Louis Lomayesva (Hopi Pueblo, 1916–1996). Hopi Corn Dance, 1930s. Watercolor on paper, 15 15/16 x 21 15/16 in. (40.5 x 55.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 40.90. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum Photograph, 40.90_PS20.jpg)
Louis Lomayesva (Hopi Pueblo, 1916–1996). Hopi Corn Dance, 1930s. Watercolor on paper, 15 15/16 x 21 15/16 in. (40.5 x 55.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 40.90. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 40.90_SL1.jpg)
Hopi Corn Dance
Arts of the Americas
This colorful and intricate composition by Louis Lomayesva depicts the performers of the Hopi Corn Dance. The eight dancers in the foreground wear ritual clothing with highly detailed woven designs. A group of men stands nearby, including a figure who beats a hide-covered drum. The background is omitted to focus attention on Native American life and traditions.
MEDIUM
Watercolor on paper
DATES
1930s
DIMENSIONS
15 15/16 x 21 15/16 in. (40.5 x 55.7 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Arts of the Americas
ACCESSION NUMBER
40.90
CREDIT LINE
Dick S. Ramsay Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Louis Lomayesva (also known as Lewis Lomay) depicts the dancers and drummers of the Hopi Corn Dance. Representing life, corn is the most important symbol for the Hopi. Like many of his contemporary Native American watercolorists, Lomayesva omitted the background in his images, thereby emphasizing the figures while adding a timeless quality. At the same time, his paintings mirror reality, as seen in the fine details of the woven designs on the dancers' shawls and belts.
Native American watercolor painting, depicting scenes from everyday life and ceremonial dances, arose in the 1920s, stimulated by growing interest among white patrons. Drawing from a long tradition of painted hides, pottery, and wall murals, artists incorporated Native painting styles with the European-derived medium of watercolor to create a new Native American art form. At the heart of this movement were various self-taught artists from the southwestern United States, particularly from Hopi and Pueblo cultures. In 1930 the Brooklyn Museum was one of the first museums in the country to feature an exhibition of watercolors by Native American painters from the Southwest.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Louis Lomayesva (Hopi Pueblo, 1916–1996). Hopi Corn Dance, 1930s. Watercolor on paper, 15 15/16 x 21 15/16 in. (40.5 x 55.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 40.90. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum Photograph, 40.90_PS20.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 40.90_PS20.jpg. Brooklyn Museum Photograph, 2022
"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.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply).
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.
