Santa Fe Art Auction | January 21–February 6 | Santa Fe, NM

Remarkable Findings

Join Santa Fe Art Auction in their first sale of the year beginning January 21.

Dedicated to representing both historic and contemporary Native American arts, Santa Fe Art Auction presents their first Native Art Auction of the year. The online sale, happening from January 21 to February 6, includes ceramics, textiles, katsinas, beadwork, jewelry and paintings. The new year holds some thrilling finds for Santa Fe Art Auction, promising to uphold their long history in the heart of the Southwest, making them “uniquely qualified to support collectors, consignors, artists and museums in this field,” says Gillian Blitch, president and CEO of Santa Fe Art Auction.

Milland Lomakema (Hopi), Rain and Serpent, 1967, mixed media on paper, 15½ x 19½” Estimate: $3/5,000Blitch adds, “Our exciting 2021 calendar will feature almost monthly online auctions dedicated to specific collecting areas and single owner collections.”

There’s an abundance of noteworthy and historical pieces in the Native Art sale, including Rain and Serpent (est. $3/5,000) by self-taught artist Milland Lomakema (Hopi). The mixed media, contemporary painting depicting a water serpent, perfectly represents the modernist interpretation of the aesthetic and cultural values of the Hopi that Lomakema strived for. These objectives were part of a group Lomakema founded that called themselves the Artist Hopid.

Allan Houser (1914-1994, Chiricahua Apache), Indian Rider, 1950, mixed media, 42 x 42” Estimate on request.

In 1968, Lomakema won first place in the Heard Museum’s National Indian Art Show. Rain and Serpent is either the painting that won him the award, or it’s from the series dated in 1967.

One of the most famous Native American artists of the 20th century, Allan Houser (Chiricahua Apache), will also be represented in the sale with the painting Indian Rider (estimate on request). Houser’s paintings are considered rarer than his more well-known sculptural work, making this a significant piece in the sale.

Richard Zane Smith (Wyandot), Corrugated “Inside Out” Jar, 1997, fired clay and pigment, 7¼ x 16¼” Estimate: $4/6,000Indian Rider, a mixed media painting of a Native man smoking on horseback, is one of the largest Houser paintings ever to appear at market. The piece was created in 1950, during a period of time when Houser befriended students and faculty at the Pasadena Arts Center, and was exposed to modernism through the likes of Jean Arp, Constantin Brâncuşi and Henry Moore. This famous painting comes from the collection of Navajo artist Tony Abeyta, hung in his Santa Fe home for years.

Another significant piece in the sale is Corrugated “Inside Out” Jar (est. $4/6,000) by master contemporary Native potter Richard Zane Smith (Wyandot). He is most known for his corrugated basket style design, which parallels pre-historic corrugated pottery. Smith employs lines, coils and colors in each layer to make his pottery resemble the Wyandot people’s traditional basketry.

Dan Namingha (Hopi/Tewa), Reservation Storm, acrylic on canvas, 55¼ x 501/8 x 13/8” Estimate: $6/8,000Collectors will also see additional top pieces such as Reservation Storm (est. $6/8,000) by Dan Namingha (Hopi/Tewa), an acrylic painting of colorful abstract shapes, and Untiled (Two Yei Figures) (estimate $2/3,000) by Pablita Velarde (Santa Clara), featuring two Native deities beautifully rendered in Earth minerals on board.