Awa Tsireh (Alfonso Roybal) (Po–who–ge–oweenge (San Ildefonso Pueblo), 1895–1955). <em>Dog Dancer</em>, 1930s. Black ink and watercolor over graphite on wove paper, 11 1/8 x 14 1/8 in. (28.3 x 35.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 40.89. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , CUR.40.89.jpg)

Why is this image so small?

This image is presented as a "thumbnail" because it is protected by copyright. The Brooklyn Museum respects the rights of artists who retain the copyright to their work.

Awa Tsireh (Alfonso Roybal) (Po–who–ge–oweenge (San Ildefonso Pueblo), 1895–1955). Dog Dancer, 1930s. Black ink and watercolor over graphite on wove paper, 11 1/8 x 14 1/8 in. (28.3 x 35.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 40.89. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , CUR.40.89.jpg)

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What is the man doing?

This ledger book drawing is by Tsireh, one of the first pueblo painters to receive recognition by the Santa Fe art community. Here, Awa Tsireh has played with perspective and scale significantly: as kivas are underground, a dancer would be climbing down into or up out of kiva via a small ladder, but here the large ladder seems to be propped against a decorated structure and the direction of travel for the dancer is uncertain.

Dog Dancer

Arts of the Americas

In the first quarter of the twentieth century, a tradition of watercolor easel painting emerged among Pueblo artists in the Southwest. Awa Tsireh from San Ildefonso Pueblo was known for his stylized and abstracted compositions that depict Pueblo dances. These works appealed to the growing local and international markets, accommodating Anglo patrons’ perception of “authentic” Native art. At the same time, however, artists such as Tsireh created their own cultural representations.

MAKER Awa Tsireh (Alfonso Roybal), Po–who–ge–oweenge (San Ildefonso Pueblo), 1895–1955

MEDIUM Black ink and watercolor over graphite on wove paper

Place Made: San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, United States

DATES 1930s

DIMENSIONS 11 1/8 x 14 1/8 in. (28.3 x 35.8 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas

ACCESSION NUMBER 40.89

CREDIT LINE Dick S. Ramsay Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Watercolor painting of a Pueblo dancer about to climb a ladder leaning against a kiva. Awa Tsireh is also called Alfonso Roybal.

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Awa Tsireh (Alfonso Roybal) (Po–who–ge–oweenge (San Ildefonso Pueblo), 1895–1955). Dog Dancer, 1930s. Black ink and watercolor over graphite on wove paper, 11 1/8 x 14 1/8 in. (28.3 x 35.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 40.89. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , CUR.40.89.jpg)

IMAGE overall, CUR.40.89.jpg., 2019

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

Copyright for this work may be controlled by the artist, the artist's estate, or other rights holders. A more detailed analysis of its rights history may, however, place it in the public domain. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What is the man doing?