Fine Art - Native American Paintings Paintings Diné of the Navajo Nation

Original Painting Entitled “Leaping Deer” [SOLD]

Narciso Platero Abeyta, Ha So De, Navajo Painter

Category: Paintings
Origin: Diné of the Navajo Nation
Medium: casein
Size: 13-1/2” x 20-1/2” image; 20-1/4” x 27-1/4”
Item # C3741B

SOLD

Ha So De painted this image in the late 1980s and it was purchased by the owners of Kiva Publishing, which, in 1994, produced 225 serigraph prints from this original.

Ha So De began his art career at the early age of 11 by drawing his first creations on canyon walls on the Navajo Reservation. By age 32 he was published in Art in America. He developed a markedly unique style of broad brush strokes and flowing lines, at times appearing almost nonchalant. He outlined his figures in colorful bands, reminiscent of multiple borders on the Navajo rugs he must have seen the women weaving as he grew up on the reservation. He seemed unconcerned with small detail but only with the sweep and dash of movement in free spirited scenes. His had a good sense of color and contrast.

Ha So De studied at the Santa Fe Indian School and, after World War II, at the University of New Mexico, where he studied with the famed Modernist painter Raymond Jonson. During World War II, he was one of the famed Code Talkers. He garnered many prizes for his work, notably at the New Mexico State Fair, Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce, Gallup Ceremonials, at Philbrook Museum, and the Fine Arts Gallery in San Diego. He has been exhibited throughout the United States and Europe.

This painting is striking in its mix of colors. Ha So De chose a deep blue for the deer and put a red outline to complement the blue. The white underbodies of the deer add a sharp contrast. The artist’s choice of a beige background enhances the presentation of the deer.

There is an excellent article entitled HA-SO-DE One of the First Individualists by Guy and Doris Monthan in American Indian Art Magazine, Summer 1976