John Nieto: The Legacy Paintings

John Nieto

The Legacy Paintings

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John Nieto The Legacy Paintings

Railyard Arts District | 1613 Paseo de Peralta | Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 | tel 505.988.3250 www.lewallengalleries.com | contact@lewallengalleries.com cover: Yaqui Deer Dancer, 1994 acrylic on canvas, 72 x 60 in

John Nieto: The Legacy Paintings (1980-2000) John Nieto is a national treasure of American contemporary art. Nieto, who passed away in 2018, is celebrated for his emotionally resonant paintings of Western and Indigenous subjects rendered in heightened, expressive color. Inspired by his Native American and New Mexican roots, Nieto painted a wide range of figures from Southwestern culture and lore—both contemporary and historical—with an intensely fauvist palette and powerful brushwork.

Known as a brilliant colorist, Nieto conveyed his images of Indigenous chiefs, braves, archers, dancers, artisans—as well as wildlife and historical icons of the Southwest, such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Kit Carson, and Maria Benitez—using vivid, powerful hues that express the artist’s intention that these figures be worthy of honor and emotional connection by all.

John Nieto: The Legacy Paintings is an exhibition by LewAllen Galleries of carefully curated, rarely seen paintings from the 1980s and the 1990s that are among the artist’s finest works.

These are the paintings that many consider to be created at the peak of his career. Nieto himself thought of these works as some of his finest and put them away for decades. As the first major exhibition after Nieto’s death, it is particularly significant that this show of these major works be in Santa Fe, the town in which many were created. This special exhibition begins on Friday, July 31 and remains on view through Saturday, August 29, 2020.

During his distinguished career that spanned nearly sixty years, Nieto created distinctively expressive paintings with imagery that referred reverentially to indigenous history and culture.

In all of these works, Nieto’s use of color was raw, expressive, and intuitive. The vibrancy and eloquence of these colors, and the adept combinations he made of them, provides a visual language that captivates and enraptures his viewers. “We are born with a genetic memory or consciousness of color, and everyone’s choice of color is personal,” he observed.

One of the artists Nieto counted as among his major influences is the esteemed 19th century French Neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. A great colorist in his own right, Ingres declared that “color is the animal part of art.” For Nieto, painting a century later, a more apt truth would be hard to find. Part Navajo and Mescalero Apache, Nieto was deeply influenced by the beliefs and culture of his Native American heritage, including the 2

importance of animals as part of the creation story and as sacred carriers of spiritual meanings. And for him color expressed his deepest impulses, passions and feelings. It was indeed the “animal part” of his art and foundational to his artistic vision. In his words, “My colors express my worldview.”

Nieto traced his New Mexican ancestry—a mix of Native American and Spanish—back more than three hundred years. He believed that it was through powerful colorations that he might engage his audience most profoundly and express his deepest felt sense of awe and love for the people of his heritage. In his work, he sought to honor and preserve the history, courage, and honor of Indigenous people of the Southwest. His paintings serve both to sustain memory and stir imagination. The images are redolent with the feelings of respect, admiration, curiosity, empathy and celebration that Nieto sought to inspire about Native people and the culture of this place.

It is easy to see in his work the aspect of Nieto’s persona that was full of joy and happiness.

The colors in his paintings and many of his images of dancers, artisans and other figures of cultural significance bespeak a sense of the felicity that existed at times in Indigenous communities during periods of peace and expressed through ceremonies and rituals. But there is also present in much of Nieto’s work a solemn and sanctifying sense of remembrance. These works bring forth imagery—chiefs, braves, archers—whose statuesque grace and dignified honor capture and preserve for posterity feelings of the values and traditions enshrined in the ancient ways of Indigenous culture.

