Navajo Scene of Monument Valley [SOLD]

In 1934, as part of the New Deal, the  Public Works Arts Project was funded in New Mexico  The program gave room and board at the Santa Fe Indian School to thirty Native American painters, potters, and weavers from the pueblos and the Navajo reservation. One of the attendees of this program was  sixteen-year- old Andy Tsihnahjinnie, a young man who loved to paint. It is said that while he was at the Santa Fe Indian School, under the direction of Dorothy Dunn, he would stay in the studio until all hours of the night, leaving only when he was forced to return to his dormitory.

After leaving Santa Fe, Tsihnahjinnie worked throughout the New Deal painting murals in the Southwest and throughout the United States. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II in the South Pacific . After the war he opened a studio in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was able to work full time at his passion—painting.

During his long career he painted in a variety of different styles, but his subject matter was always that of the life, customs, and landscapes of the Navajo Reservation. As he aged and his eyesight began to fail he continued to paint, adapting his style to the changes in his vision. He began using a brighter color palette, using intense yellows and turquoise blues.  

This small painting of a Diné hogan in Monument Valley was painted near the end of Tsinajinnie’s career.  A small hogan with a shade ramada rests beneath the towering spires of Monument Valley or Tsé Bii’ Ndzisgaii, which means Valley of the Rocks in English. A small herd of sheep is grazing nearby as the morning sky bursts in an explosion of deep orange. A few white clouds rise overhead, hinting perhaps at some much needed moisture.  The artist used line and shading economically to convey a sense of grandeur as the morning sun rises over the vast reservation. The hogan door faces to the east, making it possible for the residents of the small hogan to greet the day properly. The artist signed his name on both the right and left bottom sides.

Condition: The Navajo Scene of Monument Valley is in excellent condition.

Provenance: The painting is from a Santa Fe collector who is downsizing

Recommended Reading: American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas by Dorothy Dunn