“Messenger from the Sun” Aquatint Etching by Tsa-Sah-Wee-Eh [SOLD]

"Messenger from the Sun" is an aquatint etching by Santa Clara Pueblo artist Helen Hardin. It was completed in 1980 at El Cerro Graphics in Los Lunas, New Mexico. The collaborating printers were Ricardo Ximenes and William Boyson, and the image was completed in an edition of 50, plus various proofs.

Three colors were used for this print. A bird's head appears near the center of the image. Its body and tail feathers spiral out and up, while the sun's rays move diagonally through the lower right and upper left corners. Vertical elements appear in the lower left and upper right corners. Leaves and a kiva step design appear near the bird's head. This is an excellent example of Hardin's ability to blend traditional symbology with abstract designs of her own invention.

The print documentation provides a concise depiction of the process and materials used: "A three color, cut plate, embossed image. Image drawn on KPR coated copper plate. Etched in ferric chloride. Plate then cut into 4 separate plates. Color: English Red, ochre, burnt umber."

The etching is signed Tsa-Sah-Wee-Eh and numbered 42/50. It is framed in a thin metal frame, within an off-white mat, and mounted with the entire paper exposed.

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 "Messenger from the Sun" Aquatint Etching is from a private collection

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

TAGS: Helen Hardin, Santa Clara Pueblo, Pablita Velarde, Native American symbols, Native American Paintings, Acoma Pueblo