Tag: Charles Strausenback

Strausenback as Artist, Part I: Original Art

This blog is adapted from Chapter 7: “Trader as Artist” in our book Garden of the Gods Trading Post. This series of three blogs not only expands on the information in our book, but also reproduces the artwork in color since the book was printed in black-and-white.

One of the least known aspects of the life of Charles Strausenback—founder of Garden of the Gods Trading Post—is his career as an artist. Largely self-taught, he began making art as a youth by carving souvenirs from gypsum found in a rock formation in Garden of the Gods park (see previous blog A Unique Souvenir: Gypsum Carvings Made at Garden of the Gods).

In his early twenties Strausenback began to draw and paint on paper and canvas; the earliest known paintings date from 1914 and depict cowboys and Western scenes.

One of the earliest pieces of artwork by Charles Strausenback, signed “C.E.S. 1914,” is a watercolor painting depicting a cowboy on a horse in a western landscape. (Private collection)
Two early oil paintings by Charles Strausenback. (Private collection)

In the 1920s Strausenback made paintings of two buildings that he was associated with, the first was Curt Goerke’s “The Indian” trading post and the other was his own trading post constructed in 1929; both paintings were used as advertising postcards.

This painting of “The Indian” was created by Charles Strausenback in 1924, copied from the drawing made by the architect T. Charles Gaastra. (courtesy Garden of the Gods Trading Post)
Charles Strausenback made a painting of his new Pueblo-themed trading post which was used on postcards advertising “Strausenback’s Trading Post,” published 1929. Strausenback took artistic license and situated the Trading Post where “The Indian” once stood. (Author’s collection)

His subject matter gradually turned to scenes from Garden of the Gods, Native American themes and portraits and landscapes of the Southwest. Painting and artwork consumed much of Strausenback’s time during the 1930s. 

By the 1930s, Strausenback’s subject matter focused on Garden of the Gods, evidenced by this oil painting of the Gateway Rocks, Cathedral Spires, and Three Graces. (Private collection)

Before 1935 he studied briefly under Boardman Robinson, then director and instructor at the Broadmoor Art Academy, later becoming director of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center in 1936. Robinson introduced Strausenback to the modernist movement, and he began using opaque watercolors to make angular representational paintings of landscapes and Pueblo Indian designs.

The three above opaque watercolor paintings are Strausenback’s modern renditions of, top to bottom,, the Gateway Rocks in Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak with Zuni Pueblo heartline deer in the foreground, and an unknown building. (Private collection)
Paintings of recognizable American settings, such as Strausenback’s Monument Valley, encompassed the regional movement by modernists in the 1930s.

Beginning about 1934 much of Strausenback’s artwork was signed with the pseudonym Charley Earnesta, derived from his first and middle names Charles Ernest. 

He also painted under the names Charley Yazza (for Navajo themed work) and Tong Say Ontya (or Tohn Say Ontay) for Pueblo themes. It is unknown why he used different names for some of his artwork, but it has been speculated that he was trying to distance himself from his German ancestry considering events transpiring in Europe at the time. 

Strausenback’s only solo exhibition occurred in 1936 when his modern canvases were displayed in the Chappell House, then the home of the Indian collection of the Denver Art Museum. A critique of the show by art museum director Donald Bear was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette January 8, 1936, under the title, “Strausenback Wins Renown as Artist.” In his assessment, Bear wrote:

Something quite original in picture-making claims our attention when viewing the present show of opaque watercolors by Charley Earnesta now on view at Chappell House. These are neither pictures in the ordinary sense of the word, nor formal designs, having attributes of both. They are picture-designs, suggested by the art of the American Indian, by their painting, their rug designs and Kachina dolls.

   Earnesta, who originated this particular idiom, takes first the natural motif and reworks his material with Indian pattern designs which make the picture. He very wisely insists that these pictures have no symbolic meaning. Because of the gaiety and, likewise, because of their geometry and color, we imagine them as staged sets or as frescoes suited for a simple, functional architecture.

   Mr. Earnesta was born in Mexico, is familiar with the art of the Mayan, as well as that of the American Indian, and the native arts and crafts of the southwest. This is an exhibition that we can enjoy because the work not only fulfils its intention, but is also amusing and not without charm.

Strausenback was fascinated with Pueblo Indian designs and painting techniques. Many of his paintings, and even his company logo, are reminiscent of Awa Tsireh’s artwork, if not direct copies. This 1935 opaque watercolor painting, signed Charley Ernesta, incorporates Pueblo bird and butterfly designs. (Private collection)
Referring to the painting above, entitled West Colorado Avenue, depicting a busy street in Manitou with Pikes Peak looming over the scene, Denver Art Museum director Donald Bear wrote in 1936, “These pictures are most entertaining when there is an obvious connection between the natural motif and its formalization. We refer to the patterning of the posteriors of streamlined motors…”. Strausenback also showed this painting at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Twenty-First Annual Exhibition. (Private collection)

While Strausenback exhibited his modern paintings at area art shows in an attempt to gain attention as an artist, he continued to work in oils and standard watercolor media. Watercolors made in 1936 and 1937, when Charles and Esther began to spend their winters in Phoenix, Arizona, depict scenes of the Arizona desert, saguaros, the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix, and San Xavier del Bac Mission near Tucson. These paintings show a mature artist working in a variety of styles. Oils paintings of this time depicted New Mexico adobes, and landscapes of the Garden of the Gods.

Two watercolor paintings of scenes from Arizona, saguaros in the Phoenix area, and San Xaxier del Bar Mission in Tucson. (Authors collection)
Oil Painting dated 1937 depicting a New Mexico adobe dwelling. (Private collection)

Strausenback stopped making art by 1940 as no known examples of his work are dated later than 1939. 

The following series of images show the sequence of Strausenback’s artwork and print making. The process started with a photograph of Awa Tsireh (San Ildefonso Pueblo) taken by Strausenback, who then made a pencil drawing in 1939 from the photograph. From the pencil drawing a lithograph was produced. 

