Original Painting of Fawn and Bird by Beatien Yazz [SOLD]

This original watercolor painting was created by Beatien Yazz.  It is a sweet image from an influential Diné artist of the Navajo Nation.  Its relative simplicity suggests that it might be an early-career piece.  His later images are rich in depth and detail, moving beyond the confines of the “flat” style by including the environments in which the artist’s primary subjects exist.   With this piece, though, simplicity works perfectly.

In the center of the image, we see a blue fawn.  Its ears are tucked behind its head as it hops along the snow-covered ground.  Up above, a single blue bird flies through the air.  Its wings are spread wide, somewhat dramatically, as it turns its head down toward the ground.  Two branches hang down from an otherwise invisible tree.  The two branches and the series of light blue marks signifying the snowy ground are the only hints as to the environment through which Yazz’ creatures travel.  The crisp white board onto which they are painted feels appropriate, given that they’re moving through winter conditions.  Most importantly, Yazz’ bold blue animals seem to be enjoying their snow day.

The painting is signed B. Yazz in the lower right.  It is framed under Plexiglas and an olive-colored mat in a carved wood frame.

Beatien Yazz (1928-2012) Little No Shirt (Jimmy Toddy) was a painter who was born in 1928 on the Navajo Reservation.  At an early age, Yazz met Bill and Sallie Lippincott, traders at Wide Ruins Trading Post. They recognized Yazz’s talent and made available to him scraps of paper and other equipment so that he might practice his artwork.  Alberta Hannum’s book Spin a Silver Dollar tells the story of the Lippincotts and the young Navajo boy they encouraged. The book was illustrated by the boy himself—Beatien Yazz. He served in the U.S. Marines in World War II and was a member of the famed Navajo Code Talkers. Following the war, he returned to the reservation and began to paint in earnest. He specialized in subjects familiar to him in his daily life on the reservation. He has been eminently popular with collectors since the 1950s.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Original Painting of Fawn and Bird by Beatien Yazz is from a private New Mexico collection

Recommended Reading: YAZZ Navajo Painter by Wagner and Brody

Relative Links: Navajo Reservation, Spin a Silver Dollar, Paint the Wind, paintings, Beatien Yazz, Navajo Nation Painter