Taos Indian Woman

Kenneth M. Adams, Taos Indian Woman, ca. 1920-1930, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Arvin Gottlieb, 1993.48.1
Copied Kenneth M. Adams, Taos Indian Woman, ca. 1920-1930, oil on canvas, 25 5⁄8 x 21 3⁄8 in. (65.1 x 54.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Arvin Gottlieb, 1993.48.1

Artwork Details

Title
Taos Indian Woman
Artist
Date
ca. 1920-1930
Location
Dimensions
25 5⁄8 x 21 3⁄8 in. (65.1 x 54.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Arvin Gottlieb
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure female — waist length
  • Indian — Taos Pueblo
Object Number
1993.48.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1993.48.1

Artwork Description

Kenneth Adams painted his portraits of Pueblo Indians from life. In Taos Indian Woman, his sitter stares off into space, as if her mind wandered far from the studio. Adams draped her in a Pendleton blanket that many viewers might have mistaken for an authentic Indian textile. These blankets copied Native American designs, and Pendleton Mills shipped them from Oregon to the Southwest to be exchanged for wool, silver jewelry, and other handcrafted items. American Indians wove fewer textiles as they acquired more Pendleton blankets through trading, and unsuspecting East Coast tourists collected the blankets as souvenirs of the Wild West.