The photograph on left was taken by Charles Strausenback while Awa Tsireh worked with him at the Trading Post in the 1930s and was the basis for the center pencil sketch made in 1939. The drawing was later the basis for an oil painting and lithographs. (Left and center courtesy Garden of the Gods Trading Post)

Strausenback as Artist, Part II: Lithographs and Etchings

This blog is adapted from Chapter 7: “Trader as Artist” in our book Garden of the Gods Trading Post. This series of three blogs not only expands on the information in our book, but also reproduces the artwork in color since the book was printed in black-and-white.

Charles Strausenback, founder of Garden of the Gods Trading Post, had been painting and drawing from a young age. But in the summer of 1938 he began working in a new medium, and produced a series of limited-edition lithographs and etchings over the next two years. The decision to make prints over original artwork was likely driven by economics; whereas his paintings sold for about $35 each, lithos could be sold for the more appealing price of $7.50 for small prints up to $12.50 for the largest. 

The lithographs were produced in editions ranging from twenty prints per image to editions as large as fifty impressions. Landscapes from Garden of the Gods were frequent subjects of Strausenback’s artwork.

This print titled Gateway and Pikes Peak was Charles Strausenback’s first lithograph. On the bottom of the artist’s proof he noted in pencil, “1st Litho I ever made Aug 1938.” (Courtesy Private Collection)
Litho number 3 depicts Cathedral Spires in Garden of the Gods.
Charles Strausenback’s fourth litho subject was Balanced Rock, made in 1938. A self-taught artist, he frequently copied his subjects from photographs and postcards, as was the case with this view. 

It’s tempting to speculate Strausenback had his lithographs inked and pulled by Out West Printing and Stationary Company, as they were the only company listed under the “Lithographing” section of the 1938 Colorado Springs city directory. But none of the prints have yet provided a source for the printer.

The lithographs encompass a series of forty-five unique illustrations, depicting scenes from the Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak and scenic venues around Colorado Springs, also landscapes of Arizona including Grand Canyon, Monument Valley and the Superstition Mountains, as well as New Mexico adobes, and even San Juan Capistrano Mission in California. 

Strausenback depicted the Grand Canyon, as viewed from the South Rim, in two different styles in the lithographs above and below. This print, number 10 titled Grand Canyon shows a traditional view of the canyon. 
This print is number 15, also titled Grand Canyon, and is Strausenback’s modern rendition with simplistic flat mesa tops and the Colorado River flowing like a ribbon through the middle of the scene. Both prints were made in 1938.
Number S-40, Adobes, depicts a New Mexico scene in sepia tone and was produced in a series of 30 prints.

In 1936 the Strausenbacks began spending winter months in Phoenix, Arizona, and desert landscapes became a subject of Charles’s artwork. Many desert scenes were depicted in his lithos, actually surpassing the Colorado scenes in quantity, these were sold from the Strausenback Indian Silver Shops in Phoenix. 

Litho number S-45 is a sepia toned print depicting the Superstition Mountains, on the outskirts of Phoenix, under a night sky.
These lithos were printed two-up on the same piece of paper and were never separated. On the left is number 20, titled Yucca, on the right is number 21 Saguaro.

Additionally, Strausenback made portraits of the Navajo and Pueblo Indians who worked for him; Awa Tsireh, Severo Tafoya, and Porfilia Tafoya were among his subjects.

Number S-25, Ca-Ping in sepia tone.
Number 14, titled Monument Valley depicts the Arizona landscape as a modern design. 

To accommodate the tourist market accustomed to purchasing postcard souvenirs of their visits to Garden of the Gods, Charles Strausenback produced a series of five scratchboard prints of scenes from the Pikes Peak region that sold at budget prices. Approximately postcard-sized, these prints were not signed by Strausenback and were printed in editions of 100. 

A series of five scratchboard postcard-sized prints, numbers 34 Gateway, 35 Garden of the Gods, 36 Pikes Peak, 37 Balanced Rock, and 39 Will Roger’s Shrine were not hand signed but were titled and numbered in pencil.

Cowboy themes used in his very first paintings reemerged in Strausenback’s art as he made prints of a speeding stagecoach, cowboys on bucking broncs, and western towns. 

Number 38, Soapy Williams Rides Firefly was copied from a popular postcard entitled “Soapy Williams on Glass Eye.”
Number 45A, titled Out West “Before the Gay 90’s” is the only color lithograph Charles Strausenback ever created. The sign on the train station appears to read “Espanola”, a town close to Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico.

Along with the lithographs Strausenback also experimented with copper plate etchings, and a small series were made with subjects such as Navajos and Plains Indians, Garden of the Gods, and the mountains near Phoenix. 

This etching, titled Navajos, depicts two men in traditional dress. The subjects are placed in a spatial void in the style typical of American Indian easel art of the early 20th century. 

Each lithograph or etching was originally accompanied by a small green-colored paper certificate with the title of the print and the size of the edition hand written in pencil by Strausenback. Few of these have survived to the present.

These lithographs and etchings provide evidence that Strausenback was a talented, if underrated, artist, not just an astute businessman.

Strausenback’s lithos were numbered in the image in the order that they were created. The series number and a capital S for Strausenback were drawn into the image, typically in the bottom right corner, hidden among the elements of the subject matter. The etchings were not identified in the same fashion. The lithos were typically hand signed in the following fashion:

Title of the illustration in the bottom left corner, this print is “Awa Tsireh” San Ildefonso Pueblo.
In the middle is the number of the litho followed by the size of the edition. In this instance 14/S-20 indicates the print is number 14 of an edition of 20 sepia toned prints.
The bottom right corner of series S-26 “Awa Tsireh,” San Ildefonso Pueblo in sepia tone showing the capital S for Strausenback and series number 26 inscribed into the image above his signature.

