Artist

Mamie Deschillie

born Burnham, Navajo Nation, NM 1920-died Farmington, NM 2010
Also known as
  • Mamie Bedon
Born
Burnham, Navajo Nation, New Mexico, United States
Died
Farmington, New Mexico, United States
Active in
  • Fruitland, New Mexico, United States
Nationalities
  • American
Biography

Mamie Deschillie is a sheep and goat herder who lives in "the Navajo way" and launched a late-life career as an artist. She is best known for cardboard cutouts of animals native to the American Southwest and others she has seen in circuses and children's books. Dangling earrings and furry cloth add notes of personal charm to the quizzical-looking Buffalo [SAAM,1997.124.60 ].

Lynda Hartigan Contemporary Folk Art: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (exhibition text, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1999)