Quah Ah Large Dance Scene with Six Participants [SOLD]

This original watercolor painting was created by Tonita Peña of San Ildefonso Pueblo. Adobe Gallery has handled many of Peña's works over the years, and the majority have been smaller than this piece. The expanded scale of the image allowed her to include large, detailed depictions of six figures. Those who have studied many of Peña's works will likely recognize that this is a particularly desirable offering.

A man with a bow and an evergreen bough leads the procession. He is exquisitely dressed in a white shirt with embroidered cuffs, and a skirt with painted images of an Avanyu and Sun symbol. Tin cones stitched to the skirt hem dangle and make musical sounds as he moves. His moccasins are full leg ones with fringe. A single white feather stands erect on his head.

Following this lead man, two male and two female buffalo dancers are in procession. The males wear a buffalo headdress and carry a rattle and bow. Their skirts are painted in the same style as the leading male. The two female dancers carry small baskets of corn in one hand and a pair of feathers in the other. A drummer completes the group. He wears a Plains Indian style feather headdress and is dressed in buckskin clothing. These Plains Indians clothing and headdress are typical at San Ildefonso since the early days of trading between the two tribes.

Each figure seems to be imbued with humanity and character—this is likely the most notable of the many reasons that Peña's work is widely celebrated and enthusiastically collected. Sharp linework, detailed depictions of clothing and paraphernalia, careful shading, and an expansive, appealing color palette work together to elevate the visual impact of the image.

The painting is signed Quah Ah, Tonita Peña in lower right. It is framed under acrylic and two-tiered matting, in a carved wood frame.

Tonita Peña (1893-1949) Quah Ah was born in 1893 at the small New Mexico pueblo of San Ildefonso. The pueblo is located on the Rio Grande, just north of Santa Fe. When Tonita Peña was just twelve years old, her mother passed away. Her father, unable to raise her while tending to his responsibilities at the pueblo, took her to live with her aunt and uncle at Cochiti Pueblo. This was where she would spend the remainder of her life. Tonita Peña was the only woman in the group of talented early pueblo artists referred to as The San Ildefonso Self-Taught Group, which included such noted artists as Julian Martinez, Alfonso Roybal, Abel Sanchez, Crescencio Martinez, and Encarnación Peña. These artists were the earliest known pueblo painters. Today, their works are highly collectible because of both historical significance and quality.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Quah Ah Large Dance Scene with Six Participants is from a private collection

Recommended Reading: Tonita Peña by Samuel Lewis Gray. 1990. Avanyu Publishing (Alexander E. Anthony, Jr.), Santa Fe, New Mexico.

TAGS: San Ildefonso, Santa Fe, Cochiti Pueblo, Julian Martinez, Alfonso Roybal, Abel Sanchez, Crecencio Martinez, Encarnación Peña, Albuquerque, paintings, Joe Herrera, Tonita Vigil Peña, Quah Ah