Below is a chart of the series number, title and edition size of Charles Strausenback’s prints as known at present. One print, Mount Holy Cross, Colo has not yet had its series number recorded.

Series NoTitleEdition Size
1Gateway and Pikes Peak25
2South Cheyenne Canyon
3Cathedral Spires25
4Balanced Rock25
5Superstition Mountains30
6If This Isn’t Pike’s Peak30
7
8
9Pikes Peak from Woodland Park30
10Grand Canyon50
11San Juan Capistrano50
12Mountain Valley25
13San Xavier Mission – Ariz.50
14Monument Valley, Ariz25
15Grand Canyon30
16Painted Desert, Arizona30
17
18Superstition Mountain- Ariz.50
19Santiago Naranjo50
20Yucca50
21Saguaro50
22Camelback Mountain Ariz50
23
24
25“Ca-Ping” Pueblo Indian
S-25“Ca-Ping” Pueblo Indian, sepia20
26“Awa Tsireh” San Ildefonso Pueblo50
S-26“Awa Tsireh” San Ildefonso Pueblo, sepia20
27Pottery Seller50
28“O-See-Thune” Pueblo woman 108 years old50
29Gertrude Silver, Navajo Princess50
30Corn Dance50
31Gateway & Pikes Peak40
S-31Gateway & Pikes Peak, Sepia30
32Balanced Rock40
S-32Balanced Rock, sepia30
33Out West “Before The Gay 90’s”30
34Gateway, scratchboard100
35Garden of Gods, scratchboard100
36Pike’s Peak, scratchboard100
37Balanced Rock, scratchboard100
38Soapy Williams Rides Firefly50
39Will Roger’s Shrine, scratchboard100
40Adobes20
S-40Adobes, sepia30
41Wind Harps, Timberline
S-42In Before Dark, sepia35
43Out West “Before The Gay ’90’s”
44Desert Sunset40
S-45Superstition Mountains at Night, sepia30
45AOut West “Before The Gay ’90’s”, color31
unknownMt. Holy Cross, Colo
Superstition Mt, Ariz, etching40
Navajos, etching35
Buffalo Hunt, etching35
Camel Back Mt Ariz, etching35
Gateway, miniature, etching

Strausenback As Artist, Part III: Trading Post Murals

This blog is adapted from Chapter 6: “A Lifetime in the Garden” in our book Garden of the Gods Trading Post. This series of three blogs not only expands on the information in our book, but also reproduces the artwork in color since the book was printed in black-and-white.

When Garden of the Gods Trading Post opened in 1929 Charles Strausenback’s skills as an artist were put to good use. He painted a large version of his company logo on the porch façade. 

Left, hand tinted postcard showing the porch of the Trading Post in 1929. Right, original artwork sent to the US Copyright Office in 1926 of a Tewa Thunderbird attacking a rattlesnake painted by Charles Strausenback, adapted from a painting by Awa Tsireh. The copyright was granted and this logo was used for Strausenback’s business Garden of the Gods Curio Company and later for the Trading Post. Courtesy Garden of the Gods Trading Post.

He also painted murals on the exterior porch walls depicting Navajo, Hopi, Zuni and Rio Grande Pueblo figures. 

Garden of the Gods Trading Post photographed by the authors in 2019 showing the murals painted on the porch walls.

These murals were copied from other artist’s work, for example the mural painted by the left side door of a Pueblo woman emerging from a kiva is a copy of a painting by San Ildefonso artist Awa Tsireh, now in the collection of the Firestone Library at Princeton University, https://graphicarts.princeton.edu/2015/08/30/awa-tsireh-1898-1955/.

Additionally the Zuni Shalako figure painted between two windows was copied from a 1900 painting by Mary Wright Gill reproduced in the 23rd Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology 1901-1902. 

The other murals depict a Navajo sandpainting of Yei figures, and a Hopi sunface kachina. 

These murals are signed Tong Say Ontya 1929. Evidence suggests this was a name used infrequently by Charles Strausenback on his artwork.

More proof of the use of this pseudonym by Strausenback is this opaque watercolor painting of a Pueblo corn dance signed “Tong Say Ontya 1933.” Below the painted signature is Strausenback’s name and 1933 written in pencil. 

Pueblo Corn Dance painting signed “Tong Say Ontya 1933” and also signed in pencil “Strausenback 1933.” (Private Collection)

The painting style is consistent with Strausenback’s as indicated by the below lithograph entitled Corn Dance made by Strausenback in 1939. The litho is nearly identical to the 1933 painting, except for the added background, to indicate they were made by the same artist.

Strausenback’s talent was also utilized on the fireplace constructed in the interior of the trading post. Tiles designed by Awa Tsireh, and made from commercial clay at a factory in Denver were inlaid in the surface and Strausenback painted Navajo Yei figures and a Pueblo cloud design on the front.

A Unique Souvenir: Gypsum Carvings Made at Garden of the Gods

From the beginning of Garden of the Gods, a recreational area in Colorado Springs that became a city park in 1909, entrepreneurs found ways to profit from the park. Semi-permanent refreshment stands popped up near the Gateway Rocks and itinerant curio dealers set up tripod stands or tents to sell souvenirs. 

Gateway to Garden of the Gods with White Rock in view.
White Rock is the first large formation encountered when entering Garden of the Gods from the eastern entrance.

A unique form of souvenir evolved from the natural rock formations in the Garden of the Gods. As early as 1879 gypsum, a soft white stone, was mined from the formation called White Rock. A variety of artists carved the gypsum into pocket-sized figures, including books, crosses, and tree stump toothpick holders, as well as larger carved animal figures. The phrase “Garden of the Gods” was carved into the soft stone while the date of purchase was added later.  

