Navajo Boy and Girl with Fawns [SOLD]

Navajo painter Harrison Begay (1914-2012) was one of the most well-known students of the Santa Fe Indian School, where he was educated from 1934 to 1940.  He received a great deal of international acclaim during his long career, and was one of the first Native American artists to support himself financially with his artwork.  Begay enjoyed a long career as a prolific creator of “flat-style” watercolor paintings, celebrating beauty and serenity with a warm and inviting color palette.

With the intent to share Navajo and Pueblo paintings with a wider audience, Begay and printer Charles Barrows started a silkscreen business called Tewa Enterprises.  Tewa reproduced Begay’s work and that of many of his contemporaries, including Gerald Nailor and J.D. Roybal.  Begay was uniquely qualified to enter the printing business, and was able to sell high-quality prints at reasonable prices.  Tewa’s prints are still readily available from a variety of sources, and are desirable because of their connection to the artist himself.

These two paintings, obtained directly from their archives, were made while Begay was running Tewa but were never used for printing.  They are unfinished but signed, and are beautiful and unique in their unfinished state.  Begay was at his best when painting scenes like these— portraits of everyday Navajo life.  Each of these paintings depicts a Navajo child interacting with a fawn.  He portrays these children and animals with the kindness, respect, and sensitivity they deserve.  His outlines are characteristically flawless, and his bold primary colors are very effective in their simplicity. 

A label on the back of the frame reads: “These original paintings were done be [sic] Harrison Begay sometime between 1951 and 1959 when he was working with the fine-art silk screen business, Tewa Enterprises.  Harrison and printer, Charles Barrows, a charter member of the American Serigraph Society, started Tewa in 1951.  Not only did Harrison supply the original artwork but he also drew the fine line color separations needed to print the incredible finely controlled lines with which he outlined his drawings of people and animals. Tewa reproduced his work in many silk screen editions but these particular paintings were never reproduced. (Notes by Cathie Sullivan, owner of Tewa Ent. 1966-1995)”

Condition: these paintings are in excellent condition

Provenance: directly from the archives of Tewa Enterprises