Adobe Gallery Blog
San Ildefonso Pueblo Painting of a Snake Dancer by Oqwa Pi - C3883A
Category: Paintings | Posted by | Mon, Mar 6th 2017, 2:38pm
There was a time, 20 years ago, or so, when everyone was welcome to visit the Hopi Reservation and witness the Snake Dance that was celebrated every two years. Now, the Snake Dance is closed to all but Native Americans. Many Pueblo and Navajo visit Hopi during Snake Dance season so it is not unusual to see a Pueblo artist paint a Snake Dancer.
Abel Sanchez (1899-1971) Oqwa Pi - Kachina Stick probably visited Hopi during Snake Dance many years ago, and painted this image from memory of the visit. It is quite likely that this was painted in the 1920s as it was painted on brown wrapping paper rather than artist paper that he is known to have used later in his career.