I was browsing Shore Antiques in Allenhurst, NJ, when I spotted this ususual painting. The first question is: why is there a painted ceramic out in the middle of a landscape? How did it end up near some rocks and a small body of water? And why did a real bird set up a nest on top of a ceramic with a bird painted on it?
I don’t have answers to these questions, but I did learn that this painting is by the Navajo artist Boyd Warner, Jr. (1937–2014), whose Native name was Blackhair. He lived in Arizona and was known for his paintings and mixed-media art depicting Native American figures and cultural themes. From what I can gather, he exhibited his art in Native American art markets and has some of his work held in museum collections. He won awards at Gallup Inter-Tribal ceremonials, at the Heard Museum Indian Markets, The New Mexico State Fair and at Scottsdale National Indian Arts and Crafts for several years.
A glance at his range of work online shows that his versatility in style extended from traditional, to European style, to abstracts, and even rock art studies. You can see some other works from his career here – the first one at this link, a semi-abstract one, is a favorite. Below is a look at the full canvas seen at the antiques store … I did not buy it, but was drawn to the quirkiness of it.