Three gypsum tree stump toothpick holders made by unknown carvers.
Tree stump toothpick or match stick holders, possibly carved by the same artist as the lettering is consistent, all upper case with distinctive letters, especially the G, E and D, on each. Each piece was dated when it was purchased, from left to right, July 30, 1913, 1906 and May 10, 1914.
Three gypsum books made by unknown carvers.
Books were also popular souvenirs carved from gypsum, possibly representing bibles. These could have been carved by two different artists. The left, dated June 18, 1908, and the right Sept 1, 1908 have the same lettering style. The middle one dated 1912 appears to be by a different carver.
Gypsum bear and Billiken souvenir carvings.
On the bottom of the bear carving is the date Apr 13, 1913. The Billiken figure has “GOOD LUCK” carved across his feet and is dated Oct 25, 1910 on the bottom.

No one knows exactly when the practice started, but one carver that has been identified is Alva Weeks, who sold gypsum souvenirs in the park between 1904 and 1911. See Poppa and the Petrified Indian, written in 1973 by John Thomas included on a website hosted by Patricia Hennessy Weeks. The “petrified Indian” that Alva Weeks is said to have carved is likely not the one that was on display until 1979 at Garden of the Gods Trading Post. 

A ten-year old Charles Strausenback sells his gypsum carvings from a tripod stand.
Charles Strausenback as a ten-year old boy proudly selling his gypsum carvings from a tripod stand in Garden of the Gods. Courtesy Garden of the Gods Trading Post. 

Beginning at just ten years of age in 1900 Charles Strausenback spent his summers painting western designs on rock slabs and carving figures from gypsum that he found in the area of the Garden of the Gods. These he sold from a tripod stand at the side of the carriage road leading through Gateway rocks.  

1909 Charles Strausenback sells his gypsum carvings by a wood kiosk.
By 1909 Strausenback had progressed from a tripod stand with a few carvings to a larger display. He sits, wearing a boater hat, near Gateway Rocks with his carvings for sale, to the left of a wood kiosk. Courtesy Garden of the Gods Trading Post.
About 1912 Strausenback sells his gypsum carvings from a stand next to a building on the east side of Gateway Rocks.
About 1912 Strausenback moved his sales stand next to a building on the east side of the Gateway Rocks. He may have rented space from Charles H. Wyman, who managed a curio shop outside the park. This location marks the first appearance of the iconic sign, “Free See the Petrified Body Inside” which became an integral part of Strausenback’s business. Courtesy Garden of the Gods Trading Post.
1917 wood building where Charles Strausenback operated his business Garden of the Gods Curio Company.
In 1917 Charles Strausenback leased a wood building east of the Gateway Rocks where in 1912 he had previously had his sales stand at the side of the building. Here Strausenback likely operated his curio business for the first time from a permanent structure.
The Hidden Inn on opening day July 1, 1915.
The newly completed Hidden Inn in Garden of the Gods park, seen here on opening day, July 1, 1915, was a three-story structure. A curio store was on the first floor, a tea room and dance hall on the second floor, and an observatory on the third floor.

Upon the opening of the Hidden Inn in the Garden of The Gods in 1915, Strausenback became associated with concessionaire Carl Balcomb and was given a corner of the curio room to display and sell his gypsum carvings. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette on July 11, 1915, 

Associated with Mr. Balcomb in the concession of the inn is Charles E. Strausenback, sculptor, who has charge of the gypsum departments. He has been a resident of the Garden of the Gods each year since 1900 and has spent practically all his summers there since he was a mere boy. His art objects are carved from material found near the gateway rocks and are much in demand by tourists. 

Gypsum book carved by Charles Strausenback dated July 1915.
Gypsum carved souvenir book by Charles Strausenback, was intended to be sold during July 1915, the month the Hidden Inn opened. Note Charles’ use of upper and lower case letters in his carvings.
Charles Strausenback in 1915.
Charles Strausenback in 1915 at the time Hidden Inn opened. Courtesy Garden of the Gods Trading Post.
Strausenback's gypsum carvings on display in Garden of the Gods Trading Post June 2019.
An unfinished buffalo carving, some scrap gypsum pieces, a tree stump and two books by Charles Strausenback were on display at Garden of the Gods Trading Post in June 2019.
Two gypsum souvenirs carved by Charles Strausenback, note his use of upper and lower case letters.
Two gypsum souvenirs carved by Charles Strausenback, note his use of upper and lower case letters.

One of the main attractions for Strausenback’s curio businesses was a “petrified Indian” that was heavily advertised on store signage and business cards. Various signs on a number of tourist attractions that Strausenback was associated with (as early as 1913) proclaimed either, “Free See the Petrified Body Inside” or, “Free See the Petrified Indian Inside.”  

Charles Strausenback likely carved his “Petrified Indian.”
Charles Strausenback likely carved his “Petrified Indian.”

A number of curio stores in the Manitou and Colorado Springs area advertised petrified Indians on display (as disrespectful to American Indians as that is, it was not considered to be so at the time), and it appears there were three or four different versions. One was “Princess Moonbeam” who was displayed at the Totem Pole curio shop on Beckers Lane. But, according to the current owners of Garden of the Gods Trading Post, the one Strausenback displayed was not a mummified corpse at all, but a rock carved statue, with a breach cloth covering the private area, which probably was carved by Strausenback himself. It was small, about the size of a baby, and was on display until 1979 when Esther Strausenback, the widow of Charles, retired. 

The foregoing was derived from our book Garden of the Gods Trading Post. 

Published September 8, 2019.

He Wants to be Called William Goodluck

Cover of Garden of the Gods Trading Post.

The cover of our newest release, Garden of the Gods Trading Post, shows Navajo silversmith William Goodluck and members of his family sitting on the porch of the Trading Post in 1929. The cover utilizes about half of the original postcard as seen in the below image.

Entire image of postcard of William Goodluck and family on the porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post that was partiallt used on the cover of the book.
Left to right, William Goodluck, son Herbert, daughter Charlotte behind a baby in a cradle board, wife Yekanasbah and daughter Elizabeth.

