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Pablita Velarde (September 19, 1918 – January 12, 2006) born Tse Tsan (
Tewa The Tewa are a linguistic group of Pueblo people, Pueblo Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans who speak the Tewa language and share the Pueblo culture. Their homelands are on or near the Rio Grande in New Mexico north of San ...
: "Golden Dawn") was an American Pueblo artist and painter.


Early life and education

Velarde was born on
Santa Clara Pueblo Santa Clara Pueblo (in Tewa: Khaʼpʼoe Ówîngeh ɑ̀ʔp’òː ʔówîŋgè "Singing Water Village", also known as "Village of Wild Roses" is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States and a federally rec ...
near
Española, New Mexico Española is a city primarily in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. A portion of the central and eastern section of the city is in Santa Fe County. Founded as a railroad village some distance from the old Indian town of San Juan de ...
on September 19, 1918. After the death of her mother, when Velarde was about five years old, she and two of her sisters were sent to St Catherine's Indian School in Santa Fe. At the age of fourteen, she was accepted to
Dorothy Dunn Dorothy Dunn Kramer (December 2, 1903 – July 5, 1992) was an American art instructor who created The Studio School at the Santa Fe Indian School. Background Dunn was born on 2 December 1903 in Pottawatomie County, Kansas and educated in Ch ...
's Santa Fe Studio School at the
Santa Fe Indian School Santa Fe Indian School (SFIS) is a tribal boarding secondary school in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). History The Federal Government established the Santa Fe Indian School (SFIS) to educate Nat ...
and was one of the first women students. There, she became an accomplished painter in the Dunn style, known as "flatstyle" painting. Concerned about the rapid changes in native lifestyles, she described the School's flat painting narrative style as "memory paintings" which could help preserve older ways of life. In her early classes she befriended artist
Tonita Peña Tonita Peña (born 1893 in San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, San Ildefonso, died 1949 in Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico) born as Quah Ah (meaning white coral beads) but also used the name Tonita Vigil Peña and María Antonia Tonita Peña. Peña was a ...
, who influenced her style.


Work

Velarde's early paintings were exclusively watercolors, but later in life she learned how to prepare paints from natural
pigments A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...
using a process similar to, but not the same as ''
fresco secco Fresco-secco (or a secco or fresco finto) is a wall painting technique where pigments mixed with an organic binder and/or lime are applied onto dry plaster. The paints used can e.g. be casein paint, tempera, oil paint, silicate mineral paint. ...
''. She used these paints to produce what she called "earth paintings". She obtained pigments from minerals and rocks, which she ground on a
metate A metate (or mealing stone) is a type or variety of quern, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican cultures, metates are typically used by women who would grind nixtamalized maize and other organi ...
and
mano Mano may refer to: People * Mano people, an ethnic group in Liberia * Mano (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Mano (Mozambican footballer), Celso Halilo de Abdul (born 1984) * Mano (Portuguese footballer), Luís Migu ...
until the result was a powdery substance from which she made her paints. In 1939, Velarde was commissioned by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
, under a grant from the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
(WPA), to depict scenes of traditional Pueblo life for visitors to the
Bandelier National Monument Bandelier National Monument is a United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. Mos ...
. Following her work at Bandelier, Velarde went on to become one of the most accomplished Native American painters of her generation, with solo exhibitions throughout the United States, including in her native New Mexico, as well as in Florida and California. Her mural commissions were funded by the WPA. In 1960, she published a book which features six Tewa tribal stories, "Old Father the Story Teller". In a 1979 interview she said, "Painting was not considered women's work in my time. A woman was supposed to be just a woman, like a housewife and a mother and chief cook. Those were things I wasn't interested in." Velarde's work is exhibited in public and private collections including the
Bandelier National Monument Bandelier National Monument is a United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. Mos ...
museum, the
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture is a museum of Native American art and culture located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is one of eight museums in the state operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and is accredited by the Ame ...
, the Avery Collection at the
Arizona State Museum The Arizona State Museum (ASM), founded in 1893, was originally a repository for the collection and protection of archaeological resources. Today, however, ASM stores artifacts, exhibits them and provides education and research opportunities. I ...
, the Ruth and Charles Elkus Collection of Native American Art, and in the Smithsonian
National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. With 4.4 ...
. Margarete Bagshaw founded in 2012 the ''Pablita Velarde Museum of Indian Women'' dedicated to her grandmother's legacy as well as other female Native American artists in Santa Fe, however it closed in 2015 when Margarete died.


