Riley Sunrise (1914-2006) Quoyavema or Kwayeshva

“Another of the earlier Hopi artists, Riley Sunrise (Quoyavema) worked with Fred Kabotie and Waldo Mootzka in illustrating John Louw Nelson’s Rhythm for Rain. He is also known as Quoyavema or Kwayeshva, according to Nelson. His paintings are comparable to Fred Kabotie’s, with some of them showing more action and most of them revealing less detail. Sunrise is represented in the collections of the Denver Art Museum, Gilcrease Institute (Tulsa), and the Southwest Museum. The Museum of the American Indian in New York has an extensive collection of his paintings of native Hopi dances.” (Clara Lee Tanner: Southwest Indian Painting: a changing art.)

According to Snodgrass, Riley Sunrise’s date of birth is unknown. She states that he was born in Anadarko, OK, and adopted by a Kiowa family. AskART lists his birth date as 1914, but their source for this date is not shown. He lived at Second Mesa, Arizona, on the Hopi Reservation. Snodgrass states “While in the 3^rd grade at Anadarko, the artist submitted a series of Hopi symbols in a statewide newspaper contest and received second award.”

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