Original Painting “Pueblo Women Decorating Pottery” [SOLD]

Gilbert Atencio's family included four siblings, one of whom was Helen Gutierrez, a well-known potter from Santa Clara Pueblo.  His parents were Isabel Montoya (1899-1996) and Benjamin Atencio (? -1963).  His grandmother and Maria Martinez's mother were sisters.  His niece is Geraldine Gutierrez who is a painter and potter living at Santa Clara Pueblo.

Atencio attended the Santa Fe Indian School.  By the time he was twenty, he had exhibited at the Santa Fe Museum, the Gallup Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial, at Albuquerque venues, and at the Philbrook Art Center in Oklahoma.  He had been awarded six first prizes, six second prizes and five third prizes by the age of 19.

He will certainly be recognized as one of the finest pueblo painters of the second half of the 20th century, not only from San Ildefonso Pueblo, but among all pueblo painters.  His attention to detail was unequalled.  As a professional medical illustrator at Los Alamos National Labs (LANL), Atencio carried forward his precise drawing and painting skills over to his fine art paintings.  I have been told that he practiced the same diligence relating to ceremonial functions at the pueblo.  He did not tolerate less than perfection.

"Atencio's strong sense of family and tribal responsibility has resulted in his seldom venturing from his native pueblo.  He experimented with adaptations of his flat style paintings.  The artist believes in the traditional Indian ways and his favorite subjects were ceremonies, ceremonial figures, and scenes from Pueblo life.  Much of his inspiration came from stories his aunts told him about their lives."  Snodgrass, 1968

"San Ildefonso Pueblo's fame as an art center, save for the work of a few men, has diminished in the painting field.  One of the main standard bearers is Gilbert Atencio, who has thus far seldom departed from developments of time-honored themes and forms.  His crisply drawn and clearly colored renderings of ceremonial and home life have, since around 1947, been favorites in many shows." Dorothy Dunn, 1968

Gilbert Atencio was known for his paintings but little known as a potter.  Later in life, he did make pueblo pottery but that was for his own pleasure.  Paintings remained his second profession following his retirement from LANL.  His ability to paint medical illustrations, paint pueblo life scenes, and make pottery illustrates his extraordinary artistic talent.

In this painting, Atencio illustrates four pueblo women in various stages of decorating their pottery.  As a potter, Atencio knew that one cannot touch a pot with one's bare hands after construction because hand- and fingerprints will show up on the surface, but only after firing.  He illustrated this concept by showing the women holding their pottery with buckskin.  It was his knowledge as a potter that led him to do this.  I do not recall seeing any other pueblo painter do so.  This is typical of his attention to detail. The four women are presented in their finest clothing.  His detail in their attire is remarkable as was his treatment of the designs on the pottery. 

Condition: original condition

Provenance:  from the personal collection of Margaret Gutierrez, potter of Santa Clara Pueblo

Recommended Reading: American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas by Dorothy Dunn

Note on the back:  There is a window on the back of the frame illustrating an original note, shown below: