Taos Pueblo Painting of Woman Picking Watermelons by Eva Mirabal [SOLD]

This lovely watercolor painting was created by Taos Pueblo artist Eva Mirabal.  The artist’s subject here is a Native woman. She’s wearing traditional clothing and large white moccasins as she bends over to pick up a large watermelon.  Her face, only partially visible behind wide locks of hair, is composed in a skillful and sensitive manner. Her patterned dress is similarly well-crafted. Mirabal was successful at a fairly young age, and is generally remembered as having been a true natural talent. This piece, which was completed when she was just 22, confirms that notion. 

Mirabal’s colors and composition are appealing, as is the nature of the scene itself.  We do not often see paintings depicting the pueblo people’s agricultural practices, which is interesting because farming was central to their daily lives.  Of course, the works of the Taos Pueblo painters vary greatly from those of the neighboring pueblos in both style and subject matter, so it’s not surprising to see something like this from a Taos artist. This watercolor painting is charming, beautiful, and notably unique.

The painting is signed Eah Ha Wa and dated “42” in lower right.  It is framed under acrylic in a beautiful carved wood frame, that is possibly original to the painting and from the Santa Fe Indian School woodcraft shop.

Eva Mirabal (1920-1968) Eah Ha Wa  (“Fast Growing Corn”) was a Taos Pueblo artist who studied at The Studio of the Santa Fe Indian School.  Mirabal began receiving attention as early as her teenage years, and was chosen to show at a Chicago gallery in 1939.  In 1943, she joined the Army. After basic training, she was assigned a post as a muralist. While in the Army, she created a comic strip titled “G.I. Gertie” which was circulated in Women’s Army Corps Publications.  After the war and a stint teaching at Southern Illinois Normal University, she returned to Taos to continue painting and studying art. Mirabal’s accomplishments—successful gallery exhibits, museum placements, and being the only woman included in the Philbrook Museum’s 1946 First National Exhibition of Indian Painting—are even more impressive when one considers that she only lived to 49 years of age.

Condition: this Taos Pueblo Painting of Woman Picking Watermelons by Eva Mirabal is in excellent condition

Provenance: private New Mexico collection

Recommended Reading: Dunn, Dorothy.  American Indian Painting of the Southwest and Plains Areas. 1968

Relative Links: Taos Pueblo, Joseph Imhof, Indian Painting, Eva Mirabal