Golden Dawn Gallery - Indian Market Pull-out Section

PAINTING HISTORY

Helen Hardin Margarete Bagshaw

Pablita and Helen won:

Indian Market Pull-out Section

Pablita Velarde

Santa Fe Indian Market - top honors over 25 times Gallup Ceremonial - top honors 23 times Heard Museum, Scottsdale National, The Philbrook Show , 8 Northern Pueblos - top honors over 40 times

3 Generations of

Art

by RoseMary Diaz

1918

Pablita Velarde born Santa Clara Pueblo, NM

1932

1st female student in Dorothy Dunn's first class

1934

Paints mural for Chicago Worlds Fair Shows in Washington DC

When Pablita Velarde was born in the fall of 1918, World War I was just coming to an end. By the time she was twenty–one years of age she had seen the introduction of Art Deco, the chaos of the Stock Market crash, the opening of the Museum of Modern Pablita Velarde - 1918 - 2006 painting "Old Father Story Teller" Art, the beginning of World War II, and the in her studio c.1956 undertaking of the Manhattan Project, implemented on the smooth, flat planes of the sage-strewn Pajarito Plateau, only a few miles from her birthplace and then-home of Santa Clara Pueblo.

as seen in the determined march of shiny black ants across the fine desert sand; the slightest movement of a feather; the inquisitive look on a child’s face; or the soft landing of a moccasin in the earth beneath it.

In this same period there was a simultaneous proliferation of new art forms, and new ideas about art traveled around the globe. Many of those ideas made their way into the creative processes of Native artists throughout North America, who began to fuse the newly introduced non-traditional art forms with more traditional elements of aesthetics, subject matter and symbology, materials and techniques.

Painting was one of those new art forms, and Pablita too had new ideas. Her depictions of Pueblo katsinas and dancers and scenes of daily village life were technically perfect and exquisitely beautiful, her landscapes quick and vibrant. And there was humor, and a deep sense of reverence for nature "Germination Katchinas" 41.5” X 33.5” - earth pigment and for the smallest of details

1918

First World War ends Bauhaus Movement begins

1922

1925

Insulin discovered Tomb of King Tut discovered

"Buffalo Dance" c.1931

But Pablita’s body of work was more than aesthetics or technique, more than skill or talent. It was reflective of a personal history, an autobiography told through imagery. It represents one of the most important collections of paintings ever produced by an American female artist. And though it was not political by any intentional measure, in terms of theme or subject, there was a great deal of tribal politics surrounding her choice of creative expression simply because painting was regarded as non-tradiDorothy Dunn tional. The pressure to reject this art form was especially heavy for Pueblo women, who were discouraged from venturing outside of the accepted gender roles of the time, which did not include being a full-time painter as an option. Although many efforts were made by the tribal chairmanship to discourage Pablita from painting, she was not deterred and continued to work, relocating to Albuquerque and producing over seven thousand individual paintings during an illustrious Pablita grinding 75-year career. her earth pigments

1932

Art Decco debuts - Paris Al Capone runs Chicago

1934

Amelia Earhart solos Atlantic Gandhi hunger strike

1929

1936

Graduates from Santa Fe Indian School

Stock Market crash M.O.M.A. opens in New York

Hitler becomes “Führer” S.E.C. established

1933

FDR's "New Deal" Repeal of "Prohibition"

1938

1938

Travels w/Ernest Thompson Seton as nanny for Beulah

1st place Santa Fe Indian Market

The significance of Pablita’s work lies not only in either its obvious fine art aesthetic attributes, or its chameleon-like ability to bear multiple titles ranging from “Impressionistic” to “Surrealistic” "How The Skunk Got Its Scent" or from “Traditional 16” X 20” casein watercolor American Indian” to “Contemporary American” – often several at once. Though her work was not limited or thoroughly defined by any one of these schools of painting it contained clear and profound elements of each. Most importantly, it represents a comprehensive ethnographic record of the Tewa people. Ironically, what was initially met with so much opposition from within the tribe came to serve as a most exquisite representation of it.

Working in a variety of mediums including watercolor, casein, acrylic, and hand-ground earth pigments, Pablita incorporated many cultural and tribal principles into her paintings, as she represented the rich and complex cosmologies of Tewa belief systems as well as Pueblo customs, social structures and spiritual and religious themes. Pablita’s professional achievements were enormous, and included awards and recognitions in every major art forum in North America and many abroad. What she accomplished was unprecedented, and remains unsurpassed today.

