Wolves Courting at Full Moon

Christine McHorse, Wolves Courting at Full Moon, 1988, fired micaceous clay with piñon pitch, 11 ⁵⁄₈ x 13 ⁷⁄₈ in. (29.5 x 35.2 cm) diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1997.124.161

Artwork Details

Title: Wolves Courting at Full Moon
Artist: Christine McHorse
Date: 1988
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
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Luce Foundation Center
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3rd Floor
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28B
Dimensions: 11 ⁵⁄₈ x 13 ⁷⁄₈ in. (29.5 x 35.2 cm) diam.
Credit Line: Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums: clay
Mediums Description: fired micaceous clay with piñon pitch
Classifications: Decorative Arts
Highlights: Native and Indigenous Art
Subjects: Animal — wolf
Object Number: 1997.124.161
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1997.124.161

Artwork Description

Christine McHorse uses sparkling mica clay from the mountains around Taos Pueblo in northern New Mexico. She breaks several Navajo traditions in her work by applying imagery to the clay and firing it in an electric kiln, but believes that she can make her "own traditions and taboos" (Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia, 1990). Animals are important in Native American culture, and in these pieces McHorse has incorporated the crow, symbol of the gateway to the supernatural, and the wolf, which Navajos regard as a teacher of wisdom.