the trading post, and took me off to lay steel. It was hard work, and when the laying was done in the fall, they'd take me home again. I'd collect unemployment till they'd come for me in the spring." In 1974, Antonio quit the railroad job and returned home to heard sheep and goats.

In 1982 or 1983, Antonio picked up some cottonwood in a wash near Farmington, took it home and just started carving. This was the beginning of a new career.

This carving is typical of the style of his work. His carvings are generally tall, lean and round figures that one would expect from a tree limb or tree root. This female figure is composed from a single piece of wood for the entire body except perhaps the arms were added at the shoulder. The baby in the cradleboard was carved separately and placed in her arms.

Condition: very good condition
Provenance: from the collection of Jan and Chuck Rosenak. Published in Navajo Folk Art by Chuck and Jan Rosenak. 1994, page 47.
Recommended Reading: Navajo Folk Art by Chuck and Jan Rosenak.

Title: Navajo Woman Holding Baby in Cradleboard [SOLD]
Artist: Johnson Antonio (1931-present)
Category: Other Items
Origin: Diné - Navajo Nation
Medium: wood, paint, metal
Size: 18" tall
Item # C3347G

Females of the pueblo participate with the male dancers during the fall and winter animal dances which are a plea for rain and for bountiful crops as well as an abundance of animals for food. Generally, buffalo, deer, antelope, and ram are portrayed together at a dance in the plaza. The female participants dance along with the males, whereas the males impersonate animals, the females impersonate themselves.

The female dancers wear the traditional pueblo dress that rises above one shoulder and below the other shoulder. It is cinched at the waist with a woven belt. They wear a wooden tablet on their head which is called a tableta, the Spanish word for tablet. It is interesting that the male dancers wear moccasins and the female dance bare footed. In their hands, they carry evergreen boughs during these fall dances.

Louis Naranjo has presented this female figure in the traditional manner of dress and action. Her long black hair flows down her back, she wears a tableta on her head and in her hands are representations of evergreen boughs. She is barefooted. The figurine is signed in pencil Louis Naranjo Cochiti. Although the figurine will stand unassisted, it has been provided with a Plexiglas pedestal and wire support that provides more security. The stand adds another inch to the overall height of the figure.

Condition: original condition.
Provenance: from the collection of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, renowned collectors and authors of Navajo Folk Art.
Recommended Reading: There is an excellent article on Louis and Virginia Naranjo in Indians of New Mexico, edited by Richard C. Sandoval and Ree Sheck. Published by New Mexico Magazine, Santa Fe, 1990. ISBN 0-937206-16-4. It may be available from the publisher.

Title: Cochiti Pueblo Female Dancer Figurine
Artist / Potter: Louis Naranjo (1932-1997)
Category: Figurines
Origin: Cochiti Pueblo
Medium: clay, pigment
Size: 15-1/2" tall + 1" pedestal
Item # 25601

Animal dances at the pueblos are a plea for rain and for bountiful crops as well as an abundance of animals for food. Generally, buffalo, deer, antelope, and rams are portrayed together at a dance in the plaza. It is one of the most often seen dances in the fall and winter.

Here, Louis Naranjo has made an excellent likeness of a Buffalo Dancer. On his head he is wearing a buffalo skin with horns. The back of the head piece is decorated with a floral element and feathers. Around his body he is wearing a dance kilt. The kilt has a traditional Zia Pueblo Sun image; an image selected 100 years ago as the image for the New Mexico state flag. Tin cones are painted as fringe on the kilt and a belt ties around the waist.

The body of the dancer has been painted to resemble the darkness of the buffalo. In his right hand he carries a drumbeater and in his left a prayer stick. A shell necklace, moccasins, leggings and jewelry on both wrists complete the decoration. The sculpting of the figurine is excellent and the painting is exquisite.

Although the figurine will stand unassisted, it has been provided with a Plexiglas pedestal and wire support that provides more security. The stand adds another ¾-inch to the overall height of the figure. The figurine is signed Louis Naranjo Nov. 14, 1987 Cochiti, N.M. on the underside of the feet.

