both panels, one in hues of burnt umber and the other in radiant greens. Closer examination of this majestic vista reveals a line of Cherokee exiles depicted in silhouette traversing the bot- tom of the composition. They walk from left to right, ending their journey in a black miasma, representing both the loss of their homeland and their uncertain future. More recently her diptych paintings have
Talking Leaves, 1993. Artist’s book: oil stick, collage on paper, 22" x 24¾" x 1½". Kay WalkingStick Collection, Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives, Heard Museum, Phoenix, Ariz. RC 165(7):1.
Hidden Treasure
Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives I
n preparing the exhibition, Kay WalkingStick: An American Artist, the curators had access to the best resource, the artist herself. But, sec- ond only to the artist is one of the
most substantial archives on Kay Walk- ingStick, the Heard Museum Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives, and its Na- tive American Artists Resource Collection. This repository has been at forefront
of building a Native art history since 1979. Under the stewardship of librar- ian Mary Graham, the library began the extensive task of gathering ephemera from artist cooperatives, traders and indi- vidual artists. To help build this resource Graham and colleague Carol Ruppe from Arizona State University developed an archive of 4,000 artists from Arizona and New Mexico. This information was published in 1985 as the Native Ameri- can Artists Directory, which became the foundation of the Native American Artists Resource Collection. Current Library and Archives director Mario Nick Klimiades has dedicated more
than 25 years to magnifying the status of the collection to nearly 26,000 records of American Indian and Canadian First Nations artists. An online resource offers access to some of the most celebrated artists in the collection, including substan- tial fi les on Harry Fonseca, Fritz Scholder and Nora Naranjo-Morse. (It’s available at
www.heard.org/library/naarc.) WalkingStick, in close collaboration with
Klimiades, has been sending newspaper clippings, correspondence and exhibition ephemera to the archive for years, building several substantial fi les. In addition, Walk- ingStick generously donated to the Library and Archives her only artist book, Talking Leaves (1993), which contains a series of self-portraits and text which humorously chronicle insensitive and ignorant state- ments about her Native identity through- out her career. The book will be part of the exhibition in Washington, D.C. The Billie Jane Baguley Library and
Archives is truly a hidden gem for anyone interested in the history of contemporary Native art.
also evolved into more unifi ed composi- tions. New Mexico Desert (2011), a focus of her retrospective and a recent acquisition by the Museum, is a luminous oil painting on wood panel. Based on the landscape south of Chimayo, N.M., she depicts a dramatic view of soothing desert land beneath a cloud-fi lled sky. The surface is bathed in a morning glow rendered in brilliant golden tones that gives a calming effect. Across the right panel a Navajo textile design fl oats above the landscape and is impressed upon it. The design is not a precise copy; the colors have been altered to bright turquoise and a reddish-brown that refer- ences other Navajo artistic traditions such as jewelry but also makes the colors pop within the composition. The Navajo design indicates what is both
known and unknown, visible and invisible within this land. For most Americans the landscapes or the places we call home are often not recognized as Native places even though there is currently a large population of indigenous people within the United States. WalkingStick celebrates the natural beauty of the environment, as many American artists have, but also makes sure we do not forget that this land has a much deeper story, a history that is often hidden. Kay WalkingStick’s love of the land and
passion for painting has led to a rich and rewarding career. Now 80 years old, she con- tinues to seek knowledge and understanding through her art. She still seeks inspiration from the land, whether traveling in the high desert of New Mexico, driving through the Dolomites of northern Italy or sitting at the side of the Ramapo River. X
Kathleen Ash-Milby (Navajo) is an associate curator at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York, and co-curator, with David Penney, associate director for Museum Scholarship, of Kay WalkingStick: An American Artist. Bradley Pecore (Menominee/Stockbridge-Munsee/Mohican) is Curatorial Resident at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 25
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