Luis Gonzales (1907-1990) Wo-Peen - Medicine Mountain

Luis Gonzales (1907-1990) Wo-Peen - Medicine Mountain, San Ildefonso Pueblo, son of Juan Gonzales (former Governor) and Philomena Peña; husband to Juanita Gonzales; adopted Lorenzo Gonzales; grandfather to John F. Gonzales. Louis painted black-on-black and redware pottery, but best known for his paintings in oil and tempera. Schaaf (2000)

Wo-Peen is considered one of the early artists that made up the "San Ildefonso School."  According to Tanner (1973), in the mid- to late-1950s, he painted powerful, dramatic horses.  By the late 1960s, he was no longer painting.

Snodgrass (1968) stated "Known as a pioneer Pueblo muralist, Wo Peen painted actively in the early 1920s.  A hunting accident caused the loss of his right hand; however, he still paints today."

Between 1929 and 1952, C. Szwedzicki, a publisher in Nice, France, produced six portfolios of North American Indian art. American Scholars Oscar Brousse Jacobson, Hartley Burr Alexander and Kenneth Milton Chapman edited the publications. Many of the images were published as Pochoir prints which are similar in appearance to silkscreen prints. These works represent original works by 20^th Century American Indian artists.  Wo-Peen was one of the nine Pueblo artists represented in the portfolio.

TAGS: San Ildefonso Pueblo, Juanita Gonzales, John F. Gonzales, paintings