Condition: original condition.
Provenance: from the collection of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, renowned collectors and authors of Navajo Folk Art.
Recommended Reading: There is an excellent article on Louis and Virginia Naranjo in Indians of New Mexico, edited by Richard C. Sandoval and Ree Sheck. Published by New Mexico Magazine, Santa Fe, 1990. ISBN 0-937206-16-4. It may be available from the publisher.

Title: Cochiti Pueblo Male Buffalo Dancer Figurine
Artist / Potter: Louis Naranjo (1932-1997)
Category: Figurines
Origin: Cochiti Pueblo
Medium: clay, pigment
Size: 13-7/8" tall + ¾" pedestal
Item # 25600

Mary Histia, is recognized as certainly the finest Acoma potter of the early 20th century. According to Batkin, she traveled to Washington DC and became popular as an unofficial potter to President Roosevelt. Her pottery soon decorated many government offices.

Histia deserves to be classed as a Modernist. Her art is old, yet alive and dynamic-an expression of a continuing vigor. She did not confine her art to a mere repetition of her previous work, nor did she resort to meaningless geometric designs, but she continually experimented and added to her repertoire. Her designs are at once classic and modern.

Mary Histia deserves to be classed as a Modernist. Her art is old, yet alive and dynamic, an expression of a continuing vigor. She did not confine her art to a mere repetition of her previous work, nor did she resort to meaningless geometric designs, but she continually experimented and added to her repertoire. Her designs are at once classic and modern.

Her vessel shapes, too, are not always following the mainstream. This jar is an exaggerated form of a standard olla shape. The low shoulder and long graceful neck provided her with a large canvas for placing a design. This jar was made late in the career of the artist, about a dozen years before she passed away, yet the workmanship is that of a talented artist.

The execution of the painted design is exquisite, as only Mary Histia capably produced. Each design element is precise and was painted with a sure hand. If one were to examine the design carefully it then becomes obvious that all the designs are bird related. There are pointed black beaks with white "eyes" and black tipped feathers. The layout, when viewed directly looking at the black diamond, gives the illusion of a whirling object with the four components comprising bird designs.

The jar is signed on the underside Made by Mary A. Histia, Acoma Sky City, New Mexico. It is not known how early Histia began signing pottery; perhaps it was as early as the 1930s or a little later.

Condition: very good condition
Provenance: from the collection of a California resident whose husband purchased it from the artist in the 1960s at Acoma Pueblo.
Recommended Reading: Acoma and Laguna Pottery by Rick Dillingham

Title: Acoma Pueblo Black-on-white Jar by Mary Histia
Artist / Potter: Mary Histia (1881-1973)
Category: Contemporary
Origin: Acoma Pueblo
Medium: clay, pigment
Size: 8-1/2" tall x 7-1/4" diameter
Item # C3344

The potter carved into the top center of this jar, a beautifully shaped heart, which is stone polished slip, and outlined it in deep red with a further outline of black.  The design on the mid-body is a traditional design seen on Zia dough bowls.  I have not been able to find a reference to the potter but perhaps she had connections to Zia Pueblo prior to moving to Jemez, possibly as a result of marriage.  At any rate, she is a fine potter.   The jar is signed with the potter's name and 2/14/88.  Perhaps it was a Valentine gift to Mrs. Rust, the current owner.

Condition: original condition

Provenance:  from the collection of Katherine H. Rust

Title: Valentine's Special: Jemez Pueblo Pottery Jar with Heart Design

Artist / Potter: Charlotte Toya

Category: Contemporary

Origin: Jemez Pueblo

Medium: clay, pigments

Size: 3-7/8” tall x 4-5/8” diameter

Item # C3251T

Designs on pueblo pottery were influenced by many outside sources starting as early at the mid-1800s. Floral elements, birds, deer, and other designs could easily have been influenced by Spanish colcha designs as well as pottery designs from Mexico. It was also evident that potters borrowed designs from pueblos other than their own.

