Dog Dancer
Arts of the Americas
In the first quarter of the twentieth century, a tradition of watercolor easel painting emerged among Pueblo artists in the Southwest. Perhaps the best known of these painters is Awa Tsireh from San Ildefonso Pueblo, known for his stylized and abstracted compositions that depict Pueblo dances.
These works appealed to both a growing local and international market, accommodating Anglo patrons’ perception of “authentic” Native art. At the same time, however, artists such as Tsireh created their own cultural representations that incorporated innovations, moving away from realism to a more stylized approach.
MEDIUM
Black ink and watercolor over graphite on wove paper
DATES
1930s
DIMENSIONS
11 1/8 x 14 1/8 in. (28.3 x 35.8 cm)
(show scale)
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
ACCESSION NUMBER
40.89
CREDIT LINE
Dick S. Ramsay Fund
RIGHTS STATEMENT
© artist or artist's estate
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CAPTION
Awa Tsireh (Alfonso Roybal) (Po-who-ge-oweenge (San Ildefonso Pueblo), 1895-1955). Dog Dancer, 1930s. Black ink and watercolor over graphite on wove paper, 11 1/8 x 14 1/8 in. (28.3 x 35.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 40.89. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , CUR.40.89.jpg)
IMAGE
overall,
CUR.40.89.jpg., 2019
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Watercolor painting of a Pueblo dancer about to climb a ladder leaning against a kiva. Awa Tsireh is also called Alfonso Roybal.
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What is the man doing?
This ledger book drawing is by Tsireh, one of the first pueblo painters to receive recognition by the Santa Fe art community. Here, Awa Tsireh has played with perspective and scale significantly: as kivas are underground, a dancer would be climbing down into or up out of kiva via a small ladder, but here the large ladder seems to be propped against a decorated structure and the direction of travel for the dancer is uncertain.
![[Untitled] (Farm Family)](https://d1lfxha3ugu3d4.cloudfront.net/images/opencollection/objects/size2_sq/82.65.451_PS2.jpg)