Often these are aspects of tribal identity and sacred ritual threatened by the passage of time and the impingement of a modern world antagonistic to such traditions. Examples of these works of enduring significance are included among those comprising the Legacy Paintings in this exhibition. Frequently inspired by museum photos from the 1880s to 1910, Nieto created imposing portraits of chiefs and braves, potters and weavers, which feel like vastly more vibrant American Indian analogues to the fusty paintings of European ancestors and New World politicians that hang on walls of museums and old mansions. In Nieto’s 3

works, there is preserved for eternity a kind of cultural patrimony that his figures uniquely represent. Here are the hunters, the elders, the archers, the drummers, the shamans, the warriors, the ola bearers, the plateros—the figures of legend and ancestral tradition whose stories and experiences might otherwise be forgotten. And then there are the animals who Native people believe are their brothers, sisters and spirit guides: the wolves and coyotes, the buffalo and eagles, the bear and deer—all sacred and all beautiful. It was from the enduring and vibrant beauty of all these images, reflected by Nieto in the electric colors and engaging forms of his painted figures, that the memory and the spirit of Indigenous cultures might continue to live.

Much of Nieto’s work seeks to commemorate and embody this enshrining consciousness about totemic figures from Native American and also Southwestern Spanish culture. The beauty of Nieto’s paintings—even of the fiercest warrior or most brutal general—operates from a place of aesthetic sublimity to insulate the figures in his works from the furies of cultural oblivion. In his vibrant paintings, Nieto’s images become indelible avatars of Southwestern history, lest their place in our cultural memory be erased by its greatest enemies, time and disinterest.

There is an ethereal quality, a feeling of regal nobility, to the poses Nieto employs in these paintings. They are often statuesque in posture and sometimes spectral in presence. These attributes stem in part from the sense of remote timelessness of the century-old photos he sometimes used for inspiration and the sacred quality of the dances and ceremonies he often observed at the pueblos near his Santa Fe studio during the period in which he created many of these Legacy Paintings.

There is a spiritual quality to the poses and figures in his work derived from these influences.

This sense of the sacred is reflected by feelings of reverence and inspiration that his viewers experience in studying them. In a nod also to the Spanish part of his heritage, he also developed an interest in the 1960s in flamenco dancing and its evocation of what in Spanish literature and art is called the duende, a transportive blood passion of creative energy and force akin to artistic trance states that engender spiritual inspiration and creativity. About 4

this aspect of his work, Nieto observed: “The lamenting, visceral sounds of flamenco remind me of Indian chants and drive me into spiritual realms.… I knew this would come out in my art…. The spiritual is what Indian culture is all about; it is what has made it survive.…”

This duende-like aspect of deep spirituality is evident in all the Legacy Paintings in this exhibition. Nieto’s affection for flamenco is illustrated in the two portraits of the renowned Santa Fe flamenco dancer he admired, Maria Benitez, included in the show. Nieto’s ability to confer upon his painting this spiritual mien lends to his powerful portraits a profoundly passionate beauty and timelessness far beyond just the subjects of the pictures themselves.

Much of this quality derives from Nieto’s intuitive and brilliant facility with contrasting color and his use of lines of color to highlight his figures—what is called halation—that confers additional vibrancy to his imagery. Nieto might be called an American Fauve. The Fauvists were originally a group of early 20th century French artists that included Henri Matisse and Andre Derain. The Fauves used strident brushwork and pure, brilliant color applied straight from paint tubes to create emotional responses rather than strictly realist imagery. The group was named “fauve”—which translates as “wild beast”—because of their use of strong color and aggressive brushwork. For Nieto, this “wild beast” approach was well suited to a painter who, like Ingres, wanted to make color “the animal part” of his art.

Nieto attended an exhibition of Fauvist painting in 1959 at the Dallas Museum of Art and was so inspired that he traveled to Paris to visit museums to see more. His discovery of the Fauvist treatment of striking color as a visual language of emotional expression was crucial to Nieto’s development and the maturation of his style. About this Nieto noted: “Matisse’s use of instinctive color made me think that we are born with a genetic memory or consciousness of color.… Fauvism reflects an existential happiness, subject only to instinctive, nonscientific laws of color harmony.”