Goodluck came to work for Charles Strausenback during the time Charles managed “The Indian” trading post. The earliest confirmation of his employment is provided by a postcard postmarked July 16, 1927:

William Goodluck postcard 1927.
This souvenir postcard shows William Goodluck, identified by his Navajo name Host-Nat-Woty, standing near “The Indian” trading post. Mailed July 16, 1927, the sender wrote to Lelah May Hathaway, a former teacher at Carlisle Indian School, “We stopped this morning at the Garden of the Gods and there I met Wm. Goodluck who was once your pupil. He is a silversmith (Navajo). He was quite delighted to see me and told me he had been in your schoolroom. He gave me this picture to send you.”

Providing a clue to the type of jewelry Goodluck may have made while working at “The Indian” could be what he chose to wear while being photographed for the postcard above. The close-up below shows Goodluck’s arm and hand. Note the top bracelet, half hidden by his sleeve, is similar in construction to the top bracelet with the teardrop turquoise setting in the second image below.

Close up of jewelry on the arm of William Goodluck.
A close-up view of jewelry on William Goodluck’s arm in the postcard above.
Jewelry made at "The Indian" trading post 1924-1929.
These six silver bracelets were made between 1924 and 1929 at “The Indian” trading post by the Native American silversmiths who worked for Charles Strausenback. The bracelets are hallmarked SOLID SILVER HAND MADE AT THE “INDIAN” GARDEN OF THE GODS-COLO. The top bracelet is similar in design to one that William Goodluck wore in the photo above, so it is likely that he made that piece.

Beginning in the 1920s, William Goodluck and his family traveled to the Pikes Peak region to work during the summer months. Goodluck demonstrated silversmithing and his wife, Yekanasbah, worked as the resident Navajo rug weaver.

William Goodluck and family inside "The Indian" trading post.
This photograph was taken inside “The Indian” trading post, where Goodluck is shown working silver while his wife, Yekanasbah, weaves at her loom and their children spin and card the wool.

Goodluck continued his employment with Strausenback in 1929 when Charles opened his own Trading Post on the southern edge of Garden of the Gods park.

The porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post 1929, Porfilia and Severo Tafoya (Santa Clara Pueblo) are far left, Hosteen Goodluck sits on the porch, William Goodluck sits at a stump, with his wife and children near him.
The porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post 1929, Porfilia and Severo Tafoya (Santa Clara Pueblo) are far left, Hosteen Goodluck sits on the porch, William Goodluck sits at a stump, with his wife and children near him.

According to a Colorado Springs Gazette article dated June, 9, 1929, “Indians Transplanted to Garden of the Gods in Strausenback’s New Trading Post,”

Four adult Navajos, a Navajo baby in its carriage and a family of Santa Claras are living at the Trading Post in Indian fashion. There are two hogans where the Indians live. In the Trading Post they weave blankets, work in silver and with the Indian’s choice gem, the turquoise. Heading the redskin delegation is old Hosteen and his son, Bill Goodluck. Hosteen is one of the old types of Indian silver workers, distaining modern bench conveniences for the methods of his forefathers. Hosteen and his son were in a party of Navajos at the Buffalo Exposition [in 1901] when President McKinley, a few hours before he was the victim of an assassin, stopped to talk to the Indians. Asking them their name he caught the Navajos phrase as “good luck” and the family adopted the name thereafter.

Hand tinted postcard of William Goodluck and family at Cheyenne Lodge 1930.
Strausenback sometimes brought William Goodluck, Yekanasbah and family to work at the Cheyenne Lodge where Strausenback managed the curio shop in 1930.

Strausenback took a number of souvenir photographs of the Goodluck family, while they were at “The Indian” trading post and then again shortly after Garden of the Gods Trading Post opened in 1929. Goodluck continued to work for Strausenback into the 1930s.

William Goodluck and two of his children on the porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post in 1935.
Photo of William Goodluck at the anvil on the porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post published in the Denver Post June 16, 1935. Courtesy Garden of the Gods Trading Post.

Hoske Nal Wooty was born about 1891 around Lupton, Arizona. He attended the Navajo Training School at Ft. Defiance from 1905-1908 and then in 1909 was enrolled at Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania by his mother, Mrs. Good Luck. After enrollment it was noted in his student records that he “wants to be called Wm. Goodluck,” and Superintendent Friedman agreed he should be called by that name. His student records for the years 1909-1912 can be accessed at the Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center. By 1920 he added the middle name Patrick and became known as William Patrick Goodluck in official documents.

While attending Carlisle, Goodluck apprenticed as a carpenter and between terms participated in the Summer Outing Program, where jobs and boarding in local homes or businesses was arranged for students allowing them to learn labor or farm skills and interact with the white world. From 1909-1910 he worked for Amos Krusen of Newtown, Pennsylvania and from 1910-1911 he worked for Joseph P. Canby of Hulmeville.

Under the employment of Canby it was noted, “Haski seems to be well pleased with his country home. He said he did not care if he returned to Carlisle in the fall or remained out.” On July 5, 1912 it was reported that, “He is a good earnest faithful worker. He has had experience living on good farms, also in the carpenter shop. Under the proper supervision he would make a good helper to a carpenter.” But he was to follow in his famous father’s footsteps.

Though he likely learned to work silver from his father Hosteen Goodluck, the first mention of William working as a silversmith is in the Carlisle records where on February 4, 1914 it was reported that he was working at that trade in Manuelito, New Mexico.

Anthropologist John Adair reported in his book The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths that in 1938 the “Goodluck outfit” was situated near Lupton, Arizona and that Billy Goodluck made approximately $1000 working year-round, Adair considered silversmiths of that caliber to be professional. Adair also referred to William as “Billy Goodluck,” as that seems to be the name the reservation traders knew him by, consequently, William has been known as Billy ever since.

