Zuni Shalako Figure

Awa Tsireh, Zuni Shalako Figure, ca. 1925-1930, watercolor, ink, and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.19
Awa Tsireh, Zuni Shalako Figure, ca. 1925-1930, watercolor, ink, and pencil on paperboard, sheet: 15 186 12 in. (38.316.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.19

Artwork Details

Title
Zuni Shalako Figure
Artist
Date
ca. 1925-1930
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 15 186 12 in. (38.316.5 cm)
Credit Line
Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin
Mediums Description
watercolor, ink, and pencil on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure — full length
  • Indian — Zuni
  • Dress — Indian dress
Object Number
1979.144.19

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 geometric 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 ritual 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 source 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, Skunks, ca. 1925-1930, watercolor and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.49
Skunks
Dateca. 1925-1930
watercolor and ink on paper
Not on view
Awa Tsireh, Navajo Chicken Fight, ca. 1925-1930, watercolor and ink on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.30
Navajo Chicken Fight
Dateca. 1925-1930
watercolor and ink on paperboard
Not on view
Awa Tsireh, Mounted Warriors, ca. 1925-1930, watercolor and ink on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.27
Mounted Warriors
Dateca. 1925-1930
watercolor and ink on paperboard
Not on view
Awa Tsireh, The Monarch in the Matachina, ca. 1917-1919, watercolor, ink, and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.9
The Monarch in the Matachina
Dateca. 1917-1919
watercolor, ink, and pencil on paperboard
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Charles W. Thwaites, Fox Food, 1935, watercolor, brush and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1974.28.269
Fox Food
Date1935
watercolor, brush and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Kerteminde Hillside, ca. 1930-1932, pen and ink, watercolor, and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.49
Kerteminde Hillside
Dateca. 1930-1932
pen and ink, watercolor, and pencil on paper
Not on view
Awa Tsireh, The Monarch in the Matachina, ca. 1917-1919, watercolor, ink, and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.9
The Monarch in the Matachina
Dateca. 1917-1919
watercolor, ink, and pencil on paperboard
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Study for Sun Setting, Denmark, ca. 1930, watercolor and pen and ink with pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.528R-V
Study for Sun Setting, Denmark
Dateca. 1930
watercolor and pen and ink with pencil on paper
Not on view