Nieto concluded that creating work with this form of intense color to rivet attention, dazzle the emotions, and galvanize memory would be his life’s calling when one night, in the late 5

1960s, he took his elderly grandmother, Maria Gonzales, to the Mescalero Apache Reservation for a ceremonial Mountain Spirit Dance. There he was moved by her desire to connect with her ancestral and spiritual roots through ceremony and remembrance. On the drive back, Maria asked her grandson for a favor that changed his life and affirmed his direction as an artist. She said, “Johnny, would you paint about my people?” Nieto says about that pivotal moment: “That is what set me on painting Native American subject matter. I made it my business to be an authority on the Indian part of my heritage. In a serendipitous way, I was being told that color, my color, was really okay. In retrospect, it was what psychologists call a ‘peak moment’ when the world is at peace, and you are at peace within it.”

The thrilling truth about the paintings of John Nieto—and what will sustain interest in them long into the future – is that they exist as triumphant works of aesthetic excellence and achievement on several levels. Their vibrant colors, masterful configurations, and engaging subject choices give them an obvious visual beauty that, without the need for additional conceptual meanings, make them worthy additions to outstanding collections of first rate contemporary American painting.

But, as this essay has sought to describe, the work can be seen to have major gravitas beyond merely its gorgeous vivacity. A second, powerful dimension lies in the crucial yet quiet role Nieto’s paintings play as carriers of crucial historical and cultural information. They enshrine many of the important markers of Native American experience—the bravery, dignity and nobility of a people upon whom unspeakable oppression was visited, their land dispossessed, but their values and beliefs intact. That experience is humbling to observers whose memory of it is inspired by Nieto’s choice of subjects—the hero leaders, warriors, dancers, women—and the breathtaking presentations he makes of them on canvas. One can’t help feeling these compelling images as kinds of visual temples preserving and honoring the manifestations of mores, values, nobility, character, enmity, and experience of Indigenous people that are embedded in and reflected by Nieto’s work.

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The third dimension of importance in Neito’s paintings inheres in the sacral function of these works, their claim to our attention as objects of spiritual resonance. In this regard, it is that aura of peace that Nieto has brought to the world through his art that is so profound and, no doubt, would have pleased his grandmother as it has countless others fortunate either to own his paintings or view them in museums or even books. It is a peace of reverence, of memory, and sharing – of bringing together the past with the present in harmonious relation with enduring values that transcend time. And it is a peace embodied in the ideal of beauty that itself engenders the transcendent. Nieto believed that “art is not mere technical representation but communication of feelings, emotions, values and culture.” His work possesses the power to share and to resonate his own deep and sacred expression about the “feelings, emotions, values and culture” of Native American heritage that he – like his Apache grandmother – wishes never to be forgotten.

Kenneth R. Marvel

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America, America, 1994, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 60 in 8

Old Person, 1989, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in 9

Rawhide Talks, 1992, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in 10

Kiowa Delegate, 1990, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in 11

Pueblo Dialogue, 1990, acrylic on canvas, 44 x 40 in

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Hopi Maiden, 1998, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48 in

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Pueblo Potter, 1999, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in

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Platero Navajo, 1993, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

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Kit Carson, 1990, acrylic on canvas, 44 x 40 in

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Spotted Horse, 1989, acrylin on canvas, 44 x 40 in

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Pawnee Scout, 1994, acrylic on canvas, 44 x 40 in

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Offering to the Great Spirit, 1995, acrylic on canvas, 84 x 68 in 19

The First Elk Was His, 1992, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

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Jack Red Cloud, 1993, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

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Hairy Bear (Ponca), 1996, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in 23

Hopi Weaver, 1991, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

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Sioux Warrior, 1990, acrylic on canvas, 44 x 40 in

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Mary from Acoma Pueblo, 1988, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in

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Black Bear, 1996, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

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Fancy Dancer Still Dancing After 500 Years, 1992, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in 28

Zuni Olla Bearer, 1993, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in

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Hopi Potter, 1991, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in 30

Pueblo Ram Dancer, 1993, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

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Red Cloud (Sioux), 1990, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

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Georgia O'Keeffe, 1989, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

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Maria Benitez, 1992, acrylic on canvas, 44 x 40 in

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Maria Benitez, 1992, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 60 in 35

Yellow Dog, 1996, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

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Arapaho Delegate with Peace Pipe, 1990, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

