The Barnes Foundation.

Sharon Lorenzo explores the art of the Pueblo and Diné (Navajo) peoples which is being exhibited at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia until May 15^th, 2022

“Po-wa-ha, water-wind-breath, is the essence of life.

Existence is determined not by the physical body but by the breath which is symbolized by the movement of the water and the wind. We flow in the Po-wa-ha along with all other manifestations of life.”

~Rina Swentzell, Santa Clara Pueblo tribe, 1993[1]

In 1931 at the recommendation of his doctors, Albert Barnes took his wife Laura who was suffering from a respiratory infection, to the American southwest for a chance to breathe better in its arid desert air. They traveled by train and car arriving in Taos, New Mexico in 1929 where they were hosted by New York heiress, Mabel Dodge Luhan, and her husband Tony who was a member of the Pueblo Indian tribe. They returned two more times in 1930 and 1931, and on each trip acquired pottery, textiles and native jewelry which made a collection of 239 objects now on display at the Barnes Foundation in the Roberts Gallery. An excellent catalog was prepared with essays by two curators from the nearby Penn Museum, Lucy Fowler Williams and Jeremy Sabloff, published by Yale University Press.

In 1931, Barnes was quoted in the local Santa Fe press as stating, “I consider the manifestations of the Indians’ art life as ranking with the most important epochs of the world.”[2] Scholar Lucy Fowler Williams noted that Native Americans had lived in this region for 3000 years, and their dependence on local grains and native animal species kept them alive and very connected to the earth and its many seasons. They called this good life, “hozho”, meaning that they strove for a balance in their life with ceremonial practices, artistic creation, and beauty with harmony in all things.[3]

Navajo Blanket and Serape, c. 1855, Dyed Wool.

Blankets such as these were purchased by the Barnes as examples of native weaving which began with shearing the sheep, dying the wool, then weaving designs into blankets for their home, their horses and apparel as noted above. Lucy postulates that some of the designs may have come to the Southwest with the Spanish conquistadores who brought Arabic textiles to the New World which had come from southern Spain where Muslim cultures had settled from 700-1100 AD.

Here we can see TahNibaa Naataanii, a member of the Navajo tribe, at her loom weaving a rug. She explained that her name means “came into battle with her weaving”, referring to her training with her grandmother before she enlisted in the US Navy after high school. She returned to her farm to raise sheep and continue her weavings in the Chuska Mountains of New Mexico. [4]

Ramona Sakiestewa, Basket Dance rug, 1991.

Olla, water jar, Zuni Pueblo tribe.

The Barnes collection of native pottery contains examples such as this water jar made in 1920 by potter Catalina Zunie. Made by hand from successive rows of clay coils, these works are fired twice – once for the under pot, then a second time after the glaze and decorations are added. Catalina said she likes to use the images of birds as they are symbols for her of spiritual messages. She combines them here with tadpoles which come out in the spring rainy seasons. [5]

Storage Jar, Acoma Pueblo tribe.

By contrast, this polychrome jar in the collection would have been fired three times to allow the undercoat clay to harden, then the beige paint fired a second time, followed by the decorative motifs. This piece was decorated by potter Mary Histia, and the stylized bird might have been a dove whose wingspan she viewed in the sky as they sang mid-flight. She said, “I can hear the birds bringing me a sign of greeting as they travel.”[6]

Squash blossom necklace and turquoise earrings, Navaho, 1900-1915, silver alloy.

Noted jewelry expert, Ken Williams, who runs a trading post operation in Santa Fe, New Mexico stated, “Southwest adornments are more than decoration, as they each tell a story and predict a future.”[7] Pieces made of silver, shell, stone, wood and hide are all organic and often messengers of the past and present. The squash blossom necklace reflects the beauty of this local flower, and the turquoise stones are local minerals of hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminum. Silver was introduced to the Native artisans by the entrepreneurs who employed them to build the railroads at the end of the 19^th century, as the workers were often paid in silver coin. [8] From belt buckles to hunting guards, the Barnes collection has many dazzling treasures amidst its jewelry collection.

“Ketoh” or Bow guard used in hunting deer and antelope with bow and arrows. Navajo silver and turquoise, 1900-1915.

In 1934, the U.S. government passed the Indian Reorganization Act which allowed all tribes to return to self-governance. Additionally in 1990, Congress passed the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act which has required all U.S. museums to return sacred and tribal works to the tribes of original ownership. Under the direction of Lucy Fowler Williams, the Penn Museum has an entire staff devoted to this task and has actively restituted numerous objects over the past three decades.

Dr. Barnes as a private collector shares his treasures with the public at large throughout his museum which is the most valuable private art museum in the United States today with a collection of international art and artifacts from the Southwestern states, valued at over $ 25 billion dollars.