Description:
Watercolor on paper. Signed l.r.: Dempsey Chapita, Stamped u.r.: PLANCHE 38.
From: American Indian Painters, Vol. 2, p. 5: "The Masked Dancers of Zuni" is included in this volume because of its beauty and charm, not because Chapita is very famous as an artist. His work has not been widely exhibited and he has no murals to his credit. In school, he only painted for the pleasure it gave him, with no intention of making art his career. He has not painted at all since he left school in 1939. He was born in Zuni, 1922, and was in military service until 1945. Since then he has been occupied as a laborer in and about his ancestral home. The watercolor "Masked Dancers of Zuni" shows a native good taste and refinement in color as well as design. The primitive angularity of the figures only adds a piquant charm, that is often lost in the work of artists who have had art school training. It follows very closely in the tradition of the Zuni religious ceremonial art. (Collection, Oscar Brousse Jacobson) Map references: Zuni Pueblo (N.M.)