Although the location chosen by the artist for this painting is not noted, nor is the date she painted it noted, it appears to have been painted in a Northern New Mexico mountain area in the beginning of wintertime.  Sabo loved painting mountain scenes, aspen trees, snow, and creeks or rivers.  It is quite possible that this was painted in an area of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range at Santa Fe. Her best paintings incorporate snow, a very difficult subject to paint.  Achieving various colors of snow in shadows is extremely hard to achieve but Sabo was a master at doing so.

Betty Jean Sabo, who passed away only a couple months ago, was one of Albuquerque's most famous contemporary artists. She was a student at some point of Carl Von Hassler, probably in the early years of her career. She was best known as a painter until later in her career at which time she switched to sculpture.  Her paintings were so popular they were snatched up before the paint dried.

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Betty Jean Beals, became Betty Jean Angelos when she first married, then Betty Jean Sabo when she married Dan Sabo who became her life partner.  Her earlier paintings were signed simply Angelos.  Later ones were signed Sabo.  This is one of her earlier paintings.  It is not dated but most likely dates to the mid-1950s.  Following graduation from the University of New Mexico, she became a painter and continued painting until she reached age 60, at which time she switched to sculpture. Paint fumes were causing her to be sick. 

Because of her extraordinary talent as a painter of oil paintings of New Mexico scenery and then her switch to sculpting bronze figures, most collectors have tended to retain those paintings in their collections as there are none after the 1970s when Sabo switched to bronze casting.

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The Indian Head cent, also known as an Indian Head penny, was a one-cent coin ($0.01) produced by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1859 to 1909. It was designed by James Barton Longacre, the Chief Engraver at the Philadelphia Mint.

From 1793 to 1857, the cent was a copper coin about the size of a half dollar. As rising copper prices made it impractical to keep striking them, in 1857 the Mint reduced the size of the cent, issuing a new design, the Flying Eagle cent. The new pieces were identical in diameter to modern cents, though somewhat thicker and made of copper-nickel. The design caused production difficulties, and the Mint soon looked to replace the coin. Mint Director James Ross Snowden selected the Indian Head design, and chose a laurel wreath for the reverse that was replaced in 1860 by an oak wreath with a shield. Cents were hoarded during the economic chaos of the American Civil War, when the metal nickel was in short supply. As Mint officials saw that privately issued bronze tokens were circulating, they induced Congress to pass the Coinage Act of 1864, authorizing a slimmer cent of bronze alloy.

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Candelaria Medina Gachupin (1908-1997), Zia Pueblo, was a mid- to late-20th century potter and was the mother of Dora Tse·Pe of San Ildefonso Pueblo. There is not a single example of Gachupin's pottery in the School for Advanced Research (SAR) in Santa Fe and but only one in the Museum of Indian Art and Culture (MIAC).  (Harlow & Lanmon) This may not seem significant at this time, but a hundred years from now, it would be a shame that there were not more potters of the 20th century represented in these fine museums.

In checking over our records, we find that we have had only two pots by Gachupin in the last 15 years. Perhaps they are relatively rare. I understand that Dora does have several examples of her mom's work in her personal collection.

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We have had a wonderful time trying to track down information on this bronze of a young girl that was made by Glenna Goodacre early in her career.  The current owners purchased it from Forrest Fenn at Fenn Galleries in Santa Fe in 1978, so we consulted Nedra Matteucci Galleries because Matteucci purchased Fenn Galleries and its records.  When we told the gallery who the purchaser had been, they verified from Fenn records that the bronze was sold to that couple in 1978. 

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Emma Lewis Mitchell of Acoma Pueblo told Rick Dillingham that individual signatures on Acoma pottery began to appear around 1950.  Other potters have stated slightly earlier dates.  It has generally been accepted that signatures began appearing with the influx of tourists following the end of World War II.  So, mid-1940s to late 1940s seems to be an acceptable date for the appearance of signed pottery.

This jar is not signed, even with the pueblo name.  We feel it dates to the 1950s and is just probably one that never got signed.  Every pottery did not begin to sign pottery at the same time.  Surely it took years, maybe even a decade, before it became a general practice.

