J. Begay, Navajo
1970
Oil on canvas, framed
Height 13½ in. (34.3 cm), width 18 in. (45.7 cm) including frame
Provenance: Mario Pollo collection, Boston, MA
This oil painting by Navajo artist J. Begay depicts a chief figure in headdress rendered through bold geometric color fields in red, orange, gold, black, and teal, with a beaded breastplate treated as a formal compositional element rather than descriptive detail. The approach reflects the influence of mid twentieth century American modernism on Southwest Native painting, departing from the figurative studio tradition associated with the Santa Fe Indian School toward a more abstracted and graphic visual language. The 1970 date places the work in a period of significant development in Native American contemporary art, when artists were engaging more directly with modernist abstraction while maintaining culturally grounded subject matter.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
J. Begay, Navajo
1970
Oil on canvas, framed
Height 13½ in. (34.3 cm), width 18 in. (45.7 cm) including frame
Provenance: Mario Pollo collection, Boston, MA
This oil painting by Navajo artist J. Begay depicts a chief figure in headdress rendered through bold geometric color fields in red, orange, gold, black, and teal, with a beaded breastplate treated as a formal compositional element rather than descriptive detail. The approach reflects the influence of mid twentieth century American modernism on Southwest Native painting, departing from the figurative studio tradition associated with the Santa Fe Indian School toward a more abstracted and graphic visual language. The 1970 date places the work in a period of significant development in Native American contemporary art, when artists were engaging more directly with modernist abstraction while maintaining culturally grounded subject matter.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
