Gerald Nailor Original Painting titled “Crow Woman” dated 1938 [SOLD]

This original painting was created by painter Gerald Nailor, a talented and influential Diné of the Navajo Nation artist. Nailor’s paintings rarely surface on the market today, due to both quality of work and the fact that Nailor’s life was cut short by an early death. We are always pleased to be able to offer one of his excellent pieces, and this one is particularly special. It dates to 1938—earlier than most which we’ve handled, and likely made when Nailor was sharing a Santa Fe studio with the great Apache artist Allan Houser.

“Crow Woman'' suggests that Nailor’s artistic vision was fully formed even before his productive 1940s period. Nailor placed his Crow Woman in the center of the image, within a growing crowd of animals. Her arms are outstretched, with one reaching down to a lamb and the other reaching up to an approaching trio of birds. Three deer gather on one side; two rabbits, an eagle, a skunk, and the lamb appear on the other. According to a handwritten text on the back of the frame, Crow Woman “calls the animals to her in the winter and tells them where to go for food.” It makes sense, then, that they’d look at her the way they do in this image—wide-eyed, rapt, somewhat intensely in the eagle’s case. We are similarly captivated by the gorgeous scene. “Crow Woman'' is as fine a work as any we’ve seen by Gerald Nailor.

The painting is signed Gerald Nailor and dated “‘38” in lower right. It is framed beautifully, in a carved wood frame with archival matting and UV-protective conservation glass. Various typed and handwritten texts attached to the back identify the title and subject.

Gerald Nailor, Sr. (1917-1952) Toh Yah was an influential Diné painter and printmaker who is best known for his serene and beautiful depictions of wildlife.  Dorothy Dunn’s 1968 book American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas provides an excellent description of the artist’s style:  "Gerald Nailor was the suave stylist-decorator. His lovely patterns of horses, deer, and antelopes were smartly and proudly drawn with never a thought for natural appearance. Every detail of their design was accomplished with adroitness and polish. If one must use the term in connection with Indian art, his work was sophisticated.” Nailor’s life and career were very short; he was prolific though, leaving behind a large body of work that is highly desirable today.  Nailor has come to be regarded as one of the best and most significant early Diné painters.

Condition: excellent condition with no visible issues

Provenance: this Gerald Nailor Original Painting titled "Crow Woman" dated 1938 is from a private Santa Fe collection, obtained through a dealer who purchased the piece directly from Nailor

References:

- American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas by Dorothy Dunn

- American Indian Painters A Biographical Directory, by Jeanne O. Snodgrass

Relative Links: Santa Fe, Allan Houser, Picuris Pueblo, Diné of the Navajo Nation, Dorothy Dunn, Native American Paintings, Gerald Nailor, Diné of the Navajo Nation Painter