Painting Their WorldAdobe Gallery displays an unusual collection of San Ildefonso paintings from the 20th century

February 27, 2017 by Emily Van Cleve 

When Esther Hoyt arrived at San Ildefonso Pueblo in 1900 to work as an elementary school teacher, there were 138 Tewa-speaking Native American members of the community. Hoyt, going against U.S. governmental policy of discouraging children from artistic expression of their culture, provided the approximately 18 students in her class with watercolor paints and paper and asked them paint pictures of Pueblo ceremonial dances. She taught at the school until 1907.

Many of Hoyt's students grew up to become artists and inspired subsequent generations of San Ildefonso painters. "These students were producing a new art for a new market based on what had, until that time, been a Pueblo tradition of painting for ceremonial purposes, such as on kiva walls, and not for public use," explains Adobe Gallery owner Alexander E. Anthony, Jr.

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