Pueblo Parrot Dance

c. 1935

Tonita Peña

Associated Names
Tonita Peña

Artist, San Ildefonso Pueblo/Cochiti Pueblo, 1893 - 1949

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On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G27

Artwork overview

More About this Artwork

This is a black-and-white photograph of a rocky landscape with a patch of scrubland stretching out into the distance. Closest to us, on the left side, a tall rocky mountain rises up. Standing on the rocks is a woman with her back to us. She has long, dark, straight hair that falls down her back, and she is wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt and a wide white skirt. In her left hand, she appears to hold a rope, or perhaps her hand is tangled in her long hair. In her right hand, she holds a large square object with a handle that looks like a radio or similar device. She stands behind tall, dark gray leafy plants. On the right, the background reveals a vast open terrain dotted with small shrubs under a light gray sky.

Article:  Artists Who Expand Views of the Southwest

You may know Georgia O’Keeffe, but have you heard of Tonita Peña? Learn about the many artists inspired by the Southwest.

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Amelia Elizabeth White, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1937; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • The Exposition of Tribal Indian Arts, Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, 1931, no. 182

1972

  • Art of the American Indian, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, California, 1972

1980

  • Symbols and Scenes: Art By and About American Indians, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1980

2023

  • Art for the Millions: American Culture and Politics in the 1930s, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2023, plate 49, repro.

Bibliography

1983

  • Simmons, Linda Crocker and with the assistance of Adrianne J. Humphrey, et al. American Drawings, Watercolors, Pastels, and Collages in the Collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1983: p. 188, no. 1269.

2023

  • Rudnick, Allison.Art for the Millions: American Culture and Politics in the 1930s. Exh. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2023: 112, plate 49.

Inscriptions

lower right in gouache: Quah Ah.; upper right in graphite by unknown hand: 7X

Wikidata ID

Q64633340

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