(American/Nisenan Maidu/Hawaii/Portugal, 1946-2006)

Graduation portrait, signed upper right "Fonseca 1.10.77", oil on canvas, 29-7/8 x 24 in.; unframed

Note: Biography from the website of the Autry Museum of the American West

By Amy Scott, Executive Vice President and Marilyn B. and Calvin B. Gross Curator of Visual Arts

Harry Fonseca (Nisenan Maidu, Hawaiian, Portuguese, 1946?2006) was an instrumental force in reshaping Native art with his trademark blend of traditional imagery, contemporary experience, and vibrant color and form. As he used his art to explore both his personal journey and the role of history in shaping Native consciousness in the present, Fonseca sought to expand definitions of Indian art and to shatter the expectations and stereotypes that had long confined it.

Fonseca?s best-known work remains his Coyote series, in which the character of Native legend became a vibrant and dynamic avatar for the artist, venturing ?off-res? to explore the urban environment of San Francisco and a wide variety of performative roles including opera singer, ballet dancer, koshare, and painter. Moving easily from one world to the next, from one role to another, Fonseca?s Coyote was a slippery and adaptable character who spoke to the (often) contradictory expectations placed on Native peoples while confronting some of the stereotypes that they faced.

Provenance: Property sold to benefit the American Folk Art Museum

surface is excellent, minimal glitter loss