Native American Collection
—A Glimpse at Indigenous Arts of the Southwest Region
A.R. Mitchell gathered numerous pieces by Native American artists throughout his lifetime.
He frequently visited reservations across the West and Southwest, engaging in conversations, sketching, and capturing photographs of the people who lived there. Over time, he amassed an extensive collection of pottery and artifacts, and his sister, Ethel Erickson, generously donated the entire collection to the museum after his passing. Mitchell approached his documentation of the differing Indigenous cultures with the eyes of an artist, photographing it from 1910 onward.
Additionally, the collection features Navajo/Diné rugs, textiles, and a wide range of utilitarian implements that Mitchell found profoundly captivating. He utilized beaded moccasins, belts, and other items as reference material for his paintings, with each piece representing the specific tribe he was portraying, rather than Native Americans as a monolith. Mitchell took meticulous notes on many of the objects, describing their purpose, meaning, and significance to the individuals who gifted them to him.
The museum's Native American pottery collection showcases pieces from various tribes, including Tesuque, Santa Clara, San Idelfonso, San Juan, Taos, and others.
