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A very rare original Fred Kabotie Hopi painting

of a Hopi Tasaf Yeibichai Kachina Dance with Kossa clowns, watercolor on artist’s paper, c. 1920’s

Fred Kabotie (1900-1986) is and was one of the most important Hopi artists in history, not only for the extraordinary artworks he created himself, but for his tireless work as an art educator, artist’s mentor, tribal arts administrator and cultural arts ambassador for his people. Kabotie was personally fairly small in stature but he was absolutely monumental in impact.

Fred Kabotie's paintings, especially large multifigure works like this one, are exceedingly rare and extremely difficult to come by in the marketplace, simply because between being an artist, creating his many large-scale

public art commissions and other major art projects, administering the Hopi Arts and Crafts Guild and teaching art for 22 years at the Hopi Oriaibi high school, he didn’t have a great deal of extra time to make that many of them. And, also, somewhat closer to home, Fred also somehow made time to mentor his only son, Michael Kabotie (Lomawywesa,1942-2009) to become an outstanding and accomplished painting and jewelry artist as well.

An early Fred Kabotie painting of this size and quality with nine large Kachina figures portrayed in such extraordinary detail is an impressive and rare thing to come by indeed. And these figures are depicted most wonderfully here, the depictions are exceptionally and precisely rendered and the motion and dynamics and rhythm of their dance are almost palpable and real, they appear to be floating in motion in concerted rhythm and harmony. We have witnessed this fascinating dance ourselves at several Hopi villages on several occasions over the years and not only is this exactly how it looks, it is exactly how it “feels” and “sounds” and even “smells”. In a very interesting way, this century-old painting seems to actually transcend time and space and literally draws you in and gives you the distinct impression that you are actually right there along with the dancers in an event that is happening right now. The lightness, etherealness, sense of motion and absolutely phenomenal precision of the figure's renderings here is remarkable as is their subtle and richly powerful color palette.

The painting is properly and most beautifully matted and framed to the highest archival standards under 99% UV-resistant “TruVue” museum conservation glass. And, as befits the unique artistry of the painting, the frame itself is also very appropriately a singular piece of fine art, a masterfully done, hand-carved 22K gold gilded wood frame made by the renowned, now retired historic Santa Fe framemaker, Tres Mowka and marked with her studio hallmark. During the late 1980’s and 1990’s, Tres Mowka was considered among the finest artisanal framemakers in Santa Fe and her custom frames were coveted and clamored for by leading galleries, dealers and collectors.

We collaborated with Tres on several wonderful frames for a number of important paintings, she was a true and inspired artist in her realm. And she did a superb job here on this painting, finely hand carving appropriate and beautiful Hopi and Navajo ceremonial designs on three sides of the frame around the painting.

At left, a Hopi Tasaf Yeibichai Kachina doll, c. 1940's. At right, a Hopi Navajo Talking God Kachina doll, c. 1950's. These kachinas are the primary participants in the Hopi Tasaf Yeibichai Kachina Dance.

Left photo source and © 1st Dibs. Right photo source and © Bischoff's Gallery

This rare painting is a large, exceedingly beautiful and completely ethereal depiction of a traditional Hopi

“Tasaf Yeibichai” Kachina dance. This is an important and historic dance in which Hopi Kachinas impersonate the mythological Navajo Holy People or Deities known as “Yei”. “Tasap” or “Tasaf" is the Hopi name for this Navajo Kachina impersonation. There are six large Navajo Yei Kachina figures in all depicted in the painting, five Tasap Yeibichai kachinas dancing in a line led by the head Yei Kachina who is a Hopi impersonation of the exalted Navajo Holy personage known as “Talking God” at the far right of the painting.

At the left of the painting are three additional large figures which are Hopi “Kossa” clowns with their distinctive hairstyles. These figures are not clowns like circus or rodeo clowns, objects of laughter and mirth, in the traditional sense of our American culture. Rather, these Hopi clowns, known as “Kossa” or “Koshares”, are very powerful spiritual gatekeepers of sorts making sure everything goes appropriately and correctly during the dance ceremony and admonishing often with humor (and sometimes with lashings with yucca branch whips or by grabbing and tossing misbehaving tourists into mud puddles) those who stray from the proper spiritual or behavioral path. These figures are the religious and spiritual “Secret Police”, if you will, of Hopi ceremonial society.

Above, "Mrs. Roosevelt and Fred Kabotie, Hopi painter," standing in front of an Awatovi Kiva Mural reproduction by Fred Kabotie at the Museum of Modern Art, New York exhibition, "Indian Art of the United States", 1941.

Photo source and © The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York. IN123.62. Photograph by Albert Fenn.

At the top center of the frame is the very important Hopi “Clouds and Rain” fertility symbol and at left and right, the Navajo (and Hopi) sacred corn stalk symbols. Notice that this corn stalk motif on the frame exactly matches and was drawn directly from the unique corn stalk design depicted in the center of the Talking God Yei figure's mask. The painting is done in watercolor and graphite on buff-colored lightly-textured artist’s paper and it measures 10 1/4" in  height and 17 1/4" in width (sight). Its framed dimensions are 19 1/2" in height and 26 1/2"

in width. As mentioned, the painting is framed in custom-made hand-carved, 22K gold-gilded frame by Tres Mowka Designs of Santa Fe, c. 1990’s. The painting is properly and beautifully signed “F. Kabotie” in grey graphite pencil at the lower center. Both the painting and frame are in completely excellent original condition, which for the painting is particularly remarkable given its 100 or so plus years of age.

Fred Kabotie Mural Paintings

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Fred Kabotie created a great many large mural paintings depicting various facets of Hopi life, history, culture, mythology and religion over the course of his career; at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City (pictured with Eleanor Roosevelt above), for The Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco Bay with painting assistance from a young Charles Loloma, for The Denver Art Museum and most notably, for Mary E.J. Colter and The Fred Harvey Company at The Watch Tower and The Bright Angel Lodge on the South Rim of The Grand Canyon and The Painted Desert Inn at The Petrified Forest in Arizona. The murals pictured here are all from The Watchtower at Desert View on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, c. 1930's. Below center, Fred Kabotie can be seen painting one

of the large murals there, the finished version of which is also pictured here at above center.

The extremely realistic, highly-detailed renditions of the figures done in watercolor on this particular type, color and texture of art paper are completely consistent with Fred Kabotie’s various Hopi kachina paintings done in this early 1920’s period as is his small pencil "F. Kabotie" signature. To our personal taste, this was perhaps the finest period of his work.

All in all, this is a unique and masterful presentation of a rare and masterful historic painting, one of the very finest Fred Kabotie paintings we have ever seen or ever had, in our opinions and in completely extraordinary original condition for its century or so of age. It’s an exceptional, exceptionally rare and exceptionally desirable piece all the way around.

SOLD

Above, Fred Kabotie painting a mural in The Watchtower c. 1932. Below, The Watchtower at Desert View on the South Rim of The Grand Canyon designed and built by Mary E.J. Colter in the 1930's.

Photo source and © National Park Service