Helen Hardin Original Painting of Heartline Deer [SOLD]

This original painting was completed in 1979 by Helen Hardin of Santa Clara Pueblo. It is a wonderful depiction of the heartline deer, a motif used often by pueblo artists. One of Hardin's greatest strengths as an artist was her ability to successfully work ancestral imagery into a decidedly modern painting style. With this piece, she did exactly that, offering a heartline deer over a beautifully textured background.

The deer is stylishly rendered in brown and turquoise, standing in the center of the image. A brown band, from which two bright green plants grow, crosses the image beneath the deer's feet. In the background, a circular arch appears. The entire background is covered in tiny clouds of light brown paint. An additional coat of turquoise paint—atomized, perhaps—covers everything except that which is inside the circular arch, suggesting a darkened sky surrounding a rising moon. From a distance, this painting might look simple, but there is a great deal of depth in its elegant composition and unique textural treatments.

The painting is signed Tsa-Sah-Wee-Eh and dated 1979 in lower right. It is framed in a wood frame with a fabric matte.

Helen Hardin (1943-1984) Tsa-Sah-Wee-Eh or "Little Standing Spruce" was an innovative and influential painter from Santa Clara Pueblo. Hardin was born in 1943 to Santa Clara Pueblo painter Pablita Velarde and Caucasian civil servant Herbert Hardin. Inspired by her mother, she began creating and selling paintings as a teenager. She went in a different direction than her mother and her mother's peers, creating more contemporary works that depict Native American symbology with striking geometrical patterns and abstract imagery. She died of cancer in 1984, leaving behind an astounding body of work for her many admirers to enjoy.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Helen Hardin Original Painting of Heartline Deer is from a private collection

Recommended Reading: Changing Woman: The Life and Art of Helen Hardin by Jay Scott

TAGS: Santa Clara Pueblo, Pablita Velarde, Native American Prints, Native American Paintings, Helen Hardin, Santa Clara Pueblo Painter, Southwest Indian Pottery, Zia Pueblo,  Southwest Indian Pottery