Goodluck worked silver for many decades and attained a reputation as a master silversmith, when not in Colorado he worked from his home in Arizona. John D. Kennedy describes William in his book A Good Trade: Three Generations of Life and Trading in and around Gallup, NM:

Billy Goodluck was a fine Navajo silversmith who lived twenty miles west of Gallup, near Lupton, Arizona. He would come to see me in Zuni for piecework. I would give him about 200 ounces of silver and he would return in a few weeks with finished goods. He made fine, large concho belts that were very popular trade items with Navajos, Zunis and reservation traders.

Goodluck registered for the draft on April 21, 1942 at Ft. Defiance, his place of residence was listed as Houck, Arizona, but it appears he never served in the military. In 1958 William Goodluck served as the first president of the newly formed Navajo Chapter at Lupton. He died October 1967 near his home in Lupton.

No confirmed identification hallmark has been recorded for William Goodluck. Though Barton Wright included a drawing of a comb-like hallmark in the Second Edition of Hallmarks of the Southwest, there is currently no evidence that William Goodluck used this or any other personal hallmark. However work he made while employed by Charles Strausenback would be stamped with the shop marks used at “The Indian” (SOLID SILVER HAND MADE AT THE “INDIAN” GARDEN OF THE GODS-COLO) or Garden of the Gods Trading Post (SOLID SILVER HAND MADE BY INDIANS, or the Tewa Thunderbird logo).

A biography of William’s father Hosteen Goodluck can be found at the bottom of the blog To Be (Hosteen) or Not To Be, That is the Question.

Herbert, Elizabeth and Charlotte Goodluck stand outside of "The Indian" trading post.
From left to right, Herbert, Elizabeth and Charlotte—the children of William and Yekanasbah Goodluck—stand outside the ramada where their father made silver at “The Indian” trading post. On the ground are spoons and bracelets in progress and the silversmithing tools that William used. This c. 1925 photograph was taken by Charles Strausenback for his series of advertising postcards.

Originally published on our Goodreads.com blog May 27, 2019.

The Metalwork of Awa Tsireh

Sepia-toned lithograph of Awa Tsireh made by Charles Strausenback ca 1930s.
Sepia-toned lithograph of Awa Tsireh made by Charles Strausenback ca 1930s.

San Ildefonso artist Awa Tsireh (Alfonso Roybal) is best known as an early master of Pueblo painting; but in his lifetime he also gained renown as a silversmith.

Awa Tsireh (pronounced Ah-wah Sid-ee or See-day) was born in 1898 to Juan Estevan and Alfonsita Martinez Roybal; he was the eldest of six children. He drew sketches of dances and animals even before attending San Ildefonso Day School where the teacher provided drawing supplies. He did not continue his education after leaving the day school, and his drawing and painting skills were mostly self-taught; though he also learned from watching his uncle Crescencio Martinez who used watercolors to paint dancers on paper in the mid-1910s for Edgar Lee Hewitt. As a young man Awa Tsireh (Cat-tail Bird) painted the decorations on the pottery his mother made.

Modernist painting of Deer Dancer by Awa Tsireh.
Modernist painting of Deer Dancer by Awa Tsireh.

In the summer of 1917 Santa Fe poet Alice Corbin Henderson was introduced to Awa Tsireh’s paintings and she became his first patron and promoter. Awa Tsireh’s fame grew nationally in the 1920s prompting a successful one-man show in Chicago; he also painted most of the illustrations for the book Tewa Firelight Tales by Ahlee James published in 1927. In 1931 Awa Tsireh joined with other San Ildefonso artists, including Maria Martinez, Tonita Roybal and Abel Sanchez (Oqwa Pi), to exhibit their works at the Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts in New York City.

Awa Tsireh’s paintings of pueblo dancers and mythology, including black-and-white striped clowns (or kossa) and animals like skunks, owls, and turkeys were meticulously and precisely drawn in both realistic and modernistic styles. Animal forms such as skunks, roadrunners, and owls were also favored subjects of his silverwork.

Silver pins made by Awa Tsireh.
Silver pins made by Awa Tsireh .

It is not known when or from whom Awa Tsireh learned silversmithing but by 1931 he was described in a newspaper article as a painter and, “also a mural painter, a silversmith and a dancer.”

Round copper tray by Awa Tsireh.
Round copper tray by Awa Tsireh.

John Adair reported in his 1944 book The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths that Awa Tsireh was only one of three men in San Ildefonso who worked silver, and that he made pieces in his studio for the tourists who visited the pueblo. However, it was at Garden of the Gods Trading Post in Colorado Springs where the majority of his metalwork was made.

Garden of the Gods Trading Post ca 1930s.
Garden of the Gods Trading Post ca 1930s.

Garden of the Gods Trading Post was built in 1929 by Charles E. Strausenback, and is still in operation in the same building on the southern boundary of the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs.

Postcard of Awa Tsireh dressed in Plains attire at Colorado Springs.
Postcard of Awa Tsireh dressed in Plains attire at Colorado Springs.

Awa Tsireh’s association with Garden of the Gods Trading Post had begun by 1930 and continued for at least two decades. His sister Santana Martinez recalled that “during the summer during the thirties and forties he used to go to a shop in Colorado Springs and do his paintings and silverwork there” (Seymour, When the Rainbow Touches Down). He was the most prominent of the many silversmiths who worked at the trading post over the decades; which included Hosteen Goodluck, William Goodluck and David Taliman.

Copper crumb tray in the shape of a cloud made by Awa Tsireh.
Copper crumb tray in the shape of a cloud made by Awa Tsireh.

Awa Tsireh’s metalwork did not go without notice, as in 1938, when the Hutchinson, Kansas News-Herald, while reporting on the impending nuptials of a local couple, exclaimed:

Spell it Awa Tsireh—pronounce it A-Wa Si-dy! Whoever he is, he’s the Indian silversmith responsible for that symbolical silver plate which Elizabeth and Joe, to wed today, will give choice place in their household. Of about luncheon size, the plate center is beaten and etched with a god to watch over them, and filled in about and on the rim with emblems of wisdom, constancy, love and happiness. There is no other plate like it and there won’t be for the famous “Awa Sidy” never duplicates. Of New Mexico originally, he’s now collaborating with Charles E. Strausenback in a museum at the Garden of the Gods. The gorgeous silver bracelets which Elizabeth often wears are his work.