"Buffalo Dancer" 1992 22” X 18” casein watercolor

1937

"Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs" Dupont invents Nylon

1936

"Gone With The Wind" Jesse Owen - 4 Olympic golds

1939

W.P.A. Artist - Bandelier

She remains among the most collected of contemporary American artists, and hers has come to be regarded as the most significant collection of work by an American woman "Rabbit Dance" c.1940 13.5” X 22.5” casein watercolor painter born in the last century; the standard by which all others are to be compared.

"I am always telling a story. Everything I do has a story behind it. I am a good storyteller. . . It is something you either dream in your sleep, or you have it in your subconscious mind, and it just comes out. And you want to do it. So you do it." Pablita Velarde [From "When the Rainbow Touches Down," p.165]

"Mimbres Coyote" 13” X 11” casein

"Mudheads and Snake" 22” X 12” earth pigment

1941

1939

Pearl Harbor bombed Mt. Rushmore completed

"Manhattan Project" First TV broadcast

1938

1942

Marries Herb Hardin

Oil discovered in Saudi Arabia ball point pens - seeing eye dogs

1940

Germany invades France Color television

1942

Womens Coast Guard est.

United Nations created

3 3

1943

Helen Hardin born

Pablita

1953 - "Grand Prize" Gallup & Philbrook 1954 - awarded "Palmes d’Acadamie" - France

As one generation became two, the birth of Helen Hardin in 1943 coincided with the end of the Great Depression, which was followed shortly thereafter by the detonation of the atom bomb and the end of World War II, the securing of the right of Native Americans to vote in state elections, and the beginning of the Korean War.

energy and precision that became her hallmark. There remained a constant element of surprise in her work, an excited anticipation of what would come next. Each phase of her work was more splendid than the last, and in turn would be outshone by the next.

Helen, like Pablita, did not observe externally dictated constructs or constraints in her "Hungry Bugs" c.1962 art, but rather pushed them out 11” X 15” - casein watercolor of her way entirely. Attempts to dissuade her from painting were also swiftly rejected, and she produced prolifically for more than two decades, taking top honors and selling out at virtually every show she entered.

During this period, she and Pablita became each other's competition.

As Pablita had before her, Helen Hardin - 1943-1984 Helen also experienced the imprints of early exposures c.1969 to events such as these, but drew mainly from the deep spiritual and cultural reservoirs of Pueblo cosmology to define and contextualize her work. Focusing predominately on the sacred nature symbols and katsina representations of Tewa mythology, many of the female forms in her work perhaps reflected various facets of herself. Expressed in meticulous, abstract detail through casein, acrylics, and the painstaking process of copper plate etching, some of which used up to fourteen individual plates within one image, her works conveyed powerful emotions, and an exceptional measure of self-reflection often suggesting something of the supernatural in their ability to connect us to the deepest, most sacred parts of ourselves.

"Mimbres Lizard" 14” X 14” - copper plate etching

1943

"Great Depression" ends Price of gasoline - 15¢/gal

1945

USA drops Atom Bomb Oral penicillin developed

4

As her work became more and more complex, both in terms of subject matter and technique, Helen came to be regarded as one of the preeminent artists of the era.

Perhaps better fitted to the title of deconstructionistcubist than to that of Indian Artist or Contemporary Artist, as her painting was greatly concerned with the placement and arrangement of shapes and colors, Helen brought forth a new freedom in Indian art, particularly Pueblo art, which helped to remove some of the limitations that had de"Listening Woman" fined it up until then, and 25” X 19” - copper plate etching

From many of Helen’s paintings emanated a sort of sacred silence, yet they were anything but quiet. Colors boomed across her paintings with an

1946

1st car phone - ATT France atomic test on Bikini bikinis go on sale in Paris

1947

Pablita

Santa Fe Indian Market - 1st place: 1955-56-57-58,1962,1980,1985,1988-89-90,1992

1948

Israel - "Independent State" Natives vote in State Elections

CIA established The "transistor" invented

1949

minimum wage 70¢/hr. cable TV debuts

1950

Korean War begins 1st Hydrogen Bomb

1951

"Birth Control Pill" invented Freed coins "Rock N Roll"

Pablita

Gallup Ceremonial - 1st place: 1954-55-56,1958-59-60,1971,1978

1957

Pablita - 1st place N.M.Museum Show

encouraged other artists to expand beyond those confines and create from a truer, more self-directed place.

