Beatien Yazz Original Painting of Horse and Birds [SOLD]

This colorful painting of a horse and birds was made by Diné artist Beatien Yazz.  His work here is of the typically fine quality that his collectors expect.  Yazz’ horse stands tall in about a foot of water, staring directly ahead as a group of seven birds circle the area.  A single tree rises, providing a perch for a resting bird.  Two birds go for a swim, while four others circle the sky.

Yazz often used non-naturalistic colors to create his animals.  Here, he expands those creative liberties to include the environment as well.  The earth is black, maroon, and pink, matching the horse’s colors.  The birds feel somewhat grounded in reality, as far as color goes.  The background begins down below as a smoky wash of white and gray, before turning into a soft charcoal black up above.  This combination of colors is strong and expressive, and the image as a whole is quite appealing.

The painting is signed B. Yazz in the lower right.  It is framed under a maroon mat in a carved wood frame.

Beatien Yazz (1928-2012) was a Diné painter.  Dorothy Dunn’s American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas provides a clear description of Yazz’ style: “Much of his work is considerably overlaid by influences from other artists, both Indian and Non-Indian, yet, in instances where his individual statement is clear, Yazz proves to be a painter of genuine ability… Yazz reaches his high mark in his slight and delightful paintings of small furred and feathered animals of the Navajo country… These subjects he handles with intimate knowledge, as if exclusively for himself and close friends and not for the open world” (p. 350).  Yazz passed away in 2012, leaving behind a large body of work for his many collectors to enjoy.

Condition: good condition with a line of abrasion near the top edge

Provenance: this Beatien Yazz Original Painting of Horse and Birds is from the large collection of a Santa Fe resident, who purchased the piece directly from the artist.

Reference:  American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas, Dorothy Dunn

Relative Links: Navajo Reservation, Spin a Silver Dollar, Paint the Wind, paintings, Beatien Yazz, Navajo Nation Painter