Indigenous and Native American Art at Santa Fe Auction

Since its inception over 30 years ago, Santa Fe Art Auction now stands as the oldest, most venerable auction house in the Southwest, positioned in the contemporary Baca Railyard District of Santa Fe--the oldest capital city in the United States and long regarded as the region's largest art hub. With 16,000 square feet of modern open showroom space, Santa Fe Art Auction continues to embrace new technologies and expand its in-house expertise. Facilitating 8-10 auctions throughout the year, each sale highlights specific collecting interests and corresponds with significant cultural events in Santa Fe. The auction house offers a wide range of specialties, spanning from Indigenous and Native American Art to both classic and contemporary Western Art, New Mexico regionalism, and Modern Art, Design, and Photography.

The auction house’s highest volume sale of the year, featuring some 700 lots, Native Market spans a diverse selection of Indigenous art forms and styles. Collectors can find classic to contemporary Native arts including Southwest jewelry and concho belts, classic Diné (Navajo) blankets and rugs, carvings, pottery, basketry, paintings, prints, and so much more. 

Over 250 Pueblo pottery works will be on offer this August, including vessels by Maria + Julian Martinez, Nancy Youngblood, Harrison Begay, Helen Shupla, Lisa Holt + Harlan Reano, Lonnie Vigil, Carmelita Dunlap, and much more. A historic Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan) Blackware Storage Jar, circa 1890, is expected to gain significant attention at auction, with an estimate of 10,000 – 15,000 and provenance from the Tyrone Campbell Collection. Quintessential in its simplicity and attention to surface and form, this jar presents a notable collecting opportunity and provides a rare glimpse into Ohkay Owingeh life at the end of the 19th century. A fine selection of excellent pottery works from the Larry Martine collection will also be presented.

The auction is pleased to present many fine jewelry pieces, including a matching turquoise set in the Needlepoint style by Zuni artist Edith Tsabetsaye, estimated at $2,500 – 4,500. Further selections include works by Charles Loloma, Clarence Lee, Denise Wallace, Cippy Crazy Horse, and Benjamin Becenti.  Approximately fifty historic and contemporary Diné (Navajo) rugs are anticipated to be highlights at auction, including a bold, classic Storm Pattern Rug by weaver Marie Tsosie ($3,000 – 5,000), as well as many textiles from the esteemed Tyrone Campbell Collection.

Collectors also can find exemplary gouaches from Merina [Pop Chalee] Lujan, Tonita Vigil Peña, Gina Brook Knee, Harrison Begay, Fred Beaver, and Archie Blackowl, as well as paintings and works on paper by Fritz Scholder, Darren Vigil Gray, R. C. Gorman, Helen Hardin, Margarete Bagshaw, Virginia Alice Stroud, and John Nieto. 

Santa Fe Art Auction’s unique positioning in the heart of the arts capital of the Southwest allows for programming that corresponds with the city's major arts and cultural events. The house is privileged to present its August sale and provide additional exposure for many artists exhibiting at Santa Fe Art Indian Market. Through their diverse influences and artistic approaches, the works included highlight the vibrant Pueblos of the region, and speak to the remarkable diversity in art forms from Native artists throughout the past 200 years.