Narciso Abeyta

Narciso Platero Abeyta or Ha So Deh (1918–1998) was a Navajo painter and silversmith.

Narciso P. Abeyta
Born
Ha So Deh

1918
Canoncito, New Mexico
DiedJune 22, 1998
NationalityNavajo, American
Known forPainting, silversmithing

Early life and education

Abeyta was born in 1918. He is named after his father, Narciso. His mother was Pablita.[1] He started drawing when he was eleven.[2] He attended the Santa Fe Indian School, starting in 1939. Dorothy Dunn was his teacher. Abeyta was a Golden Gloves boxer. He served in World War II (US Army[3]) as a code talker.[4] After he returned from service, he was unable to work for ten years due to his experiences at war.[5] Eventually, he attended the University of New Mexico. He trained under Raymond Jonson.[2]

Mid-life and career

Abeyta was primarily a painter. His paintings document Navajo life, and use brush stroke techniques that are reminiscent of Navajo rugs.[2] He had two known commissions for work as a muralist; a 1934 mural for a social science classroom in Santa Fe, New Mexico and in 1939 for Maisel's Indian Trading Post in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[6] He demonstrated painting at the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair[7]

Abeyta married Sylvia Ann, a Quaker ceramics artist.[5] They had seven children, including artists Tony Abeyta and Pablita Abeyta. The family lived in Gallup, New Mexico.[8]

Later life and legacy

Abeyta died in 1998 from a cerebral hemorrhage.[9] His work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Art, National Museum of the American Indian, and the Museum of New Mexico.[9]

Major exhibitions

References
  1. "Narciso Abeyta". Artist. AskArt. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. "Narciso Platero Abeyta (1918-1998) Ha So De - Fiercely Ascending". Adobe Gallery. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  3. Plateau Sciences of Gallup, NM, Code Talker's Meal, wore US Army uniform
  4. Dyer, Linda. "20th-Century Narciso Abeyta (Ha So De) Painting". Roadshow Archive. WGBH Boston. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  5. Joëlle Rostkowski (2012). Conversations with Remarkable Native Americans. SUNY Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4384-4176-4.
  6. Lester, Patrick D., The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters, SIR Publications, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 9780806199369, page 2, First edition, 1995
  7. Samuels, Peggy; Samuels, Harold (1985). Samuel's Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West. Secaucus, N.J.: Castle. pp. 1–2. ISBN 1555210147.
  8. June, Ana. "Tony Abeyta". Local Flavor. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  9. "Narciso Platero Abeyta, painter of Navajo themes". Bangor Daily News. 26 June 1998. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  10. Abeyta, Narciso; Tony Abeyta (1994). Translating Navajo worlds: the art of Narciso (Ha-So-De) and Tony Abeyta, January 22-May 4, 1994. Santa fe: Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian.
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