Back of 1953 Navajo Scout painting - Courtesy of Mark Rosacker
- 1953 The Navajo Scout – Courtesy of Mark Rosacker
During our research we were constantly being surprised by people who came up with information that either confirmed our guesses, or totally disproved our assumptions and set us out on a new trail of clues.
Take for instance the unusual picture of a Navajo man who painted beautiful pictures while he was in the hospital.
One clue that confirmed what we had been hearing,was an e-mail from a woman who said that her father had been a doctor at the Indian Hospital at Santa Fe and had treated Quincy Tahoma. When I contacted the retired doctor by phone, he told me about Tahoma’s problems with alcohol and the kind of treatment that patients got at that time. The time was the mid 1950′s.
He liked Tahoma, but knew that he had a tendency to spend any money he had on alcohol. Nevertheless, when Tahoma said that he would like to have a radio (we had been told that he liked music) the doctor gave him one, thinking that was not cash, and since Tahoma really wanted it, he would not sell it. Wrong. As soon as he left the hospital, he sold the radio and used the cash to go “partying” as he and his friends called their drinking binges. The doctor was disappointed. Not only in Tahoma, but also in himself for being mislead.
This doctor told me what the hospital was like and how well-liked Tahoma was by the staff and the other patients. Tahoma could never be long without his paints, and as soon as he was able to, he would start painting–even in the hospital. Although most of the alcoholic patients that showed up were suffering from secondary problems–injuries from fights and falls–Quincy Tahoma never had the broken bones and bruises. He was a gentle soul, the doctor said, and apparently avoided fights.
And information about the hospital stays came in two other unexpected ways, as well. When I was visiting the school librarian at the Santa Fe Indian School, a man who worked as a custodian there overheard our conversation and said “I knew Quincy Tahoma.” It was almost spooky that in this school, nearly 70 years after Tahoma was a student there, I would hear someone say that.
It turned out that the man was hospitalized as a child, and remembered the adult Quincy Tahoma painting pictures in the hospital. Quincy made quite an impression on everybody he met.
The final piece of information that confirmed the hospital stay and using the hospital as an art studio, came when Mark Rosacker turned over one of the Tahoma paintings he had bought, There he saw that beside the signature on the back it said “Santa Fe Indian Hospital.”
Do you look at the back of paintings you own to see if you can find clues to the artist’s life?
Love the painting! Yes, I always turn over old paintings and often find interesting clues.
(My husband brought home a painting from the dump. It was signed, so I did some research and realized it was worth $500.)
.-= Alexandra´s last blog ..Innkeeper Visits: Home Sweet ‘Om B&B =-.
What a great idea to blog about the book and the process in kind of a real-time effort. I think this will be a great resource, not only for readers and writers but for students of various ages. Nice job.
.-= The Writer’s [Inner] Journey´s last blog ..The 5-Question [Author] Interview: Dennis Danziger =-.
I love to look at old paintings and think about the history behind both the artist and where the paintings have been. You must find such interesting things in your research. Thanks for sharing.
Sheryl: Yes, we have found a lot of interesting things,and we hope to share many, many of those discoveries here.