Original Painting of a Dancer with Rattle [R]

This is a very serious looking pueblo dancer, elaborately dressed for the ceremony.  He carries a rattle in his right hand and a bow in his left.  He is wearing a traditional kilt, white cotton shirt, leggings and white moccasins and is wearing a multiple-strand nugget necklace and turquoise earrings.  Popovi Da is known as a serious painter, whether on paper or pottery, and always did only his best work.  This painting is quite evidently some of his best work.  The action is evident, the drawing is accurate, and the painting and colors are spectacular.

Popovi Da - Red Fox was the son of famous San Ildefonso potter Maria Martinez and her artist husband Julian Martinez. He was born on April 10, 1923 at San Ildefonso Pueblo and died on October 17, 1971 in Santa Fe. He formally and legally changed his name from Tony Martinez to his Tewa name, Popovi Da. He was educated at the Santa Fe Indian School, where he graduated in 1939. Da was a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in World War II. He lived most of his life in San Ildefonso Pueblo.

Da listed his varied occupations as arts and crafts shop owner, Governor of San Ildefonso Pueblo, ceramics painter and designer, silversmith and painter. He was elected Governor of San Ildefonso Pueblo in 1952, and was Chairman of the All-Indian Pueblo Council.

Like his father who painted the designs on Maria's pottery, Da did his best work with symbolic designs and geometric figures. After his father's death in 1943, he did little painting. Instead, he assisted his mother with the decoration of her clay forms and improved the firing process that produced the unique black-on-black pottery for which Maria is famous.

Condition: this Original Painting of a Dancer with Rattle is in very good condition with some discoloration to the paper

Recommended Reading: Through Their Eyes—Indian Painting in Santa Fe, 1918-1945 by Michelle McGeough, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, 2009