Untitled Diné (Navajo) Painting of Yei Ceremony [SOLD]

Haskay Yahne Yah (The Wandering Boy), ^* Harrison Begay (1914-Present), is considered to be the best known Navajo artist of his generation. He also is one of the few Southwest Native American artists who made a living solely through painting.

He studied art at the Santa Fe Indian School under the instruction of Dorothy Dunn, where he even spent an additional year post-graduation honing his skills. After art school, he continued his education studying architecture at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. After three and one-half years in the U.S. Army during World War II, Begay spent time in various cities, but for the better part of the 1960s and 70s, he lived on the Navajo Reservation. He is one of the last two living pupils of Dorothy Dunn.

This painting, with extraordinary composition, is a depiction of the Yei ceremony in the Navajo religion. We see the traditional fourteen figures, including six male and female dancers, who wear blue gourd masks and fox pelts on their regalia. The male with the white mask and headdress adorned with twelve feathers is the Leader Yeibichai or the Talking God. The “Water Sprinklers” float above in clouds that include lightning bolt imagery.

Condition: The framed and matted painting is in original excellent condition. It is signed in lower right.

Provenance: From the collection of the family of Balcomb’s Ranch Gallery, Colorado.

^* Note: Most published references to Harrison Begay state that the translation of his name Haskay Yahne Yah is “Warrior Who Walked Up to His Enemy.” The correct translation is “The Wandering Boy.” Thanks to Jim C. Hunt for bringing this to our attention. Hunt’s father spent the better part of his life on the Navajo reservation. He taught the Navajo language at Northland Pioneer College in Holbrook, AZ, and was beyond fluent in the language. It was he who told the younger Hunt the correct translation. Our thanks to the Hunts for this enlightenment.