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Georgia O'Keeffe
A Man from the Desert, 1941
Georgia O'Keeffe
A Man from the Desert, 1941
Oil on canvas, 16 15/16 x 7 1/16 inches
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
Gift of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation
2006.5.167

In the Hopi culture, the term Katsina (Katsinam, plural), also Kachina, is only used in reference to spirit beings. The Hopi term for the carved wooden figures that represent the Katsinam is Katsina tihu (tithu, plural). Georgia O'Keeffe created paintings of Hopi katsina dolls (tithu) between 1931 and 1942. These religious figures were highly visible and available to non-Hopi and non-Pueblo people during this time, but the museum has no record regarding why she painted or drew these figures nor where she saw them. ^ ^A slender kachina figure stands in a desert landscape with barren hills and a blue sky. The kachina wears white pants and a green shirt. A large feather protrudes from the top of his head.
DETAILS

Catalogue Raisonné Number

1015

Provenance

Estate of the artist, 1986 Georgia O'Keeffe 1986 Abiquiu/New Mexico

Exhibition History

1942 New York (An American Place), no. 5, as A Man From the Desert
1997 Santa Fe (O'Keeffe) Inaugural
2007 Santa Fe (O'Keeffe) Permanent Collection (Living Artists: Sherrie Levine)
2013 Santa Fe (O'Keeffe) Katsina; all venues
CREDITS & RIGHTS

© Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Gift


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INFORMATION

Source System ID

1015