Nacimientos: Nativity Scenes by Southwest Indian Artisans

Nacimientos is the first comprehensive work on a recent phenomenon among America's Southwest Indian artists - the making of Nativity scenes. This universally popular art form first emerged among Indian artists in the late 1950s. Although only two or three artists were engaged in the craft in the early 1960s, the authors discovered that there are now more than three dozen. The book presents more than thirty color reproductions of these charming and unique creations by seventeen artists representing ten pueblos and tribes. Each scene reflects the customs and culture of the artist's own pueblo or tribe. Included are biographies of each artist represented and a list of twenty additional artists. The introduction traces the 2,000-year-old history of the Nativity scene, as well as its recent development among Indian artists. The Director of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe said of this book, "...a timely contribution... It is rare that a movement is documented while it is occurring....". Guy and Doris Monthan, a photographer-writer team, have done many articles on American Indian artists. Two recent books published by Northland Press are: Art and Indian Individualists: The Art of Seventeen Contemporary Southwestern Artists and Craftsmen; and R. C. Gorman: The Lithographs, the complete lithographic works from 1966 to 1978 and a biography of this internationally know artist.