Pair of Paintings of Zia Pueblo Deer Dancers [SOLD]

Rafael Medina (Teeyacheena) was born at Zia Pueblo and was educated at Zia Day School, Albuquerque Indian School and Santa Fe Indian School.  Much of his work bears the influence of Santa Fe Indian School founder Dorothy Dunn, who taught her students the traditional “flat style” for which many of them became well known.  These two paintings are clearly rooted in that style but also expand upon it, adding dimension, depth and color to the familiar profile of a Zia Deer Dancer.

Animal dances are a common subject for Native American artists because of their cultural significance, serving purposes both practical and spiritual.  These dancers wear deer headdresses, as the primary purpose of the dance is to attract deer to the village.  Every item of clothing, from the elaborate headdresses down to ornate moccasins, has been carefully selected for its significance to the ceremony.  Though these ceremonies do attract a great deal of visitors, they are performed not as entertainment but as a means of achieving balance with nature and the universe.

These two nearly identical deer dancers are performing their sacred ritual among trees and plants, beneath canopies of circular blue clouds.   The clouds have faces, perhaps added to illustrate the connection between the dancers and their environment.  The images are nearly symmetrical, save for a multicolored sun which is located in the upper right corner of each image.  Medina signed and dated each image within brown Zia symbols, which are tastefully blended into his landscapes.

The Price is for the Pair of Paintings.

Condition:  appears to be in very good condition

Provenance: from the collection of a longtime Santa Fe resident

Recommended Reading:
Brody, J. J. Pueblo Indian Painting / Tradition and Modernism in New Mexico, 1900-1930. Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research Press, 1997.

Lester, Patrick D. The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters. Tulsa, OK: SIR Publications, 1995.

Snodgrass, Jeanne O. American Indian Painters: A Biographical Directory. New York, NY: Museum of the American Indian, 1968.