Contemporary Native American Art & Jewelry

Over 160 lots of Contemporary Native American art and jewelry ? paintings, works on paper, silkscreens, sculpture, and silver ? by artists of more than a dozen tribal nations: Navajo (Din?), Hopi, Zuni, Kiowa, Cheyenne, Potawatomi, Cherokee, and the Pueblos of San Ildefonso, Zia, Tesuque, Kewa (Santo Domingo), and Taos. The fine art traces 20th and 21st-century Native painting from the founding generation of Santa Fe Indian School and Bacone College "Studio Style" through its mid-century flowering into bold contemporary reinterpretation. Painters include Woody Crumbo (Potawatomi), the Gilcrease Museum's first artist-in-residence; Studio Style pioneers Harrison Begay and Andy Tsinajinnie (Navajo); Beatien Yazz, Robert Chee, and Johnny Secatero (Navajo); Percy Sandy (Kai-Sa) and Curtis Eriacho (Zuni); Gilbert Atencio and JD Roybal (San Ildefonso); Rafael Medina (Zia); Charles Lovato (Kewa); Patrick Swazo Hinds and Joseph Tapia (Tesuque); Archie Blackowl (Cheyenne); Bobby Hill "Whitebuffalo" and Larry Big Bow (Kiowa); Bert Seabourn (Cherokee); and Amado Pe?a. Contemporary work is led by Gregory Lomayesva (Hopi/Hispanic), whose text-layered paintings and carved katsina-inspired masks fuse Hopi carving with Pop Art, and Linda Lomahaftewa (Hopi/Choctaw), longtime IAIA printmaking instructor. Sculpture includes Taos Pueblo carver John Suazo (Heard Museum, Millicent Rogers Museum). Three dozen jewelry lots round out the sale. Named silversmiths include Zuni lapidarist Andrew Dewa (d. 2001), prized for precise mosaic inlay; Harrison Jim (Navajo), a pioneer of sculptural channel inlay; plus Francis M. Begay, A. Benally, Charlie John, and Betty Lee (Navajo). Alongside them: vintage bolo ties, concho belts, watch cuffs, a needlepoint turquoise choker, and cuffs set with Royston, Kingman, Morenci, and Sleeping Beauty turquoise. For collectors and novices alike this auction is surprising in its breadth and its unpretentious look at an often overlooked genre ahead of its time.

Full catalog and bidding: view on liveauctioneers.