Object Details
Artist
Kenneth M. Adams, born Topeka, KS 1897-died Albuquerque, NM 1966
Luce Center Label
Kenneth Adams painted his portraits of Pueblo Indians from life. In Taos Indian Woman, his sitter stares off into space, as if her mind wandered far from the studio. Adams draped her in a Pendleton blanket that many viewers might have mistaken for an authentic Indian textile. These blankets copied Native American designs, and Pendleton Mills shipped them from Oregon to the Southwest to be exchanged for wool, silver jewelry, and other handcrafted items. American Indians wove fewer textiles as they acquired more Pendleton blankets through trading, and unsuspecting East Coast tourists collected the blankets as souvenirs of the Wild West.
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Arvin Gottlieb
Date
ca. 1920-1930
Object number
1993.48.1
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
25 5/8 x 21 3/8 in. (65.1 x 54.3 cm.)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor, 32B
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 4th Floor
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Figure female\waist length
Indian\Taos Pueblo
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1993.48.1