
Ingmars Lindbergs
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Sold for US$3,825 inc. premium
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Born in Bisbee, Arizona, Patrociño Barela's family moved to Taos in 1908. Working from a young age as an itinerant laborer, he began to supplement his income with wood carving during the lean times of the Great Depression. By 1935 his work had come to the attention of Vernon Hunter, head of the New Mexico Federal Art Project (FAP), who invited Barela to carve full-time under the auspices of the agency. Barela attracted critical notice when his carvings were included in an exhibition of WPA artists at the Museum of New Mexico's Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe. In 1936, Time magazine declared him the "discovery of the year" when eight of his wood sculptures were shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as part of an exhibition of WPA sponsored art. Despite this brief national recognition, Barela remained relatively unknown outside of New Mexico. Living outside Taos, Barela continued to sell and barter his sculptures until 1964, when he perished in an early morning fire in his studio, having fallen asleep while carving.
Based in New York City, DeWitt C. Drury ran a gallery in the 1950s and 60s that specialized in Native American artwork. Traveling regularly to the Southwest, DeWitt made the acquaintance of Barela and began collecting his carvings, purportedly making his final purchase just days before Barela's tragic death.
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist