In the Western Americana division of Rare Books and Special Collections is a small collection of paintings and drawings by 20th-century Native American artists, including Alfonso Roybal, also known as Awa Tsireh or Cattail Bird (1898-1955), Abel Sanchez, also known as Oqwa Pi or Red Cloud (1899-1971), and Otis Polelonema, also called Lomadamocvia (1902-1972).
Roybal or Awa Tsireh was born and died in the San Ildefonso Pueblo, Santa Fe County, New Mexico. His father, Alfoncita Martinez Roybal was a Pueblo ceramicist and both his brother, Ralph Roybal, and sister, Santana Roybal Martinez, were painters. Tsireh’s work was first recognized outside the Pueblo in 1920 when Alice Corbin Henderson sent a collection of his work to the Arts Club of Chicago. Several of the drawings at Princeton are identified as once belonging to Henderson. Tsireh worked full-time as a painter, printmaker, lithographer, silversmith, and watercolorist in a studio of his own inside the Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe.
Sanchez or Red Cloud was a colleague of Roybal, also born at San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico. But unlike Roybal, Sanchez pursued a career in politics, serving as Lieutenant governor and governor of the Pueblo, while painting as he found time.
Polelonema was born at Second Mesa, the Northern Arizona Hopi reservation, and studied at the Santa Fe Indian School. At the age of 20, he collaborated with Elizabeth DeHuff, wife of the school’s superintendent, on a children’s book entitled Taytay’s Tales (see images at http://digital.library.upenn.edu/
women/dehuff/taytay/taytay.html). Polelonema returned to his village, Shungopovi, where he farmed and painted, including a few years working under the mural division of the Federal Art Program.
To access these and other paintings, drawings, and prints, go to the Visuals database: http://libweb5.princeton.edu/RareBooks/database.asp
Beautiful! I find looking at art from foreign cultures, al of whom have different aesthetic sensibilities, helps keep me from getting constricted in my own art.
This is an excellent look into the special collections!
You may be intersted to know, although you probably already do, that the Philbrook Muesum of Art in Tulsa, OK has recently acquired the nearly mythological Native American and Western private collection referred to as the Eugene B. Adkins Collection. It covers the 1950s to the 1990s, with heavy concentration on the Pueblos. There is no doubt some amazing crossover in the collections and certainly cause for some lending!!!
The curator of the collection, Christina Burke, formerly of the NMAI, Smithsonian, is making this overwhelming collection available to as many institutions and individuals as possible...it is so large that they are rennovating an 11,000 sq/ft space to house the collection!!!
my name is ryan, polelonema was my great grandfather and i was unaware that he was an illastrator on a book, it was nice to see those images and i well share them w/ his son and the rest of my family. please if there is any other info. on work he has done that would be great, the family always enjoys finding and seeing work he has done. thanks ryan.
I AM LOOKING FOR ORIGINAL OIL PAINTINGS OR SIGNED PRINTS FROM KIOWA ARTIST DARWIN CABANISS TSOODLE (DAU-LAW-TAINE).I REALLY LIKE HIS WORK AND HAVE ONE PAINTING.I HAVE SEEN THAT HIS PAINTING "MEDICINE LODGE" IS BEING USED AT THE 2008 UNITED TRIBES INTERNATIONAL POW WOW THIS YEAR IN BISMARK NORTH DAKOTA.TSOODLE'S PAINTING STYLE REMINDS ME ALOT OF WORKS OF RANCE HOOD AND I WANT MORE OF THEM WHILE THEY ARE AFFORDABLE.
I like your site it has very useful info, I am an admirer of Fine Native arts as well.
This message is for Chris Tobey. I have a number of Darwin Cabaniss's painting and prints. My email is davidellmt@hotmail.com and my cell is 307 7976911 Dave
just purchased Medicine Man. Love it.
hello out there, well i found my great grandpa's art work, its a joy to see the art work n brings a tear to my eye knowing a part of him is out there in his paintings. also knowing that my little brothers have his skill at painting, drawing so wonderful.
thank you from hopi land