Quincy Tahoma Strikes a Pose for the Photographer

Quincy the movie star? Yes, Quincy Tahoma did star in a movie, sort of. He walks, he paints, he wears jewelry. Artists Simon and Herta Moselsio, from Bennington College, traveled to Santa Fe in 1943 and made short films of the young artist.

In one film clip, Tahoma emerges from a hogan and carefully closes the door. He wears a Navajo rug slung over his shoulder and is weighed down with silver concho belt and heavy silver squash blossom necklace. In the next scene we see the artist seated at a table painting. The table is covered by a rug and he is still wearing all his finery as he paints. No reality prizes for props and costumes for this film!

The short films include brief shots of several paintings, and give the viewer a chance to see the painter in action as he deftly makes a rabbit appear with a few brush strokes. Amerind Foundation in southern Arizona showed two of the three films as part of their 2004 exhibit of Native American master painters. Tahoma’s master work, Going to the Sing, which included more than sixty individual figures, hung beside paintings by Andy Tsihnahjinnie and Harrison Begay and others.  The photo above was given to a girl friend three years after the actual filming of the movie.

We have not been able to find anyone from Bennington who accompanied the Moselsios on that trip in 1943. Might you know someone?  Have you seen the movie? Please share your experience with us.

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