The heartline deer design was first seen at Zuni Pueblo, but later appeared on pottery from Acoma, Laguna and Zia Pueblos. Intermarriage between pueblos also contributed to designs appearing where they never appeared before.

This Acoma jar is completely covered with Zuni design elements. The orange/red fine lines in the A-frame areas are most typically Zuni in origin. The entire layout of the design is typical of Zuni arrangement, yet the pot is from Acoma Pueblo. It is not as thin-walled as Acoma pottery generally is so it is possible that a transplant potter from Zuni or another pueblo moved to Acoma and practiced the art of making Acoma pottery but had not yet achieved the expertise of creating thin walls.

The jar is a beautiful example of a well formed vessel and a beautifully arranged design. It is in excellent condition.

Title: Acoma Pueblo Polychrome Jar with Zuni Designs
Category: Contemporary
Origin: Acoma Pueblo
Medium: Native Materials
Size: 6-3/4" tall x 9" diameter
Item # C3064B

When Max Early delivered this nacimiento to us, he explained that he was interested in creating a set that could and would be displayed year round. To do this, he included figurines from various seasons of the year. The Saint Nick is appropriate for the Christmas season and then could be put away the remainder of the year. Saint Patrick, famous for ridding Ireland of snakes, would be appropriate for Saint Patrick's Day, then stored for the remainder of the year. The Grim Reaper, with his pumpkin and black cat, is perfect for Halloween, and then stored away if desired.

The Virgin Mary is presented as the Statue of Liberty, Baby Jesus as the New Year Baby, and Joseph with the display of a heart for Valentine. There is an Easter Bunny and Easter egg. The eagle represents the Fourth of July and the turkey for Thanksgiving. The penguin and Rudolph are thrown in for fun as is the ground hog for Ground Hog Day.

To cap it all off, Max wrote a poem on a white slab of clay that accompanies the nacimiento. The group is referred to as a nacimiento but really is more representative of all American holidays. It is a charming set created from a fertile mind.

Max Early was born into the Turkey Clan of his mother and Bear Clan of his father at Laguna Pueblo. He grew up with his grandparents. During his early teenage years, he painted some of his grandmother's pottery. He refined his technique to a personal touch, while maintaining traditional Laguna design symbols and compositions.

Since 1994, Early has continued to be honored as a top prize-winning artist at Santa Fe Indian Market. At the same time, he has pursued his higher education degree at the University of New Mexico, leaving little time for making pottery. He hopes to pursue a career as a poet and proudly told us that his first book of poetry will be published in the next few months.

Condition: new
Provenance: from the artist
Recommended Reading: Nacimientos - Nativity Scenes by Southwest Indian Artisans by Doris Monthan, et al.

Title: Laguna Pueblo 16-piece Pottery Nacimiento
Artist / Potter: Max Early (b.1963)
Category: Figurines
Origin: Laguna Pueblo
Medium: clay, pigments
Size: 9-3/4" tallest ; 16-piece set
Item # C3331

There is precedence for picturing animals on pueblo pottery-namely the Mimbres, in the 1100s, featured insects, fish, birds, and large and small animals primarily on the interior of bowls. There was then a large time span before animals appeared again, this time in the late-1800s on Zuni Pueblo pottery in the form of heartline deer figures. It could be that this inspired potters to paint deer on Zia pottery. According to Harlow and Lanmon, the earliest documented Zia pottery with deer designs is 1870s.

This jar is probably from the first quarter of the 20th century. The design is divided into four quadrants, each of which contains basically the same design. There is an orange colored deer outlined in black. The deer is housed in an arch similar to that seen on Zuni pottery. There is what may be a rainbow arch above the deer house, flowers inside with the deer and black outlined hearts separating the four quadrants. Each heart is filled with parallel vertical black lines.

