Original Watercolor Paintings of Male Dancer Profile [SOLD]

When Edgar Lee Hewett, at the School of American Research (SAR, now called School for Advanced Research), was supporting the early Pueblo artists, their work was considered an "ethnographic revival" in nature and that is the manner in which they were encouraged to paint. After SAR ceased its direct support of them, there was an immediate and sharp curtailment of ethnographic imagery and an increase in freedom to paint as they wished.

Alfonso Roybal (Awa Tsireh) had been painting since before 1917. He was the oldest of the early group of pueblo painters. His formal education had not extended beyond primary grades. He was versatile in his styles of painting in that he was equally comfortable with representational, semi-realistic, and abstract.

This pair of paintings leans towards the ethnographic style as he has portrayed the men with appropriate headdress decorations—in one instance with feathers and the other with a buffalo headdress.  Awa Tsireh was careful to make accurate representations.

This pair of paintings is being posted as a pair; however, they are also available for purchase singly.

Condition:  both appear to be in original condition but neither has been examined out of the frame

Provenance:  from the collection of a gentleman from California

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