Original Acrylic Painting “Rainbird” [SOLD]

Helen Hardin is well-known to collectors of American Indian art as one of the first to break away from the two-dimensional painting style popular at The Studio of the Santa Fe Indian School under the direction of art teacher Dorothy Dunn.  Hardin's mom, Pablita Velarde, had also departed from the traditional style but carried with her from the Indian School, the method of making her own paints that she learned there.  The family was adventurous in its art pursuits and not interested in following the herd.

Hardin expressed environmental issues through her art by drawing on the environment, history, tradition, religion, culture, lifestyle and human emotions.  She made use of protractors, rulers, and French curves, which she called her "gadgets."  She painted with acrylic paints in layers and applied a varnish over each color to achieve the effects she desired.

Hardin drew upon the Mimbres culture of a thousand years ago when painting birds and fish, illustrating them in the style of the Mimbres.  This bird which she called "Rainbird" is of the Mimbres style.  It is a work of superlative style with a beautiful range to the palette of fall colors in warm reds and oranges.  The painting is of a postmodernist stance of a traditional symbol associated with pueblo pottery design—a proud bird of the roadrunner genre going about its business of searching for food. 

The large disc behind the bird provides a clean backdrop for the main feature of the painting.  Surrounding the disc (or Sun) is a ring of zigzag lines that are dynamic and appear in movement.  The ground plane on which the bird walks supports two flowering plants and repeats the zigzag lines.

Condition: original condition

Provenance: the painting is signed in lower right and dated 1978. It was originally purchased from the artist by the Hunter family of Albuquerque for display in the Hunter Lumber Company offices.  When the Hunter's sold the lumber company, the new owners sold the art collection through an Albuquerque gallery.  The painting was then purchased by a couple from Chicago who have retained it until now.

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