Hopi Snake Dancer

Awa Tsireh, Hopi Snake Dancer, ca. 1917-1925, watercolor and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.20
Awa Tsireh, Hopi Snake Dancer, ca. 1917-1925, watercolor and pencil on paperboard, sheet: 10 787 18 in. (27.518.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.20

Artwork Details

Title
Hopi Snake Dancer
Artist
Date
ca. 1917-1925
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 10 787 18 in. (27.518.1 cm)
Credit Line
Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin
Mediums Description
watercolor and pencil on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Dress — ceremonial — Indian dress
  • Figure male — full length
  • Animal — reptile — snake
  • Indian — Hopi
  • Ceremony — dance — Snake Dance
Object Number
1979.144.20

Artwork Description

The paintings of Awa Tsireh (1898-1955), who was also known by his Spanish name, Alfonso Roybal, represent an encounter between the art traditions of native Pueblo peoples in the southwestern United States and the American modernist art style begun in New York in the early twentieth century. The son of distinguished potters, Awa Tsireh translated geometic pottery designs into stylized watercolors that feature the ceremonial dancers and practices of Pueblo communities. But Awa Tsireh's work is more than an amalgam of traditional and modernist design. At a time when the U.S. Office of Indian Affairs attempted to restrict Pueblo cultural and religious practices, the watercolors of Awa Tsireh and other Pueblo artists helped to affirm the importance of ceremonial dance and tirual to cultural survival.

Awa Tsireh's paintings quickly found an audience among the artists, writers, and archaeologists who descended on Santa Fe in great numbers in the late 1910s and 1920s. Painter John Sloan and poet Alice Corbin Henderson took a particular interest and arranged for his watercolors to be exhibited in New York, Chicago, and elsewhere. Henderson shared with the young Pueblo painter books on European and American modernism and Japanese woodblock prints, as well as South Asian miniatures and ancient Egyptian art that provided soure material for his stylized paintings. In this way, he redefined contemporary Pueblo art and created a new, pan-Pueblo style.

The paintings in this exhibition were donated to the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 1979 by the Hendersons' daughter, Alice H. Rossin.

Works by this artist (51 items)

Awa Tsireh, Single Eagle Dancer, ca. 1917-1925, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.95
Single Eagle Dancer
Dateca. 1917-1925
watercolor on paper
Not on view
Awa Tsireh, Hunting Priest, Buffalo Dance, ca. 1917-1925, watercolor and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.15
Hunting Priest, Buffalo Dance
Dateca. 1917-1925
watercolor and pencil on paperboard
Not on view
Awa Tsireh, Running Horse, ca. 1925-1930, watercolor and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.32
Running Horse
Dateca. 1925-1930
watercolor and ink on paper
Not on view
Awa Tsireh, Deer Dancers, ca. 1930-1940, ink and colored ink on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.25
Deer Dancers
Dateca. 1930-1940
ink and colored ink on paperboard
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Marjorie Raiguel, Sailboat Basin, ca. 1940, watercolor and pencil on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1974.28.249
Sailboat Basin
Dateca. 1940
watercolor and pencil on paper mounted on paperboard
Not on view
Cass Gilbert, Winchester, England, 1921, watercolor, pencil and charcoal on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Emily Finch Gilbert through Julia Post Bastedo, executor, 1962.13.51
Winchester, England
Date1921
watercolor, pencil and charcoal on paper
Not on view
Owen McHugh, Unfolded #25, n.d., watercolor, gouache and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the S. W. and B. M. Koffler Foundation, 1980.103.5
Unfolded #25
Daten.d.
watercolor, gouache and pencil on paper
Not on view
Julian Martinez, Avanyu, ca. 1923, watercolor, ink, and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.85
Avanyu
Dateca. 1923
watercolor, ink, and pencil on paper
Not on view