According to Harlow and Lanmon, there is a jar with orange deer in the Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe purchased in 1929 and two similar ones in the Denver Art Museum collected in 1927. It is quite possible that the same potter made all four of these jars with orange-colored deer. Zia elders identified two possible potters either of whom could have made all four-Isabel Medina Toribio or Virginia Salas.

Condition: structurally in excellent condition with exfoliation of slip around the rim and mid-body due from extensive use as a water jar.
Provenance: from the collection of an Albuquerque gentleman
Recommended Reading: The Pottery of Zia Pueblo by Francis H. Harlow and Dwight P. Lanmon

Title: Four-color Polychrome Olla from Zia Pueblo
Potter Unknown
Category: Historic
Origin: Zia Pueblo
Medium: clay, pigment
Size: 9-3/4" tall x 11-3/8" diameter
Item # C3328B

This small bowl almost has the feel of a stone metate or vessel for processing medication. It is heavy in weight, appears to have been incised with lines over the entire exterior surface and painted with red pigment. A single row of clay wraps around the vessel on the exterior. It is so tempting to assign a function to it as possibly having been a paint jar or a medicine vessel, but there certainly is no way to do so. It is what it was, whatever that might have been.

Condition: very good condition, with some unidentified residue on the interior.
Provenance: from the collection of Katherine H. Rust
Recommended Reading: Secrets of Casas Grandes, edited by Melissa S. Powell

Title: Small Undecorated Utilitarian Bowl
Potter Unknown
Category: Pre-Columbian or Prehistoric
Origin: Mexico
Medium: clay
Size: 2-1/2" deep x 3-1/2" diameter
Item # C3309G

Native American belief systems feature a layered perspective of worldly features. It appears that to also be the case with the inhabitants of the Casas Grandes pueblos. Their hierarchy places birds as associated with the sky-Upper World-humans with the Middle World and snakes with the Under World.
Birds and serpents are often represented on pottery from Casas Grandes and human faces often portrayed on effigy vessels. According to authorities, snake presentations are often detailed enough to actually identify the species. There is no indication that snakes were used for subsistence, indicating that they were more revered as spiritually powerful.

In this jar, two serpents are presented in relief, coiled and ready to strike. One of them has a black line painted on its back and the other has black dots over its body. On one side of the jar, two serpentine figures are scratched into the surface of the clay and on the opposing side several serpents are painted in black outlining. Basically each of the serpents is presented differently.

The jar has a small collar rim, below which are two pair of drilled holes through which sinew might have been threaded for the purpose of hanging the jar.
Condition: the jar is in remarkable condition for its age. There are some scratches and abrasions but nothing of significance. There is one hole an inch below the rim which appears to be the result of a probing stick-a technique used by those probing the ground in search of pottery.

Provenance: from the collection of Katherine H. Rust
Recommended Reading: Secrets of Casas Grandes, edited by Melissa S. Powell

Title: Casas Grandes Black on Red Jar with Serpents
Potter Unknown
Category: Pre-Columbian or Prehistoric
Origin: Mexico
Medium: clay, pigment
Size: 6-1/4" tall x 8-3/4" diameter
Item # C3309F

There has been much speculation regarding the origin of Tesuque Rain God figurines. Figurative pottery from New Mexico pueblo potters has a long tradition, at least as far back as 1880 or a little earlier. The earliest documented Rain God from Tesuque was collected in 1879. Figurines were likewise made at Cochiti Pueblo at the same time. There was a thriving market for such through merchants in Santa Fe who sold to visiting tourists as well as through catalogs. Potters at Tesuque responded to requests by merchants to provide curio items for sale by the merchants to the tourist market.

While tourists were enchanted with figurative pottery and purchasing it for their own gratification, museum curators were shunning it as vulgar and low class. Very few of the many thousands of figurines that were made ended up in museum collections at the time. Museum curators felt that merchants were encouraging potters to make cheap kitsch at the expense of producing their traditional fine pottery. What was poorly understood a hundred years ago is now appreciated for its uniqueness and charm.