Round aluminum tray with Knifewing figure design by Awa Tsireh.
Round aluminum tray with Knifewing figure design by Awa Tsireh.

He split his efforts between painting and silversmithing during these years and in 1939 was commissioned to paint a mural on the front of the newly erected building to house Maisel’s Indian Trading Post in downtown Albuquerque. The trading post is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Awa Tsireh’s mural of a corn dance is still on view on the building’s facade.

Mural painted by Awa Tsireh on the front of Maisel's Indian Store in Albuquerque.
Mural painted by Awa Tsireh on the front of Maisel’s Indian Store in Albuquerque.

When it came to metalworking, Awa Tsireh worked in many mediums, not only in silver but also copper, nickel silver and aluminum. What has been written about Awa Tsireh’s paintings is also true of his metalwork, he was precise and meticulous and a master artist. His work shows magnificently designed and stamped elements and elegant repoussé work. He helped transform the metalwork made at Garden of the Gods from typical tourist style jewelry—with figural stamps of thunderbirds, arrows and whirling logs popular at the time— into pieces of art, most evident in the trays and pins that he produced.

Spoon, concho pin, matchbook holder, pill box and V for Victory pin all made by Awa Tsireh.
Spoon, concho pin, matchbook holder, pill box and V for Victory pin all made by Awa Tsireh.

Awa Tsireh made a variety of forms during his silversmithing career including bracelets, pins, rings, trays, bowls and concho belts. His work is signed AWA TSIREH and most often with one of the Garden of the Gods shop marks such as SOLID SILVER. Pieces that are only signed with his name, which are rare, were likely made at his studio in San Ildefonso. Items bearing shop marks from the Garden of the Gods Trading Post, but lacking the hallmark for Awa Tsireh, are not of the same quality of work as pieces signed with his name. Consequently, only those pieces bearing his hallmark AWA TSIREH can confidently be credited as his work.

Filed and stamped silver bracelet by Awa Tsireh.
Filed and stamped silver bracelet by Awa Tsireh.

His production of paintings and silverwork slowed after World War II, but Awa Tsireh continued to work. In 1954 he was awarded the French government’s Ordre des Palmes Académiques for “distinguished contributions to education or culture” along with eleven other Indian artists including Ambrose Roanhorse, Maria Martinez, Fred Kabotie, Alan Houser and Pablita Velarde.

Though he traveled fairly often, especially in summer, he always made the village of San Ildefonso his main residence. Awa Tsireh died tragically from exposure on the outskirts of San Ildefonso on March 29, 1955. He was memorialized a few months later by the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe with an exhibit of forty-three examples of his paintings.

Porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post ca 1930s.
Porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post ca 1930s.

The foregoing was derived from our book Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry: Artists, Traders, Guilds, and the Government, and originally published on our Goodreads.com blog June 30, 2016.

To Be (Hosteen), or Not To Be, That is the Question…

Recently the work of Navajo silversmith Hosteen Goodluck was the topic of discussion in one of the online jewelry forums. So, we proudly posted a concho (which has been converted to a belt buckle) that, when it was purchased decades ago, had been attributed to Hosteen Goodluck by trusted associates and knowledgeable dealers of Indian jewelry, including the late Jay Evetts. We were so confident of the attribution that we published the buckle in Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry as that of Hosteen Goodluck.

Concho attributed to Hosteen Goodluck as it appears on page 15 of Reassessing Hallmarks.
Concho attributed to Hosteen Goodluck as it appears on page 15 of Reassessing Hallmarks.

But even before that it was published on page 164 of American Indian Jewelry I: 1,200 Artist Biographies under the listing for Hosteen Goodluck:

Concho above published in American Indian Jewelry I: 1,200 Artist Biographies.

You can imagine our astonishment then when we were bluntly, and embarrassingly, made aware by those who consider themselves experts on Goodluck’s work that the buckle was definitely not made by Hosteen Goodluck. Notably, one dealer who attributed the buckle to Goodluck over 20 years ago now says they find no evidence to support that designation. Which was extremely discouraging.

To understand how our concho suddenly became the work of any other Navajo silversmith except Goodluck, we politely asked what defines Goodluck’s work; what was their source to judge his techniques, his skill, or use of design elements? None of those who proclaimed themselves extremely knowledgeable in Goodluck’s work were forthcoming with evidence why their pieces were by Goodluck, but ours wasn’t. They only pointed to work they attributed to Goodluck asking, “can’t you see the difference?” Truthfully, yes we could see the difference, but struggled with discerning how they were so certain of their conclusions.

So how would the work of Hosteen Goodluck, who died in 1937, be identified when that artist never signed his work or used a hallmark? Who can credibly attest to what Hosteen Goodluck’s silverwork looks like? Attributing silverwork made in the early part of the twentieth century, at a time when silversmith’s names were rarely attached to their work in any meaningful way, is a slippery slope without a hallmark, or some proof to back it up.

Due to the absence of clarification, we decided to do our own homework and went looking for the primary source, provenance, proof, or “smoking gun” that provided the facts for discerning the work of Hosteen Goodluck. We searched for something like a concho belt in a museum collection with solid provenance, or a photo of Goodluck hammering conchos to back up the attributions. There’s not much available online, nor in the books in our library, but we did finally find a primary resource from 1975, and it was right under our noses all along.

Sotheby Parke Bernet 1975 auction catalog for the C.G. Wallace collection of American Indian Art.

Yes, the C.G. Wallace Collection of American Indian Art catalog from the Sotheby Parke Bernet auction conducted in November 1975 has not one, not two, but six illustrated concho belts attributed to Hosteen Goodluck.