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The names J. B. Moore and Crystal Trading Post go together like peanut butter and jelly.  One rarely says one name without saying the other.  Moore had a short tenure at Crystal Trading Post but his legacy lived on for many years.  He had arrived there in 1897 and departed in 1911. 

Moore determined to improve the quality of wool used in rugs by having it cleaned and dyed under his wife's supervision.  For even better quality, he sent wool to a commercial scouring plant for preparation.  Additionally, he strived to have the weavers make rugs that were marketable, rugs based on patterns that potential buyers would associate with their thoughts of how a rug should look.

Navajo weavers were making traditional blankets at that time which were devoid of borders. Moore wanted borders on the weavings so they would look more like rugs rather than blankets.  The weavers found it difficult to add a border around all four sides of a weaving.  The superstitious women were not comfortable enclosing their designs within a border from which their talent could not escape allowing for another rug to be made later.  Whether Moore suggested it or whether the women implemented it by themselves, the weaver's pathway-a single strand of yarn from the inner part of the rug through the border-was developed.  There was precedent for such as all Navajo ceremonial baskets had a break in the bands of design to allow for talent of the weaver to be freed.

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Ramon Kelley began his art career at an early age by drawing in the margins of his schoolbooks. He earned early recognition as a young artist and has continued to grow professionally. Kelley credits Russian artist Nicolai Fechin as a major influence on his strong figural paintings. Subject matter of primary interest to Kelley is Mexican and Southwestern scenes.

Although living in Denver, Colorado, Kelley goes on sketching trips around Taos, New Mexico. It is there that he paints some of his finest Southwestern landscapes and Indian subjects. He is regarded as especially successful with portraits of young people and older people.

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Occasionally one sees a piece of pueblo pottery which is above and beyond what one expects. That is the case with this bowl. Constructed of native clay mixed with native temper, coil formed in the traditional pueblo technique, and fired in an outdoor firing are all traditional traits one would expect. That is where the ordinary ends, and the unusual begins.

This is probably the rarest Tesuque bowl one could expect to see. It is profusely decorated on its interior and exterior to the point where one must study it seriously to absorb all the designs. There are cloud and lightning elements that are rarely used on secular vessels but mostly reserved for ceremonial ones. There are cornstalk motifs, parallel framing lines with diagonal hatching lines (only used by Tesuque).

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Every handmade pottery jar has its own charm and idiosyncrasies.  Some teach us a lesson.  The lesson learned from this jar is that a potter cannot erase a painted line once applied.  This potter first drew a pair of lines and then realized that they needed to be about an inch from where she drew them, so she attempted to erase them but the telltale signs remain.  Such a change of plans by a potter does not ruin a finished jar but reminds us that each one is handmade without use of any mechanical drawing instruments or computer programs.  It is amazing that we see fewer of these change of plans by potters.  That reinforces our admiration for the talent they possess.

The design layout on this jar starts with paired black lines that divide the painted area into six equal triangular quadrants.  Within these triangles, the design is the same but anchored to a bottom framing line in some and anchored from a rim framing line in alternate triangles.

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Santo Domingo Polychrome is a typology designation that has been used for over a hundred years. Now that the pueblo has gone back to using its ancestral name, Kewa, there could be some confusion as to whether Santo Domingo Polychrome or Kewa Polychrome is the correct typological designation. Most likely, Santo Domingo Polychrome will continue to be used until there is an official recognition of a typology name change, which is not likely.

This bowl is typical of the size of a food serving bowl. It is slipped on the interior with a polished cream finish, has a single design element in the bottom, has a black rim with the traditional ceremonial line break, and a red clay polished underbody. There is no rag-wiped red band just below the design field.

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Shulawitsi is almost an exact duplicate of the Hopi Kokosori, but he is not related to Kokosori.  A young boy who is innocent and pure of heart usually performs him. He carries a fire stick, signifying his responsibility as caretaker of one of the important physical elements of the universe: fire. He is responsible for lighting fires before the Shalako ceremony prior to the winter solstice. The lighting of these fires is the signal for the Shalako to begin their ritual. 

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In the 1980s and 1990s, I made bi-weekly trips to the Hopi Reservation to purchase katsina dolls from specific carvers.  One carver whose dolls I particularly liked was Lowell Talashoma who lived in the village of Shongopavi.  Eventually, Lowell introduced me to his younger brother, Todd, who lived in the village of Moenkopi.  I discovered that Todd was producing exceptional carvings but they were not like those of his brother.