There is some disagreement among scholars as to the actual origin of Tesuque Rain God figurines. One scholar believes they were a revival of an older figurine pattern. Another believes that the horns, ears, and exaggerated sexual characteristics tie them to Kokopelli, the hump-backed flute player found on rock art. Still another scholar believes they were a rebirth of traditional figurative pottery at Cochiti and Tesuque Pueblos. Lastly, another scholar ties the rain god to pre-Columbian funerary figures and that they were influenced by Mexican wares but interpreted from a unique pueblo perspective.

Regardless of the origin, they have existed as a pottery item from Tesuque Pueblo for at least 135 years
So they are certainly traditional to the pueblo now even if not at that time.

This rain god figurine carries an unusually large pot on its lap. There is a painted design on the head and cheeks and what can be interpreted as a necklace around the neck. The pottery bowl is also decorated.

Condition: very good condition with no damage and some abrasion of the painted surface expected on an item of this age.
Provenance: from the collection of a former Santa Fe resident.
Recommended Reading: When Rain Gods Reigned: From Curios to Art at Tesuque Pueblo by Duane Anderson

Title: Tesuque Pueblo Rain God Figurine with Large Vessel
Potter Unknown
Category: Figurines
Origin: Tesuque Pueblo
Medium: clay, pigment
Size: 5" tall
Item # C3343C

The origin of Tesuque Rain Gods is still somewhat in question. They may be an indigenous development out of a more general Tewa tradition. Before the emergence of the figurine as we know it today, there existed figurines closely related to Kokopelli, the humpbacked, phallic flute player. These early figurines displayed sexual characteristics of male and female genders. A strong similarity exists between these ancestral Rain God figurines and the late 19th-century ones. The sexual characteristics disappeared rapidly once the figurines became commercial products.

Their entry into the commercial realm was due to a Santa Fe merchant named Jake Gold and possibly a Chicago, IL Candy Company called Gunther Candy. It has been stated for decades that Gunther offered to buy "Indian relics" to put in their boxes of candy, however this has not been confirmed.

Gold offered Tesuque potters ten cents for each figurine. The potters removed the sexual characteristics from the dolls (probably at the request of Gold) and placed a pot in the lap or on the head. Thus we have the Rain God, as we know it today.

This fine example of a Tesuque Rain God, which probably dates to circa 1900, has sculpted hair and warrior marks on his cheeks. He wears a painted necklace and holds a jar in his lap.

Condition: the left arm has been broken and glued; otherwise the doll is in very good condition for its age.
Provenance: from the collection of a former Santa Fe resident.
Recommended Reading: When Rain Gods Reigned: From Curios to Art at Tesuque Pueblo by Duane Anderson

Title: Tesuque Pueblo Rain God Figurine with Hair and Warrior Marks
Potter Unknown
Category: Figurines
Origin: Tesuque Pueblo
Medium: clay, pigment
Size: 6" tall
Item # C3343B

Everyone is familiar with the famous Navajo men who are known as the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. It was they who came up with Navajo words to substitute for naval terms and it was their ingenious use of their Navajo language that confounded the Japanese who were never able to break the code.

Elizabeth Manygoats made a set of four pottery tiles in 2005 illustrating four Navajo words and the naval words for which they substituted. The Navajo word for whale was used for a ship, the word for shark was used for submarine, the word for turtle was used for tank, and the word for bird was used for airplane.

According to Chuck and Jan Rosenak in their book Navajo Folk Art: The People Speak, Betty Manygoats has 10 children-nine daughters and a son-many of whom are making pottery in a style similar to hers. The Rosenaks said that Manygoats was not prolific at the time of their book (1994).
The pottery tiles are mounted on fabric and framed together in a wood frame.

Condition: original condition
Provenance: from the collection of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, renowned collectors and authors of Navajo folk art.
Recommended Reading: Navajo Folk Art: The People Speak by Chuck and Jan Rosenak.