Helen painted tirelessly, producing over thirty-five hundred paintings and etchings. She mastered each of her mediums with impressive ease, and challenged herself constantly to push further and further past creative boundaries, and into a place where "Mimbres Life Cycles" c.1962 - dreams and visions give 22” X 14.5” casein shape to a more profound, more spiritual reality. The physical demands of her rigorous, self-imposed painting schedule were impossible to meet without complete immersion, and yielding to it was her only option. Her character, professional conviction, and steadfast dedication to the integrity of her work would not allow it to be

1958

1960

Pablita 21' Mural - Houston

Pablita - 1st Pueblo woman published - "Old Father Story Teller"

any other way.

Today, Helen remains one of the most celebrated and highly collected contemporary artists of her generation.

Through her work she continues to challenge us to break free of our limitations in thinking, Pablita and Helen 1957 feeling, and creating, and inspires us to embrace our higher levels of being through her own revelations of soul and spirit.

"Courtship Of The Yellow Corn Maiden" 17.5” X 23” - casein watercolor

"Rather than painting a subject, I am inspired by that subject to paint what I feel from the idea, the song, the ceremonial, the mask. I paint it as I feel it rather than as I see it, making no preliminary notes or sketches. . . Traditional art tells its own story. Contemporary art leaves you with a feeling rather than a story." Helen Hardin [From Patricia Broder, "American Indian Painting & Sculpture," p. 42]

"Ancient Rock Art Of My Ancestors" 18.5” X 29” - acrylic

1955

Rosa Parks refuses to give up seat MLK leads first Civil Rights march

1953

"Playboy" magazine launched Edmund Hillary climbs "Everest"

1960

Kennedy elected President Xerox invents "copier"

1957

Beginning of Vietnam conflict "Sputnik" starts "Space Race"

1962

"Cuban Missile Crisis" 1st Walmart store 1st Beatles song released

1961

1st American in space Peace Corps established

1963

JFK assassinated Zip Codes implemented

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1964

Margarete born Pablita - FL Museum show

1968

Helen sells out Embassy Show - Bogota Pablita - Philbrook Award

1970/71

Helen sells out Embassy Show - Guatemala cover New Mexico Magazine

In 1964, when Margarete Bagshaw was born, Beatlemania had just swarmed into the United States, the Vietnam War was expanding, and Nelson Mandela began serving a life sentence. Pablita was at the apex of her career, Helen at the beginning of hers, and with Margarete now representing the potential third generation of creative vision and artistic promise, this three generational legacy was nudged into forward gear.

Initially, Margarete both worked with a comprehension of her artistic inheritance and yet remained independent of it. In her maturity, she has taken hold of an unclaimed expanse of intellectual landscape, and shaped it to grow around her continuous addition of new mediums and techniques, the promise of her birthright in full bloom.

Margarete Bagshaw 2011

Margarete’s creative influences are as varied as the imagery she presents; she is considered a cubist, but incorporates subjects that are purely Tewa; she uses neon-ish colors to portray sacred katsinas and other religious symbols on canvasses measuring more than ten feet across; she creates works in clay that challenge our pre"Alien Turquoise Dealers" 12” X 16” - oil on panel

1964

"Beatlemania" strikes USA Nelson Mandela sentenced to life

1968

occupation with thinking that such objects, solely by virtue of their material, can be shaped in only one fashion, into only one configuration of form or function. Her work reminds us that Clay Lady doesn’t take orders from anyone, and the clay will become only what "Becoming Sage" it wants to become.

24” X 24” - oil on panel Preconceived ideas of what something should be, based on what it has been in the past, have no place here.

As Margarete continues to move back and forth between new territories and old, the known and the unknown, her paintings reflect an inherent understanding of an ancient wisdom, of what is true and real.

Her considerable achievements demonstrate beautifully how her family’s legacy matters. That legacy is vital and ongoing, and does not require validation from external sources. It relies solely on its own internal support structure of rich cultural history, unwavering devotion to aesthetic principles, and the continued strength of a collective vision that began almost a century ago, to guide itself into the unfamiliar terrain of a new era.

Helen, Pablita,Margarete

1971

Women dominate Grammy's Gloria Steinem launches "Ms" 1st video game - "Pong"

MLK & Bobby Kennedy assassinated

Helen

Santa Fe Indian Market-1st/2nd place-both* 1968*,1969,1971*,1972*,1973*1974*

1973/1974

film set c.1975

1979

USSR invades Afganistan Sony "Walkman" debuts 1st cellular network

"Wounded Knee" "Watergate" - Nixon resigns

1984

1st "Macintosh" computer 1st CD players DNA profiling developed

1981

Sandra Day O'Connor Supreme Court Aids Virus identified

2009 Margarete Helen - Top Honors 2012 Gallup1,Heard2,Scottsdale3,Tanners4, Philbrook5 sells out shows Golden Dawn Gallery opens Margarete's Show -M.I.A.C. 2004, 2005, 1st time 3 generations shown: 19681,3,5,,19691,2,5,19701,2,,19723,19732,4 3 books coming out: Pablita, Helen, Margarete Pablita Helen Margarete 2006, 2010 19741,3,4,19752,4,19771,4,5

Pablita and Margarete S.F.Indian Market 1981

admirers alike.