Personal life

In 1942, Velarde married Herbert Hardin, a graduate of the University of California who she had known for some time. The couple had two children and lived in the
Sandia Mountains The Sandia Mountains (Tiwa language, Southern Tiwa: ''Posu gai hoo-oo'', Keres language, Keres: ''Tsepe,'' Navajo language, Navajo: ''Dził Nááyisí''; Tewa language, Tewa: ''O:ku:p’į'', Taos language, Northern Tiwa: ''Kep’íanenemą''; J ...
outside of
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
in
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. Her daughter, Helen Hardin, and her granddaughter Margarete Bagshaw became prominent artists in their own right.


Awards and honors

In 1953, she was the first woman to receive the Grand Purchase Award at the
Philbrook Museum of Art Philbrook Museum of Art is an art museum with expansive formal gardens located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The museum, which opened in 1939, is located in a former 1920s villa, "Villa Philbrook", the home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his ...
's Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Painting. In 1954 the French government honored Velarde and eleven other Native American artists and craftsman with the
Palmes Académiques Palmes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Sir Brian Palmes, English landowner and politician * Sir Guy Palmes, English politician * Brian Palmes MP * Lieutenant General Francis Palmes * Major Billie Palmes * Captain Laurence P ...
for excellence in art, this was the first foreign honors paid to Native American artists. The other artists awarded this honor included;
Harrison Begay Harrison Begay, also known as Haashké yah Níyá (meaning "Warrior Who Walked Up to His Enemy" or "Wandering Boy") (November 15, 1914 or 1917 – August 18, 2012) was a renowned Diné ( Navajo) painter, printmaker, and illustrator. Begay specia ...
,
Allan Houser Allan Capron Houser or Haozous (June 30, 1914 – August 22, 1994) was a Chiricahua Apache sculptor, painter, and book illustrator born in Oklahoma.Marie Martinez,
Awa Tsireh Awa Tsireh (February 1, 1898 – March 30, 1955), also known as Alfonso Roybal and Cattail Bird, was a San Ildefonso Pueblo Painting, painter and artist in several genres including metalwork. He was part of the art movement known as the San ...
,
Velino Herrera Velino Shije Herrera (October 22, 1902 – January 1973),"Velino Shije Herrera." ''St. James Guide to Native North American Artists.'' Gale, 1998. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 4 Oct. 2011.Arthur Silberman. "Herrera, Velino." Grove Art Onl ...
, Joe H. Herrera,
Severa Tafoya Severa may refer to: * Severa (software), a professional services automation tool * Santa Severa, a frazione of the comune of Santa Marinella, in the province of Rome, Lazio, Italy * A Severa (film), ''A Severa'' (film), a 1931 Portuguese film by ...
, Ambrose Koannorse, Andrew Tsihnahjinnie,
Fred Kabotie Fred Kabotie (–1986) was a celebrated Hopi painter, silversmith, illustrator, potter, author, curator and educator. His native name in the Hopi language is Naqavoy'ma, which translates to Day After Day. Background and education Fred Kabotie wa ...
, and James Kewannywtewa. *1953 - Grand Purchase Award, Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Painting,
Philbrook Museum of Art Philbrook Museum of Art is an art museum with expansive formal gardens located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The museum, which opened in 1939, is located in a former 1920s villa, "Villa Philbrook", the home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his ...
*1954 -
Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...
,
Palmes Académiques Palmes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Sir Brian Palmes, English landowner and politician * Sir Guy Palmes, English politician * Brian Palmes MP * Lieutenant General Francis Palmes * Major Billie Palmes * Captain Laurence P ...
*1977 - New Mexico Governor's Award *1988 - Santa Fe Living Treasure *1990 - Lifetime Achievement Award - national Women's Caucus for Art


See also

*
List of Native American artists This is a list of visual artists who are Native Americans in the United States. The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 defines "Native American" as being enrolled in either federally recognized tribes or state recognized tribes or "an individu ...
*
Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas The visual arts of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic practices of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present. These include works from South America and North America, which in ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * *


External links


Pablita Velarde artwork
at
Bandelier National Monument Bandelier National Monument is a United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. Mos ...

Oral history interview with Pablita Velarde, 1965 September 29
Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...
, Smithsonian Institution
Pablita Velarde Interview
''Art Journal'', Vol. 53, No. 1, Art and Old Age (Spring, 1994), Sally Hyer and Pablita Velarde, DOI: 10.2307/777538 {{DEFAULTSORT:Velarde, Pablita Santa Clara Pueblo people Native American painters 1918 births 2006 deaths Pueblo artists Painters from New Mexico Works Progress Administration workers 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women painters Native American women artists 20th-century Native American artists 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women 21st-century American women painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century Native American artists