Louie Ewing's "Navajo Blankets" Portfolio
The WPA prints portfolio, originally conceived of by Russell Vernon Hunter (WPA New Mexico Director) and Kenneth Chapman (Curator of the Laboratory of Anthropology), was carried out as a joint project of the New Mexico Art Program of the Work Projects Administration (WPA) and the Laboratory of Anthropology. The “Navajo Blankets” portfolio grew from an idea to produce serigraph prints using actual textiles from museum collections. It was felt that by producing silkscreen images of early Navajo blankets (woven between 1840 and 1910) and then distributing that product to distant schools and libraries that valuable knowledge and appreciation on Navajo textiles would be developed.
The numbers under the descriptions (for instance L.A. #10/407) indicates the 1942 accession numbers and institutional ownership of the textiles from two institutions the Laboratory of Anthropology, in Santa Fe, New Mexico (noted by L.A.) and the Indian Art Fund, Santa Fe, New Mexico (noted by I.A.F).
(NOTE: The average image size of the silkscreens was about 22 x 16 inches (558 x 406 mm). Sheet size was pretty constant at 26 x 20 inches (660 x 507 mm.)
The numbers under the descriptions (for instance L.A. #10/407) indicates the 1942 accession numbers and institutional ownership of the textiles from two institutions the Laboratory of Anthropology, in Santa Fe, New Mexico (noted by L.A.) and the Indian Art Fund, Santa Fe, New Mexico (noted by I.A.F).
(NOTE: The average image size of the silkscreens was about 22 x 16 inches (558 x 406 mm). Sheet size was pretty constant at 26 x 20 inches (660 x 507 mm.)