The enjoyment of art is subjective and we each come to it with our own associations and beliefs already in place; there are as many responses to a singular creation as there are viewers of it. This family's artistic success is based on the ability of their art to transcend the barriers of time and culture and appeal beyond the strictures of academic and intellectual analysis to attract not only scholars and critics, but also collectors and appreciative

As art forms go, painting has always been among the most difficult to master, and coaxing a livelihood from it is rarer still.

"My World Is Not Flat" 54” X 80” - oil on Belgian linen

Renown and international acclaim are achieved by relatively few, but Pablita, Helen, and Margarete have accomplished all of these remarkable feats, and as the only three-generational line of full-time professional women painters ever documented, they remain at the forefront of what we define as artistic excellence.

Pablita Velarde, Helen Hardin, Margarete Bagshaw: three generations of painting history; three generations of carrying the dream wheel; three generations of enriching our world.

"My paintings have a spirit. They see you seeing them. They think for themselves. They live, breathe, listen. They respond."

Margarete Bagshaw Copyright ownership: Helen Hardin - Cradoc Bagshaw Pablita Velarde - Margarete Bagshaw Margarete Bagshaw Special thanks to Marlene Kobre and Margarete and Helen Ron Denson S.F.Indian Market1981

"Ancestral Procession" 80” X 110” - oil on Belgian linen

1995

1989

Mandela elected President Berlin Wall falls OJ Simpson trial Tiananmen Square G.H. Bush President Federal Building - Oklahoma

1993

Bill Clinton President World Wide Web

1998

*All artwork shown is for sale

2001

"9/11" DOW breaks 10,000

"Google" founded Exxon and Mobil merge

2004/2005

2011

Smithsonian N.M.A.I. Japan nuclear disaster Hurricane "Katrina" Middle East rights protests Osama bin Laden killed

2003

US invades Iraq Space Shuttle explodes

2008

Oil price exceeds $100/barrel election of Barack Obama

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GOLDEN DAWN GALLERY Dear Art Enthusiasts,

Welcome to Santa Fe and another Indian Market. This annual event has always been very special for my family. In fact, in 1938, my grandmother, Pablita Velarde, won her first Indian Market at the age of 19, and would go on to win top honors at least another 12 times over the next 54 years. In addition to all of the "Special Awards" she won, my mother, Helen Hardin , also won first or second place (often both) at least 12 times in 10 short years. Together, at Indian Market alone, they won top honors at least 25 times - virtually every year they entered competition.

Over the years a number of prominent shows and events have helped to increase the awareness and popularity of Indian Art: The Heard Museum Show; The Gallup Ceremonial; The 8 Northern Show; The Philbrook Show; The Scottsdale Show; Santa Fe Indian Market and regular events at institutions such as The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture; The Wheelwright Museum; The Museum of Contemporary Native Art - all here in Santa Fe; and last but certainly not least, The National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian in Washington DC . Clearly not one single venue can be seen as the most important, as the strong commitment of all of these outstanding entities has been unwavering and equally significant.

While Native Art has roots deep in the traditional styles, like that of my grandmother, the “Modern Contemporary” vanguard that my mother was a major part of in the 1970’s brought Native Art towards the Fine Art mainstream.

This transition from "Native Art" to "Fine Art" is even more apparent today in my own work.

It is with great pride that we have embarked on our mission of creating awareness of my family's role in the development of Native Art. Your continued support and patronage have made this work easier for us at every step.

My husband Dan and I would like to thank everyone who has been a part of this exciting undertaking, whether you are collectors, clients, or like-minded enthusiasts, you have become friends and emissaries.

This next year will see the biggest part of our mission become a reality! Thank you all.

We look forward to seeing you in the Gallery soon, and we hope that you stay as excited about our efforts as we are.

Best regards,

Margarete Bagshaw and Dan McGuinness

201 Galisteo St., Santa Fe, NM 87501 505-988-2024

www.goldendawngallery.com

The Exclusive Estate Representative For Helen Hardin and Pablita Velarde