Very Rare Original Painting “Swallow Dancer” [SOLD]

Identity of early 20^th-century Native artists is not always documented in the standard reference books but sometime can be uncovered in more unusual places.  There is no mention of Tomacito Vigil (c.1923-) Po-qui-Tsireh in any of the published books on Native artists that we have consulted, however, his name appears in a PhD Dissertation to the University of Texas, Austin, in 2011.  It is simply a line entry with his name and that he attended the Santa Fe Indian School in 1936-37.

The Original Painting Entitled Swallow Dancer is marked on verso: “Swallow Dancer” by Tomacito Vigil, age 13, San Ildefonso Pueblo.  It is signed in center right on the front Po-qui-Tsireh, his Tewa name.  It is a single figure dancer with no background design, in typical fashion of The Studio of the Santa Fe Indian School.  The dancer has a large green ruff around his neck, black body paint, white kilt with a fox tail, black stockings, and white moccasins.

It is doubtful that this San Ildefonso Pueblo student pursued art as a career following his two years at the Santa Fe Indian School.  Had he done so, he would be documented in several publications.  This is certainly one of his few early paintings, having been completed when he was only 13 years old.

UPDATE:  We were told by a resident of San Ildefonso Pueblo that he was the brother of Carmelita Dunlap and son of Romando Vigil (Tse Ye Mu)

Condition: appears to be in very good condition but has not been examined out of the frame.

Provenance: from the collection of a gentleman from Texas

Reference:  THE STUDIO OF PAINTING AT THE SANTA FE INDIAN SCHOOL: A CASE STUDY IN MODERN AMERICAN IDENTITY by Milanne Shelburne Hahn, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.  The University of Texas at Austin, December 2011.