Lowell was slim and his carvings portrayed slim images.  Todd Talashoma was a beefy person, not fat, just beefy, and his carvings mirrored his body style.  I found it interesting that each of them carved in the likeness of their own body styles.

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This rather primitive small Zia Pueblo jar is charming in its own way.  The historic vessel wall is a little bumpy, meaning it has not been sanded smooth as have later jars.  The cream Zia slip covering the jar has a yellowish tinge in color perhaps as a result of the potter mixing something with the clay she planned to use for the slip. 

The Zia birds are absolutely charming and somewhat childish in execution which makes them even more likable.  The birds have exquisite head feathers as crowns.  The plants sport orange flowers and deep red flowers, contributing to the four-color designation on the historic jar.

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Without question, the first impression one has of this magnificent large storage jar is that it was made at Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan) Pueblo in the late 1800s.  We have been conditioned to see such a jar as being made only at San Juan because the placement of the red slip only partially down the vessel wall and the numerous fire clouds are traditional to San Juan Pueblo.

Thanks to studies by Frank Harlow and Jonathan Batkin, we know to look more closely to the materials of the vessel rather than only to its surface manifestations.  The paste of San Juan Pueblo pottery, and of its sister Tewa Pueblos, is tan in color and can be witnessed on the stone-polished un-slipped bases of most jars.  An examination of this storage jar reveals that the paste is not of the type used at the Tewa Pueblos.

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This Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo polychrome jar dates to the 1890s. It has the traditional rag-wiped bentonite slip and a black rim around the top rolling over the edge. There are four pairs of black framing lines throughout the decorated areas. The first pair is at the rim, the second at the lower area of the neck, the third at the shoulder, and the fourth pair at the lower extremity of the decorated area. Ceremonial break lines divide all the pairs of framing lines.

The design at the area of the neck is comprised of black triangles connected to form a chain around the constricted neck. A second band of black triangles forms the decoration just below the neck.

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This early painting (dated 1939) clearly shows the influence of Quincy Tahoma's time at the Santa Fe Indian School.  The style is typical of that established during the tenure of Dorothy Dunn as director of The Studio of the Indian School.  Tahoma later evolved into more three-dimensional painting but this early one is of the flat style. 

Tahoma had been sent by the Government to the Albuquerque Indian School in 1929 from his home in Tuba City, Arizona.  A year later, he was transferred to the Santa Fe Indian School, entering in the 4th grade. Santa Fe contrasted sharply with his home on the Navajo Nation and this must have been difficult for a boy of 12 years of age.  Not only was he taken away from his parents, he was taken away from familiar life of a Navajo on the Indian Reservation.

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   Otto Pentewa is a name any collector of Hopi Katsina dolls recognizes.  They may never have seen him or seen his signature on a Katsina doll, but they recognize his work at a glance.  He was born at the village of Oraibi on the Hopi Reservation at the end of the 19th century.  He was of the Katsina Clan and his Hopi name was Sikovaya, which translates to Pumpkin Flower.

One of the distinguishing designs on his Katsina carvings is the pumpkin flower he generally painted on the loin cloth of the doll.  It was his signature. 

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This is an excellent Navajo Storm Pattern rug-most likely from the Western part of the Reservation. It is a very nice specimen of the Storm Pattern textile. The central square, rendered in white natural wool, represents the Navajo Reservation and the four boxes at the extremities represent the four sacred mountains of the Reservation. The grey design at each end of the rug is defined as a "water bug." The zigzag elements emanating from the central square represent lightning.

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This is a superb nineteenth century vessel, dating to the last quarter of the 1800s. This olla has many distinctive Zuni design elements: the heart-line deer, spiral volute with fine-line embellishments and the "sunflower" rosette. The underbody is concave, as is typical of all ollas, or water jars dating after 1700. The base is slipped in brown, with distinctive flexure at the uppermost edge of the underbody, as well as a black-slipped, unpolished neck interior and rim top. The white slip is stone-polished with mineral-paint designs. The uppermost framing line is worked in black, overlaying the geometric/spiral volute fine-line elements worked in black and red.

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