Quincy Tahoma
Encyclopedia
Quincy Tahoma was a Navajo
painter from Arizona and New Mexico.
in 1920. Tahoma means "Water Edge.'
As a young boy he became familiar with many religious and traditional chants and rituals. He also was known for creating "sand paintings." As a boy he spent much of his time hunting and fishing, where as later in life, he drew much of his artistic inspiration from his boyhood experiences.
from 1936 to 1940, where he attended the Santa Fe Indian School
. Tahoma was one of many Navajo painters of the most successful artists to be trained by Dorothy Dunn
at the Studio, at the Santa Fe Indian School
. Other Navajo painters in that program at the time included Harrison Begay
, Gerald Nailor, Sr.
and Andy Tsinajinnie.
He was known for his brilliant colors and precise lines along with the two-dimensional disposition of his work reflected the nature of American Indian painting in the American Southwest at that time. His imaginative style and elegant designs distinguished him from his peers. Rather than posing his subjects in a static manner, Tahoma painted them in action.
For early 20th-century, studio-taught painting, Tahoma incorporated more action and varied techniques in his work.
“One of the most dynamic, imaginative and gifted of Southwest Indian artists was Quincy Tahoma. He also revealed in his works the extreme rhythm and decorative feelings that are essentially Indian. Tahoma lived the life of an average Navajo boy, herding sheep and riding horseback,” wrote art historian Clara Lee Tanner.
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
painter from Arizona and New Mexico.
Youth
Quincy Tahoma was born near Tuba City, ArizonaTuba City, Arizona
Tuba City is a census-designated place in Coconino County, Arizona, United States. The population was 8,225 at the 2000 census. It is the Dine' Nation's largest community, slightly larger than Shiprock, New Mexico. The Hopi town of Moenkopi lies directly to its southeast.The name of the town...
in 1920. Tahoma means "Water Edge.'
As a young boy he became familiar with many religious and traditional chants and rituals. He also was known for creating "sand paintings." As a boy he spent much of his time hunting and fishing, where as later in life, he drew much of his artistic inspiration from his boyhood experiences.
Santa Fe (Dorothy Dunn Studio)
Tahoma studied art in Santa Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
from 1936 to 1940, where he attended the Santa Fe Indian School
Santa Fe Indian School
The Santa Fe Indian School is a secondary school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. It was founded in 1890 as a boarding school for Native American children from the state's Indian pueblos. But in the course of its history, the school has also served as a major cultural catalyst for the...
. Tahoma was one of many Navajo painters of the most successful artists to be trained by Dorothy Dunn
Dorothy Dunn
Dorothy Dunn Kramer was an American art instructor who created The Studio School at the Santa Fe Indian School.-Background:Dunn was born on 2 December 1903 in Pottawatomie County, Kansas and educated in Chicago. She first encountered Native American art at the Field Museum in Chicago in 1925...
at the Studio, at the Santa Fe Indian School
Santa Fe Indian School
The Santa Fe Indian School is a secondary school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. It was founded in 1890 as a boarding school for Native American children from the state's Indian pueblos. But in the course of its history, the school has also served as a major cultural catalyst for the...
. Other Navajo painters in that program at the time included Harrison Begay
Harrison Begay
Harrison Begay , is a renowned Navajo painter, perhaps the most famous of his generation. Begay specializes in watercolors and silkscreen prints. He is the oldest living former student of Dorothy Dunn at the Santa Fe Indian School...
, Gerald Nailor, Sr.
Gerald Nailor, Sr.
Gerald Nailor, Sr. or Toh Yah was a Navajo Studio painter from Picurís, New Mexico. Beginning in 1942, he was commissioned to paint the history of the Navajo people for a large mural at the Navajo Nation Council Chamber, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark.-Background:Gerald...
and Andy Tsinajinnie.
Style
Early in his career, his paintings were serene and soothing in tone, but increasingly they had subject matter of bloody wars and men killing animals. In retrospect, Tahoma's subjects were traditional Indian pursuits such as riding, fishing, and hunting, and he also painted distinctive landscape scenes.He was known for his brilliant colors and precise lines along with the two-dimensional disposition of his work reflected the nature of American Indian painting in the American Southwest at that time. His imaginative style and elegant designs distinguished him from his peers. Rather than posing his subjects in a static manner, Tahoma painted them in action.
For early 20th-century, studio-taught painting, Tahoma incorporated more action and varied techniques in his work.
“One of the most dynamic, imaginative and gifted of Southwest Indian artists was Quincy Tahoma. He also revealed in his works the extreme rhythm and decorative feelings that are essentially Indian. Tahoma lived the life of an average Navajo boy, herding sheep and riding horseback,” wrote art historian Clara Lee Tanner.
Career
Tahoma spent most of his life in Santa Fe, working on hundreds of paintings over two decades from the mid-1930s to 1956 as a Navajo painter and muralist. It is of much debate if Quincy Tahoma was also one of the Navajo Code talkers, who played such a critical part in the winning of World War II in the Pacific. It is believed to some that Tahoma joined the armed forces and served in the Signal Corps during World War II and that after the war, he returned to the Navajo Reservation and became a successful artist.Collections
His work is in the public collections of the following institutions:- National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
- Cantor Arts Center, Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
- National Museum of the American IndianNational Museum of the American IndianThe National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
- San Diego Museum of ArtSan Diego Museum of ArtThe San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The San Diego Museum of Art opened as The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego on February 28, 1926, and changed its name to the San...
- Fred Jones Jr. Museum of ArtFred Jones Jr. Museum of ArtThe Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art is an art museum on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, Oklahoma.-Overview:The University of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art is one of the finest university art museums in the United States. Strengths of the nearly 16,000-object permanent collection...
- Philbrook Museum of ArtPhilbrook Museum of ArtThe Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma is an art museum and former home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his wife Genevieve Phillips. , the museum has a staff of 60 and an operating budget of nearly $6 million....