Albert Looking Elk Original Painting titled “Buffalo Dance” [SOLD]

This beautiful and unusual depiction of a pueblo Buffalo Dance was created by Taos Pueblo painter Albert Looking Elk Martinez.  The artist and two notable Taos Pueblo peers are known for creating works that varied greatly from those being produced at neighboring New Mexico Pueblos.  With this piece, Martinez landed somewhere in the middle. “Buffalo Dance” is similar in subject and spirit to the “flat style” paintings of the other early pueblo artists, but somewhat different in execution.

Martinez’ Buffalo Dance features eight figures.  They’re nearly identical, arranged in two staggered lines of four.  Each dancer raises one arm up, holding a stick above his head. Martinez used two similar shades of slate red and an off-white to create the bulk of the image.  Bold black outlines frame the aforementioned colors, while yellow and blue appear in the bands tied to the dancers’ arms and legs. The neighboring pueblos’ early artists focused on the details of the dancers’ clothing; this piece seems to be focused more on the strength of the group as a whole.  These eight dancers, together, create a powerful presence. It is always a treat to see a painting from Albert Looking Elk, as he successfully explored all sorts of styles and subjects. “Buffalo Dance” is no exception.

The painting is titled “Buffalo Dance” in lower center, and signed “Albert Looking Elk” in lower right.  It is framed underneath transparent acrylic and a wide slate red matte.

Albert Looking Elk Martinez (c.1888 – November 30, 1940) was, along with Albert Lujan and Juan Mirabal, one of the “Three Taos Pueblo Painters.”  Martinez is most frequently referred to as “Albert Looking Elk.” He entered the art world not as a creator, but as a subject. He modeled for Taos Society of Artists founding members E. Irving Couse and Oscar Berninghaus throughout his childhood and well into adulthood.  In 1915, when he was about 27 years old, he received a significant Christmas gift from Berninghaus: paints, brushes, and painting lessons. He was successful enough to show his work multiple times at Santa Fe’s Museum of Fine Arts.

Martinez, along with his two aforementioned contemporaries, created works that show an obvious European influence.  His preferred subject was Taos Pueblo itself, which he depicted frequently and quite realistically. He also, on occasion, created paintings that displayed a Santa Fe Indian School “flat” style influence, though that is not the style for which he and his peers are remembered.  Martinez passed away in 1940.

Condition: good condition minor stains and discolorations, mostly around the edges.  Has not been examined out of the frame

Provenance: this Albert Looking Elk Original Painting titled "Buffalo Dance" is from a private New Mexico collection

Recommended Reading:  Taos Pueblo Painters Exhibit Sheds Light on Forgotten Artists by Elmo Baca. Published in New Mexico Magazine, January 2000.

Relative Links: Taos Pueblo, Paintings, Eanger Irving Couse, Oscar Berninghaus, Albert Martinez