Artwork of the Week: September 23, 2024
A young Pueblo girl sits in a courtyard, holding a basket of rose petals and surrounded by flowers. At first glance this painting appears unfinished, with only certain features—such as the subject’s face, blue shawl, and basket—left defined. As our eye follows her downcast gaze, the composition devolves into abstraction: brushstrokes broaden, pigments separate, forms obscure.
Despite its impromptu sketch-like quality, Nicolai Fechin (1881–1955) often took anywhere between two weeks to a month to complete a single work like this one.* Developed in full during his time working in the Taos Art Colony between 1927-1933, Fechin’s artistic style balanced technical proficiency with modern experimentation. For example, his understanding of human expression is evident in the defined faces and nuanced poses of his subjects, while his love of abstraction is evident in his use of palette knives or fingers in lieu of brushes shape their ambiguous surroundings.
In his quest to elevate the status of portraiture in the art world, the artist strove to capture the dignity, character, and humanity of his subjects rather than portray a photographic likeness. Like many artists living in Taos, Fechin developed a fascination with—and affinity for—Indigenous figures. Pueblo tribe members, like this young woman, often sat long hours while he completed their portraits. The finished product was always worth the wait.
*Mary N. Balcomb, Nicolai Fechin (Flagstaff: Northland Press, 1975), 74.