Title: Diné (Navajo) Set of Four Code Talker Pottery Tiles
Potter: Elizabeth Manygoats
Category: Contemporary
Origin: Diné - Navajo Nation
Medium: clay, paint
Size: 4-1/2" x 3-1/2" each tile; 8" x 18-1/2" frame
Item # 25606

Chuck and Jan Rosenak were major collectors of folk art when they lived in New Mexico. They authored a couple books on Navajo folk art. Several years ago, they moved to Florida because Jan was having health problems with the altitude in Santa Fe. Chuck informed me that Jan passed away this past summer and he has decided it is time to sell the remaining parts of their collection that they amassed over the years.

We have been selected to sell the collection. There will be many other items of mostly Navajo folk art including wood carvings, pottery, and textiles as well as other Native American items such as Katsina dolls. We will also be happy to provide a letter of provenance with the purchase of any items from their collection.  

Special Exhibit: The Chuck and Jan Rosenak Collection of Native Art (click here now to see the items in this exhibit)

The exhibit dates are: February 07, 2013 until March 31, 2013.

Thomas Vigil (1889-1960) whose Indian name Pan Yo Pin translates to Summer Mountain, was born at Tesuque Pueblo and was among few artists painting there as early as 1914, as witnessed by Santa Fe artist Olive Rush during a trip to Tesuque Pueblo that year. His works of art follow the early tradition of two-dimensional construction with no background or reference plane. His works generally are primitive in style but show much contrast in color value.

He was represented in an exhibition in New York in 1927 at what is now the Riverside Museum where "the paintings made a tremendous impression upon the Eastern public, and their spontaneity of conception and real beauty of color, and design, has been praised in the Eastern press." (Forum)

He was also represented in the Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts in New York in 1931. The exposition garnered high praise from art critics such as the New York Times and others.

Julián Martinez (Pocano - Coming of the Spirits) was born in 1885 (source: Richard Spivey) in San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico, and died on March 6, 1943 in San Ildefonso Pueblo. He is perhaps best known for the designs he painted on his wife's, Maria's, famous pottery. Martinez had no formal art training. He was the father of Tony Martinez (Popovi Da), also a well known Pueblo artist.

In addition to artist, Martinez listed his occupation as "farmer, laborer, janitor, and pottery designer, " (Lester, p. 343). He also served as Governor of San Ildefonso Pueblo. According to Snodgrass, Martinez had been painting since 1920 and had gone through several periods of ‘realistic' paintings, but some of his more outstanding works were his abstract symbolic and geometric designs found on Maria's pottery.

Martinez' paintings were among those selected by Mary Jane Colter to decorate the La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He received several commissions for murals, which can be seen at the Santa Fe Indian School; Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado (1935); and at the School of American Research in Santa Fe.

Martinez' paintings are in numerous public collections, including: Amon Carter Museum of Art, Fort Worth, Texas; Amerind Foundation, Dragoon, Arizona; Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona; Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio; Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio; Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado; Dartmouth College Collection, Hanover, New Hampshire; Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska; National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.; Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, Owensboro, Kentucky; Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas; Museum of Northern Arizona, Katherine Harvey Collection, Flagstaff, Arizona; American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York; Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, New Mexico; University of Oklahoma Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, Norman, Oklahoma; Riverside Museum, New York, New York; School of American Research, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, California; University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

REFERENCES:

• Brody, J. J. Pueblo Indian Painting Tradition and Modernism in New Mexico, 1900-1930. Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research Press, 1997.
• Lester, Patrick D. The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters. Tulsa, OK: SIR Publications, 1995.
• Snodgrass, Jeanne O. American Indian Painters: A Biographical Directory. New York, NY: Museum of the American Indian, 1968.
• Wyckoff, Lydia L., ed. Visions + Voices: Native American Painting from the Philbrook Museum of Art. Tulsa, OK: Philbrook Museum of Art, 1996.