Fritz Scholder Cyanotype titled “Blue Cat Ghost” [SOLD]

“Blue Cat Ghost” is a cyanotype print by Fritz Scholder, a famous Luiseño painter. Cyanotype printing is a photographic printing process that has been used since the mid-1800s, initially for the reproduction of diagrams and documents. The process makes use of a combination of ammonium ferric citrate and potassium ferricyanide, which turns into a rich cyan blue when exposed to ultraviolet light.  Prior to the development of more advanced reproduction methods, engineers made their “blueprints” using this relatively simple, inexpensive technique.

"Cyanotype is a 170-year-old photographic printing process that produces prints in a distinctive dark greenish-blue. The word cyan comes from the Greek, meaning "dark blue substance." The process was invented by Sir John Herschel, a brilliant astronomer and scientist, in 1842."  - The Phillips Collection

Scholder’s Blue Cat Ghost cyanotype was produced in an edition of fifteen. The animal occupies much of the image. Its head and tail are clearly defined, and the rest of its form is more abstract. It appears to be standing almost straight up, which is interesting—it makes the animal feel more powerful than it would have been in its usual position. The cyan blue that forms the image is bold, deep, and beautiful. Scholder had a keen eye for strong colors, so it makes sense that he’d choose to explore this particular printmaking method.

The print is signed Scholder in lower right, titled “Blue Cat Ghost” in lower left, and numbered 12/15. It was framed beautifully by Wilkinson & Company of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Fritz Scholder (1937-2005) was by birth one-quarter Luiseño Indian, a California Mission Tribe. He was born in Minnesota, spent two decades in the Dakotas, and lived in Galisteo, NM, and Scottsdale, AZ.  Scholder came to Santa Fe in 1964 to teach advanced painting and art history at the new Institute of American Indian Arts, a school established by the United States Department of the Interior. He obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Arizona in 1964 before moving to Santa Fe and joining IAIA.  Fritz Scholder enjoyed a long and successful career and is regarded today as one of the most innovative and influential Native artists.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Fritz Scholder Cyanotype titled "Blue Cat Ghost" is from a  private Santa Fe collection

Recommended Reading: FRITZ SCHOLDER —An Intimate Look, Institute of American Indian Arts Museum

TAGS: Luiseño Indian, Santa Fe, Paintings, Lithographs, Albuquerque, Fritz Scholder