Navajo Wood Carving of Tall Figure by Charlie Willeto [SOLD]

Navajo Nation artist Charlie Willeto was a Diné medicine man who turned folk artist. Near the end of his life, only four years before his death, he began carving wood figurines for which he is now famous for.

This folk art carving by Diné artist Charlie Willeto is one of the largest and most dynamic pieces in our current collection.  As is often the case, it’s unclear exactly what Willeto was representing. This figure is tall and thin with a wide v-shaped head.  Three dots represent its eyes and mouth. In a notable variation from similarly composed figures, its arms rest at its sides. A design on its chest resembles the end of a pitchfork. This design is completed in brown and surrounded by white and orange.  The same white, orange and brown color its legs in wide horizontal bands. This is an outstanding piece from one of the most innovative and influential Diné artists.

In 2002, the Museum of New Mexico Press published an excellent book titled Collective Willeto: The Visionary Carvings of a Navajo Artist. The book includes an essay in which museum curator Lee Kogan shares his thoughts on Willeto’s design work: “Painted designs and embellishment on clothing exude energy through their shapes and forms but may have deeper meaning as well, especially on the medicine and dance figures. Some of the abstract designs—zigzags, triangles, circles, and diamonds—hint at cultural contexts that, respectively, can be interpreted as lightning, thunder, sun or snakes, forces and spirits integral to the rich mosaic of Navajo mythology so well known to a man like Willeto.”

Charlie Willeto (1897-1964) was a Diné artist who was unrecognized during his lifetime but has, in recent years, received a great deal of acclaim for his folk art carvings.  Willeto’s father Pablo Walito was a Diné medicine man; his mother Adzaan Tsosie “Slender Woman” was a medicine woman. Willeto followed into his parents’ profession, and also married a woman who was born into the traditional Diné healing arts. In 1961, Willeto began creating the carvings for which he is celebrated today.  The carvings ranged in size from a few inches tall to nearly life-size, with the majority standing between one and three feet. Willeto is believed to have completed about 400 carvings in total. Today, his works are included in prominent public and private collections including the Smithsonian and the Museum of International Folk Art.

Condition: this Navajo Wood Carving of Tall Figure by Charlie Willeto is in excellent condition

Provenance: private collection

Recommended Reading: Collective Willeto: The Visionary Carvings of a Navajo Artist, Museum of New Mexico Press

Relative Links: Navajo Nation - Diné, Charlie Willeto