November 14, 2010

• So.........Heather and I went shopping on Friday to the local thrift stores.  What fun!    It doesn't take much money to make some people happy!  At the last thriftstore I picked up this painting that caught my eye.  It was literally thrown in a pile of junk and just part of it was peeking out.  It obviously was calling my name....and for some reason it reminded me of my childhood.  Of course the fact that I grew up on the Navajo reservation could have been part of it since the painting  is of two Navajo guys on donkeys.  They are hunting rabbits and on the back of this painting is printed "Rabbit Hunt."    When I got to the front with my purchases I started talking to the cashier and pointed out how much I loved this painting, and how sad I was that it had a couple of tears on it and the top left hand corner was dirty.  The price on the back was $1.00.  I felt it was definitely worth the price even with the tear.  I would hang it in my southwestern guest room.  I also told the cashier (who was very friendly) that I would "google" the painter's name, Arthur C. Begay, Sr.  I had a feeling this painter had other art work "out there."  And sure enough, I came home and this is what I found out about the artist from a website called Savvy Collector.

  About The Artist

  (Born 1932 - 2010) Navajo) Arthur C. Begay, Sr. attended Phoenix High School, after which he received his art training from the Famous Artist's School. An electrician as well as an artist, his paintings have been exhibited at Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonials in Gallup, New Mexico; at the Lawrence Indian Arts Show in Kansas; at the Navajo Tribal Fair and Rodeo in Window Rock, Arizona and at the famed Philbrook Art Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

  Begay's paintings are included in the collections of the Heritage Center Collection in Pine Ridge, South Dakota and at the Amerind Foundation in Dragoon, Arizona. His paintings have been receiving awards at the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonials in Gallup since 1986. He is listed in Patrick Lester's book The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters as well as Jeanne Snodgrass' book American Indian Painters: A Biographical Directory.

  The icing on the cake was when I went to pay the cashier for the painting, she gave it to me free, because as she said.............".it's in such poor condition, what with the rips and such."    So, here's to a great day...........perusing  dirty stores and enjoying thrifty shopping!..................( I must say too, that my dumb camera, which is literally on its "last legs", if a camera can be on its last legs! hasn't done this painting justice, even with the rips and all!).

  • 12:32 pm
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