Navajo Tapestry (Tapiz navajo)

Robert Lougheed, American, 1910 - 1982

1974

painting

gouache on paper

Museum purchase with funds provided by Western Art Associates

1974.31

© Phoenix Art Museum. All rights reserved. Photo by Ken Howie.

American and Western American

Yes

North Wing, Second Floor, Western American

The scene portrayed here of a Navajo shepherdess and her flock was the sort of view favored by tourists, who often wanted to view Native Americans as timeless and unchanging. Sheep are culturally and spiritually important to the Navajo, for whom weaving has been important to their economy. But there are Navajo cowboys as well, who participate in annual rodeos held throughout the reservation during the summer (there is a Navajo Nation Rodeo Association, as well as an All Indian Rodeo Association). A bucking bronco arcing into the air eager to rid himself of a rider is an iconic western scene.