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Zuni Olla Bearer, 1988, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in 38

Making Rain Gods, 1986, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in

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Cut Foot, 1991, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

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Crazy Horse, 1989, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in

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Kicking Bear, 1977, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 24 in

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John Nieto (1936-2008) EDUCATION 1959 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Southern Methodist University SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2020 LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM 2019 Ventana Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM (also 1987-2018) 2014 Altamira Fine Art, Jackson Hole, WY (also 2009-2013) 2012 Nieto Fine Art, San Francisco, CA 2009 Contemporary Visions of the West: The Art of John Nieto,

Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, GA 2008 Mountain Trails Gallery, Jackson Hole, WY 2002 Adagio, Palm Springs, CA (also 1995-2001) 1996 J. Cacciola Gallery, New York, NY (also 1983-1995)

William Y. Clements Center for Southwest Studies at SMU,

Dallas, TX 1993 University of Utah, Salt Lake City Museum 1986 Enthios Gallery, Santa Fe, NM (also 1980-1985) 1985 John Nieto: Retrospective, Wheelwright Museum of Indian

Art, Santa Fe, NM 1983 Governor’s Gallery, State Capitol Building, Santa Fe, NM 1982 Savage Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ (also 1980 and 1981) 1989 Axis Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 1981 10 Contemporary Artists, Taos, NM

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2012 Art in Embassies Program, Port Luis, Mauritius

Buffalo Bill Museum, Cody, WY 2011 Nieto Fine Art, San Francisco, CA (also 2010) 2009 6th Annual Southeastern Cowboy Gathering, Booth Western

Art Museum, Cartersville, GA 2008 25th Anniversary All Artists Show, Ventana Fine Art,

Santa Fe, NM

The Southwestern Art Collection of Charles & Jeanette

Gilchrist White, Lakeview Museum of Arts & Sciences,

Peoria, IL 2007 Museum of Contemporary Art, Hot Springs, AR

Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, GA

Small Works Show, Ventana Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM 2005 Jackson Hole Museum, Jackson Hole, WY

Ventana Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM

Small Works Show, Ventana Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM 2002 The Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at

Austin, Austin, TX 2002 “Peace and Loyalty,” commissioned by the Salt Lake

Organizing Committee, Commemorative Artwork

Commissioned in Honor of the Games, Salt Lake City, UT 2001 Capital Art Foundation, Santa Fe, NM 43

New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM

1992

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1980 1979 1961

Pageant of the Masters, Laguna Beach, CA Native American Invitational Exhibition, “Walk In Beauty” Santa Fe, NM Art of Albuquerque, Group Exhibition, Museum of Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM The Art of the Native American, Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, Owensboro, KY Pageant of the Masters, Laguna Beach, CA Nabisco Show, Nabisco Corporate Headquarters, NJ Marine Corps Museum, Washington, DC Contemporary Native American, The Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ Window Exhibit, Lord and Taylor, New York, NY Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC Night of the First Americans, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC United States Embassy and the United States International Communications Agency, Barbados Cabo Frio International Print Biennial, Cabo, Brazil Salon d’Automne, Grand Palais, Paris, France Le Salon Des Nations a Paris, Centre International D’Art Contemporain, Paris, France 20th Century American Indian Artists, Kimball Art Center, Park City, UT Native American Works, Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL Gallup Inter-tribal Ceremonials, Gallup, NM Philbrook Museum, Tulsa, OK Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Arts and Science Museum, Statesville, NC Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, GA Buffalo Bill Museum, Cody, WY Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, Institute of American Indian Art, Santa Fe, NM Jackson Hole Museum, Jackson Hole, WY Marine Corps Museum, Washington, DC Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ Museum and Art Center, Sylacauga, AL Museum of Contemporary Art, Hot Springs, AR National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson Hole, WY New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA Senimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY The Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX The Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ

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Railyard Arts District | 1613 Paseo de Peralta | Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 | tel 505.988.3250 www.lewallengalleries.com | contact@lewallengalleries.com Š 2020 LewAllen Contemporary, LLC 46 Artwork Š Estate of John Nieto