Original Painting of a Masked Yei Dancer [SOLD]

Special Value Offer: The consignor has authorized a price reduction of 1/3rd from the original price of $450 to a new price of $300.

Adee Dodge was the grandson of the first Navajo Tribal Chairman, Chee Dodge.  He studied at the University of New Mexico and received a master's degree from Columbia University in Comparative Linguistics and Anthropology. He started painting while recovering from war wounds he received while serving in the South Pacific during World War II.  A self-taught painter, he focused his work on preserving the symbols and stories of the Navajo Religion.  His work has been featured in Arizona Highways and at the Smithsonian. 

His trademark was the Navajo hair-roll, which is a symbol of the Navajo people. Under this he would sign his name Adee.  He would also include birds, the bluebird, which symbolizes the Seagoing people of the East and the flying swallow, symbol of the Swallow people of the West. 

In his Introduction to The American Indians of Abeita, His People, Joseph Stacey said "...There have been some great names in the roll of Navajo artists...Adee Dodge, one of the most prolific Navajo artists, is collected for his spirit horses and fastidiously drawn interpretations of Navajo myths and legends."

Dodge passed away on January 4, 1992 in Albuquerque.

This painting dated 1965 is a single figure of a Navajo Yei dancer in active participation of a dance.  It appears to be casein on paper and to be in original condition.  It has not been examined out of the frame.

Provenance: from a gentleman in California

Recommended Reading: Southwest Indian Painting: A Changing Art by Clara Lee Tanner