Concho belts, numbers 59 and 61, attributed to Hosteen Goodluck by C.G. Wallace in the 1975 auction catalog.
Concho belts, numbers 59 and 61, attributed to Hosteen Goodluck by C.G. Wallace in the 1975 auction catalog.
Numbers 387 and 389, attributed to Hosteen Goodluck by C.G. Wallace in the 1975 auction catalog.
Numbers 387 and 389, attributed to Hosteen Goodluck by C.G. Wallace in the 1975 auction catalog.
Concho belts 548 and 1091 attributed to Hosteen Goodluck by C.G. Wallace in the 1975 auction catalog.
Concho belts 548 and 1091 attributed to Hosteen Goodluck by C.G. Wallace in the 1975 auction catalog.

Now, it’s hard to argue with Wallace’s attributions, afterall, he was there working with the silversmiths from 1919 until 1964 or so. But it’s also difficult not to fault his memory, or record keeping, when some of his attributions in the catalog are now known to be so inaccurate. For example, two of the items attributed to Navajo silversmith Etsitty Tsosie (or Eskiesosie, Wallace’s corruption of the name), bracelet #691 and a “Zuni comb” #1141, were said to have been made in 1943 and 1955 respectively. However, Etsitty Tsosie died in 1937 and his passing made national headlines. This raises the question, are these merely typos in the catalog, or lapses in Wallace’s memory?

Number 691 from the CG Wallace catalog.
Number 1141 from the CG Wallace catalog.
From the Oakland Tribune June 24, 1937.
From the Oakland Tribune June 24, 1937.

To complicate matters, we recently stumbled upon a tidbit of gossip from years ago. We had always heard from old-time collectors of inconsistencies in the catalog’s attributions, but never saw any written confirmation of the rumors. The quote below is from someone who was actively collecting Zuni jewelry in 1975 and acquainted with those involved in the catalog.

Bob Ashton said when he and his wife Sharon did the catalog it took nine painful months because C.G. kept changing his mind on who made what pieces. Ashton said there are a lot of inconsistencies in that catalog.

But we digress.

So what do these six concho belts tell us about the work made by Hosteen Goodluck? If Wallace’s attributions can be trusted, then Goodluck was a silversmith with very diverse skills and techniques, because the design elements are different in each of the six belts. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find commonality in these six examples.

Was Hosteen Goodluck a master silversmith? Undoubtedly, as Ruth Falkenburg Kirk reported that by 1920 Goodluck was recognized as one of “the most expert and best known Indian smiths.”

We remain skeptical how these experts are so confident that they are the only ones who know every style of work, technique, and design element that Goodluck used, especially since they refuse to reveal their research to back-up their claims.

And, by the way, as we see it, concho belt #389 in the Wallace catalog is close enough in construction (at least from what we can see in the photograph) to actually support the earlier attribution that our concho was made by Hosteen Goodluck.

This incident exemplifies why we largely collect only hallmarked metalwork by Native American silversmiths; because a hallmark assures us of the maker of the piece and we am not dependent on some ephemeral attribution from a dealer who may, or may not, have done as much research as we have on the subject.

Hosteen Goodluck

Close up of Hosteen Goodluck on the porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post in 1929.
Close up of Hosteen Goodluck on the porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post in 1929.

Hosteen Goodluck was born, in what was to become the southern part of the Navajo Reservation, about 1865 and died March 26, 1937 according to the U.S. Indian Census Rolls. He was photographed June 6, 1904 at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri where he demonstrated Navajo silversmithing, Navajo Man Good Luck.

arry Frank published this 1904 image in Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest, 1868-1930 on page 28, but was unaware the subject was silversmith Hosteen Goodluck. The silver squash blossom necklace and concho belt he wears in this image serves as excellent proof of his silversmithing skills.
Larry Frank published this 1904 image in Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest, 1868-1930 on page 28, but was unaware the subject was silversmith Hosteen Goodluck. The silver squash blossom necklace and concho belt he wears in this image serves as excellent proof of his silversmithing skills.

Goodluck worked for C. G. Wallace from 1919 to 1932 according to the auction catalog, and Wallace told Dale Stuart King in 1976 (Indian Silverwork, Volume Two), “Hosteen Goodluck was making heavy stamped leaves on bracelets and belt buckles in 1919. I moved Goodluck from Houck, Arizona, to Zuni to do cast work and as die maker.”

In 1929 Goodluck traveled to Colorado Springs to work for Charles Strausenback at Garden of the Gods Trading Post, he joined his son William Goodluck, who had worked for Strausenback in the preceding summers at another nearby trading post. According to a Colorado Springs Gazette article, “Indians Transplanted to Garden of the Gods in Strausenback’s New Trading Post,” dated June, 9, 1929,

Four adult Navajos, a Navajo baby in its carriage and a family of Santa Claras are living at the Trading Post in Indian fashion. There are two hogans where the Indians live. In the Trading Post they weave blankets, work in silver and with the Indian’s choice gem, the turquoise. Heading the redskin delegation is old Hosteen and his son, Bill Goodluck. Hosteen is one of the old types of Indian silver workers, distaining modern bench conveniences for the methods of his forefathers. Hosteen and his son were in a party of Navajos at the Buffalo Exposition [September 1901] when President McKinley, a few hours before he was the victim of an assassin, stopped to talk to the Indians. Asking them their name he caught the Navajos phrase as “good luck” and the family adopted the name thereafter.

Porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post ca. 1929, Porfilia and Severo Tafoya (Santa Clara Pueblo) are far left, Hosteen Goodluck sits on the porch, William Goodluck sits at a stump, with his wife and children around him.
Porch of Garden of the Gods Trading Post ca. 1929, Porfilia and Severo Tafoya (Santa Clara Pueblo) are far left, Hosteen Goodluck sits on the porch, William Goodluck sits at a stump, with his wife and children around him.

Originally published on our Goodreads.com blog December 15, 2018.