Folk Art Carving of Katsina [SOLD]

J. Michael Bear was an interesting person. He lived in Albuquerque and Santa Fe on and off for years. He often painted images of Kokopelli initiations in kiva ceremonies, and occasionally made dolls in the flat style traditional at New Mexico pueblos.

Michael followed closely the style of New Mexico Pueblo katsina dolls, that is, using a cylindrical form. This doll is probably not an identifiable Acoma/Laguna Katsina, but one from Michael Bear’s imagination. The New Mexico pueblo dolls are not dressed in clothing as is this one. We refer to Michael’s dolls as folk art rather than authentic katsina dolls.

Provenance: From the estate of Transcendental artist Florence Pierce of Albuquerque who passed away in 2007 at the age of 89.