Tesuque Pueblo Painting of Two Dancers framed within Colorful Designs by Tomás Vigil [SOLD]

This uniquely decorated painting was created by early Tesuque Pueblo artist Tomás Vigil.  The painting features two pueblo dancers.  They are positioned back to back and framed within elaborate designs.  Vigil’s dancers are always interesting.  He seemed to have focused more on movement than detail, and that decision makes his paintings easily recognizable.  His subjects’ faces—similar in shape to artist Awa Tsireh but a bit simpler—are often highlights of his images.  Here, the faces are just thick black streaks of face paint peering out from under massive headdresses.  Carefully placed indentations create mouths, noses, and chins.

While the dancers are wonderful, the painting’s most notable feature is the elaborate framework within which the dancers move.  On the outside edges, Vigil painted long vertical lines of black and red triangles.  In the center, he painted an intricate tower of geometric designs.  At its top, he painted a round sun with a circle of protruding feathers.  The painting’s symmetrical arrangement works very well.  This is a strong image from one of Tesuque Pueblo’s earliest known painters.

Tomás Vigil (1889-1960) Pan-Yo-Pin - Summer Mountain of Tesuque Pueblo was one of the earliest 20th century pueblo painters.  Most of his works were produced between 1920 and 1950. A self-taught artist, Vigil captured the customs of Tesuque Pueblo with rigid accuracy and detail.  He set the standard for subsequent Tesuque painters, including his son Paul Vigil. His works are included in numerous collections, including the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos and the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe.  Famous Santa Fe painter Olive Rush bought Indian paintings and drawings as early as 1914 from Tesuque Pueblo.  Among her early paintings were several by Pan Yo Pin.  An exhibit in 1927 in New York featured an unusually large number of painters from New Mexico pueblos. Pan Yo Pin was included in this exhibit. These paintings made a tremendous impression on the Eastern public and were praised in the Eastern press.

Pan Yo Pin was again represented in the Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts in 1931 in New York. This was a major exposition conceived and executed by Santa Feans and supported with items lent by over 50 museums, colleges, and private collectors.  With artist John Sloan as its president, the exposition gave an important place to paintings among other selections of arts and crafts. Among the other artists whose works were included were Awa Tsireh, Otis Polelonema, Oqwa Pi, Crescencio Martinez, Fred Kabotie, Tonita Peña, Tse Ye Mu, and the Kiowa Six.

Condition: very good condition, with a few small discolorations in the paper.  It is signed with his signature Thomas Vigil and Tesuque (Pueblo).

Provenance: this Tesuque Pueblo Painting of Two Dancers framed within Colorful Designs by Tomás Vigil is from a private Santa Fe Collection

Recommended Reading: Tanner, Clara Lee.  Southwest Indian Painting: a changing art (pp. 74, 182-83)

Relative Links: Tesuque Pueblo, Paul Vigil, Taos, New Mexico, Santa Fe, Fine Art - Native American Paintings, Tomás Vigil