The collection consists of thirty-two (32) paintings made by Klah Tso between 1905 and 1912. Twenty-eight (28) are reproductions of sandpaintings and four (4) depict Diné (Navajo) ceremonies. Klah Tso painted on dyed tan cotton cloth. He used a sharpened stick to apply native pigments and commercial gouache, and a brush to add commercial oils.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arrangement:
The paintings are arranged in the order created by the donor.
Biographical Note:
Klah Tso (also known as Tłʼatsoh, Big Lefthanded, Big Lefthanded Cho) (mid-19th – early 20th century) was a Diné (Navajo) painter who lived near Indian Wells or Tuba City, Arizona.
Historical Note:
Sandpaintings (also known as sand paintings, drypaintings, or iikááh) are used in Diné (Navajo) ceremonials. They are created by a medicine man (Hataałii) by pouring colored sand, crushed dried plants, crushed stone, or other powdered pigments onto the ground. Sandpaintings are symbolic representations of different stories in Diné (Navajo) mythology and are created in conjunction with the performance of certain chants. They may depict objects like the sacred mountains where the gods live, legendary visions, or dances or chants performed in rituals.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 138501
USNM Accession 138501
Publication Note:
The paintings are reproduced in:
Wyman, Leland C. Sandpaintings of the Navaho Shootingway and The Walcott Collection. Contributions to Anthropology, no. 13. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1970.
Conservation Note:
In 1950, all paintings in this collection were sprayed with Krylon plastic as a preservative. In the late 1990s or early 2000s, he paintings underwent conservation treatment to stabilize the pigments and were rehoused in conservation mats.
Variant Titles:
Sandpaintings
The Walcott Collection
Related Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds the following related collections:
MS 3924-A: Notes about the paintings taken by Matthew Stirling and Frank H.H. Roberts from a Diné (Navajo) delegation who visited Washington in 1935.
MS 3924-B and MS 4435: Research notes by Franc J. Newcomb, who was hired by the BAE to work with the Diné (Navajo) in New Mexico in 1938-1939. She was supplied with photographs of the paintings and obtained information regarding them from her informants.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Works of art
Paintings
Citation:
Klah Tso paintings of Diné (Navajo) ceremonial subjects including reproductions of sandpaintings (MS 138501), National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
