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
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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
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.
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