My Favorite Nathan Robinson Paintings

Nathan Robinson

Nathan Robinson

Nathan Robinson

Nathan Robinson

Nathan Robinson

Nathan Robinson

Nathan Robinson

I first saw some of Nathan Robinson's art in Dr. Stuart N. Robinson's office (his nephew). I was immediately struck by how very nice the landscapes were. You don't often see such fine art in a therapeutic setting -- it certainly helps me stay calm to see such "comfort art"...

Nathan Robinson (20th Century) was active/lived in Arizona. He's best known for his portrait, landscape, and figure painting.

Born in Richmond, Virginia, Robinson had his first art training at William and Mary College Extension Division. Later he attended the National Academy of Design in New York and studied privately with Dimitri Romanovsky, noted portrait painter. After three years in New York, he returned to Richmond and ran an art school for eleven years. Then, for the health of his son, he moved the family to Arizona where he was associated with the Desert House in Tucson.

Infographic: Turquoise of the Southwest

Happy Birthday: Two Harry H. Begay Sterling and Turquoise Cuffs

I have decided to throw myself whole hog into a new collecting passion -- Navajo jewelry created by contemporary artists. So, I bought a few pieces with some birthday money. Although this may seem like an expensive hobby, in truth it is no more expensive than my former original comic art habit -- which has mostly become too expensive for my continued participation. Slow, but steady collecting is always the key -- waiting for that good value to come your way.

Two of the new birthday presents are beautiful pieces created by Harry H. Begay. Here are their original lot descriptions and photos.

Harry H. Begay's bracelets are hand-wrought in the traditional style called "ingot work." Harry Begay melts his silver in a crucible and pours it into molds which he then works into desired shapes. Such work requires multiple annealings, which is the process of reheating silver to 1200 degrees to realign the crystalline structure of the silver molecules. Smithing in this fashion is a highly-developed skill and very time consuming, therefore Harry's work is valuable and rare. This awesome triangle wire bracelet by Harry Begay features a beautiful single cab of  Number Eight Turquoise from Nevada with an intricate chocolate brown matrix. The bracelet features deep traditional stamping and a sculpted edge.

Navajo artist Harry H. Begay made this fabulous cuff with his amazing style. He has used a gorgeous piece of Arizona’s legendary Kingman Turquoise. The stone is a stunning blue color and is full of fabulous water web matrix. Surrounding the stone you will find the handmade silver work that has made Harry Begay one of the most sought-after silversmiths in today’s market. He makes his jewelry in the old ways by hammering out his cuff for the perfect width and shape. It is then decorated with stamping, file work, and button-style drops. You don’t see this narrow design from Harry often, so if you collect his work, it is definitely something you will want in your collection.

Chase These Blues Away: Yei Rugs

From the Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery Inc. website:

Yei pattern rugs feature images of the Holy People drawn from ceremonial sand paintings but do not recreate an entire painting. The closely related Yeibechai rugs show Navajo dancers in the act of portraying Yeis in ceremonies. 

Typically, the Yeis are highly stylized figures with elongated bodies, short straight legs, and heads facing the viewer. Yebechais have somewhat more human proportions, usually face sideways, and often have legs bent in a dancing motion. The earliest Yei rugs usually included one or two large Yei figures oriented vertically, e. g. parallel with the warp. In some cases, small Yei images were included in rugs with geometric patterns or other pictorial elements. 

Though quite rare, these early types were made over a period of nearly four decades, falling out of favor by the 1930s. 

In the 1910s, a very small number of weavers made single figure type rugs which portrayed not the Navajo Yei, but rather Hopi Katsina figures with characteristic tableta headdresses.

The more common types of Yei and Yeibechai rugs feature multiple figures oriented parallel with the weft threads so that the rug appears wider than long when the figures are upright. 

Two distinct styles emerged in the 1920s. Those made in the area of Shiprock, New Mexico tend to have light colored backgrounds with no border, and often use brightly colored commercial yarns. Yeis and Yeibechais made in the central part of the reservation, in northeastern Arizona, tend to have dark backgrounds with simple borders. They are more likely to incorporate natural wool colors and more subdued chemical shades. 

Yeis continue to be very popular with collectors and are now being made in nearly all parts of the reservation.