Description:
Watercolor on paper. Signed l.r.: J.H. Herrera, Stamped u.r.: PLANCHE 40.
From: American Indian Painters, Vol. 2, p. 5: Joe Herrera is a promising artist who was born in Cochiti in 1921. He is the son of the famous painter, Tonita Pena, who was his first teacher and who is his most admiring fan. Ask Tonita about her work or about anything, and in less than three sentences, she will gravitate to Joe's painting, and beaming with pride, will tell all about his work. The eternal mother! As a little boy, See-Ru delighted in watching his mother paint and he learned her technique trying out his own hand. One of his early efforts at painting won him a prize from the American Youth Forum Contest. At the Santa Fe Indian School he completed a mural "Wedding". Another mural is a "Butterfly Dance" on the outer wall of an Indian trading post in Albuquerque. Joe Herrera is much interested in agriculture, depending on it for his livelihood. He is also a trained auto mechanic. During the war he saw service in the Caribbean and in the Mediterranean. He painted a landscape of the Bay of Naples of which his mother is immensely proud. His style is very reminiscent of his mother's, but more sensitive and with a finer feeling for color and grace of line. His "Butterfly Dance" is a fine example of his ability to render graceful movement with simple means. His colors of black, red, white, and green create a splendid harmony. It is equally satisfying and as charmingly decorative as a print by Utamaro. (Collection, Oscar Brousse Jacobson) Map references: Cochiti Pueblo (N.M.)