Rabbit Hunter

Copied Johnson Antonio, Rabbit Hunter, 1986, watercolor and pencil on carved cottonwood, 21 127 345 14 in. (54.619.713.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.44

Artwork Details

Title
Rabbit Hunter
Date
1986
Dimensions
21 127 345 14 in. (54.619.713.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description
watercolor and pencil on carved cottonwood
Classifications
Keywords
  • Indian
  • Occupation — hunter
  • Figure male — full length
  • Object — game — rabbit
Object Number
1997.124.44

Artwork Description

Johnson Antonio carves Navajo figures from cottonwood, using an axe to form a rough shape, and a pocketknife to create the detail. He paints the surface with house paint, watercolors, and dleesh, a fragile white clay used by the Navajos to paint their bodies, and sometimes adds real animal hair or horns (Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia, 1990). In Navajo Woman and Rabbit Hunter the rough surfaces reflect the harshness of survival on the slopes of New Mexico's Bisti hills.