Plains Indian Warrior with Feathered Headdress [SOLD]

The San Ildefonso Pueblo students were the first painters to appear and they have remained the most important of the pueblo painters to date.  The best known of these early painters are Crescencio Martinez (Táe, 1879-1918), Alfonso Roybal (Awa Tsireh, 1898-1955), Abel Sanchez (Oqwa Pi, 1899-1971), Louis (Luis) Gonzales (Wo-Peen, 1907-1990), Julian Martinez (Pocano, 1885-1943), Romando Vigil (Tse Ye Mu, 1902-1978), Richard Martinez (Opa Mu Nu, 1904-1987) and the only female, Tonita Peña (Quah Ah,1893-1949).  Wo-Peen was the youngest of the group.

Luis Gonzales painted actively in the late 1920s but an accident that caused the loss of his right hand caused him to cease painting in the 1960s.  His short career resulted in production of fewer paintings of any of the group of artists from San Ildefonso.  There were few painted during his career and fewer on the market today.

The northern pueblos were influenced by Plains Indian culture and often painted images of Plains Indians wearing feathered head bonnets.  This painting is a good example of such an event.  The warrior appears to be dancing, his right leg up, and his arm in motion.  It is quite likely that he is a San Ildefonso dancer and he is performing a dance relating to the Plains culture.  San Ildefonso and other northern New Mexico pueblos perform a Comanche Dance on a regular basis. 

The painting is signed Wo Peen in lower right.  It is not dated.  It is framed in a wood gold-tone frame.

Condition: appears to be in original condition

Recommended Reading: Modern by Tradition: American Indian Painting in the Studio Style by Bruce Bernstein, et al

Provenance: from the collection of a gentleman from Oklahoma