Tony Da was a grandson of Maria Martinez and the son of Popovi Da.  While he is famous as a potter, his true love was always painting.  He began painting when he was in high school and then his work became more refined when he left the Navy after acquiring the skills of a draftsman.  This painting is one of his from 1957, which would have made him 17 years old.  He made a series of paintings that year and they are very different from his later work and more reminiscent of other well-known painters of the time, as well as the work of his father.  This painting has an archer on a blue horse turned backward firing an arrow into a skin target.  There are mesas in the background and blue birds in the sky.  The style certainly makes one think of Quincy Tahoma with the composition and color.  I think it interesting to think about him as a young artist and what was influential that he saw. The use of perspective and angles was very different from the classic “two-dimensional” style of San Ildefonso’s paintings. This piece was painted with casein, which is an opaque watercolor.  Tony would use casein throughout his career as he created a mastery of combining colors and layering.  Interestingly, I had considered this painting to be included in the “Art and Life of Tony Da” but selected another larger painting from the same year.  The piece is signed in the lower right “Anthony Da”, ’57.  It is in very good condition and archivally framed.

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Da, Tony (1940-2008)

Tony Da

Tony Da was the first Pueblo "rock star." He broke cultural barriers as a "modern Indian," steeped in San Ildefonso Pueblo tradition but living in a contemporary world. A grandson of Maria Martinez and the son of Popovi Da, his precision designs and techniques revolutionized Pueblo pottery and created a new vocabulary for the art. Among the first men to make and design pottery, he introduced sgraffito etching, inlaid stones, and beads, initiated black and sienna colorations, and invented his stylized iconography derived from the ancient Mimbres pottery. Although his career only spanned fifteen years, his work and persona are increasingly relevant. In 2011, Tony Da's pottery and paintings focused on an exhibit entitled; 'Creative Spark, The Life, and Art of Tony Da.' (Museum of Indian Arts and Culture of Santa Fe 2011-2013.) Throughout his career, Tony Da demanded perfection. As a result, he was an innovator in his art, as well as in his life. Tony was known to his family members as a creative perfectionist and as a creative genius. Today, Tony's pottery is considered among the most sought-after by collectors. Charles King and Richard Spivey co-authored a history of his life, and artwork is a testament to his legacy, 'The Life and Art of Tony Da.'  Tony was both an art superstar of his time and a profoundly private individual. This portrayal brings the reader into this noted Potter's innovative and volatile world.

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