[Native American Art] Four Study Sketches in Pencil by Navajo Artist James Abeita

[Native American Art] Four Study Sketches in Pencil by Navajo Artist James Abeita

Each sketch measures about 7.5 x 9 inches (they are each slightly different sizes) mounted to double mat boards, approximately 13 x 14 inches. Each has very light soiling. Verso is soiled to a larger extent including one sketch with a heavy splash of fluid and one with a greasy area. Neither area of soiling has bled to the artwork itself. See scans. Very Good Condition.

Early study sketches from famed Navajo artist James Abeita. Abeita was born in Crownpoint, New Mexico in 1947. He is known especially for his portrait work of fellow Navajo Indians and for his realistic landscapes of the stark beauty of the American southwest.

Abeita studied at the American Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago (1967) where he lived until 1971, moving back west to Crownpoint. While in Chicago, a friendship ensued with singer Johnny Cash, which led to Abeita receiving several commissions from Cash. After returning west, the artist worked with Gallup, New Mexico photographer and businessman, Nello Guadagnoli, who promoted and helped him start selling his paintings through the Mullarky Studio and Camera Shop and the adjacent Kiva Gallery. These four sketches came via the heirs of Nello Guadagnoli. Kiva Gallery catalog numbers in ink on the verso.

Each sketch is signed by Abeita.