William Robinson Leigh, (1866-1955)

The Sand Painter 25 x 30 1/2in framed 34 x 39in

The Sand Painter
signed and dated '© W.R. Leigh. 1951.' (lower left), signed again and titled (on the stretcher bars)
oil on canvas
25 x 30 1/2in
framed 34 x 39in
Painted in 1951.

Provenance
J.N. Bartfield Galleries, New York, New York.
The John F. Eulich Collection of American Western Art, Dallas, Texas.
Sale, Sotheby's, New York, American Art, May 19, 2004, lot 208.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Exhibited
Salt Lake City, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Bierstadt to Warhol: American Indians in the West, February 15 – August 11, 2013.

William Robinson Leigh was born shortly after the Civil War to an aristocratic but impoverished family in West Virginia. Leigh developed a passion for art at a young age, and with the encouragement of his mother, began art training at the Maryland Institute in Baltimore in 1880. After three years, he went abroad to further his artistic education at the Royal Academy in Munich, Germany. While training in Europe under the tutelage of Ludwig Loefftz, Leigh's exposure to the Old Master's while studying in Europe would prove invaluable to his career later on. After 12 years in Munich, Leigh returned to the United States to set up his studio in New York. While quite technically skilled, Leigh struggled to maintain financial stability and took on jobs as an illustrator for Scribner's and Collier's Weekly Magazine to make ends meet.

Leigh's first trip to the Southwest took place in 1906, as he made a deal with the Santa Fe Railroad to execute a painting of the Grand Canyon, in exchange for free transportation. The success of the painting he produced on this trip sparked subsequent commissions and travel, taking Leigh throughout Arizona and New Mexico, as well as the Dakotas and Wyoming. In 1912, Leigh befriended John "Don" Lorenzo Hubbell, the owner of several trading posts on and near the Navajo and Hopi Reservations. As Hubbell built his businesses in the region, he worked with and advocated on behalf of the Navajo. Hubbell was a great friend to the Navajo people and was invited to participate in traditions and celebrations that were closed off to most outsiders. Through his relationship with Hubbell, Leigh was able to witness the tribal rituals and became bound to the people and their celebration of the land. This deep connection with the Indigenous people of the Southwest gives Leigh's pieces a profound poignancy and depth. Leigh's ability to masterfully and empathetically render his subjects earned him the nickname of the "Sagebrush Rembrandt".

In the present work, we can see the depth and intimacy with which Leigh was allowed to bear witness to one of the most sacred traditions of the Navajo. The purpose of sand painting was to heal someone who is ill. There are few photographs of authentic sand paintings and outsiders are seldom allowed inside to witness the sacred ceremony. To create these images, the medicine man would carefully and accurately allow naturally colored sand to flow through their fingers while chanting to the Yeibicheii, or the Holy People, to become a part of the painting and help heal the patient. After the painting was completed, it would be checked for order and symmetry, as the painting was to represent the harmony the patient wished to attain in their life and it is believed that the more accurate the painting, the more effective it would be at healing the patient. Following inspection, the patient would sit on the painting, which acted as a conduit to allow the Yeibicheii to absorb the illness from the afflicted. After the ceremony, the painting is considered toxic, as it has taken in the illness, and must be destroyed. Because of the sanctity of the ritual, sand paintings must be created, used, and demolished within a window of 12 hours.

Within the present work, we can see the medicine man delicately pour sand from between his thumb, pointer, and middle fingers, engrossed in the creation of the spiritual vessel and seemingly unaware of the viewer. The design appears nearly complete, as he is adding the borders to the edges of the painting and the viewer can clearly see several elements of the sand composition. The bowls and pots of gypsum, sandstone, indigo, and ochre colored sand surround him on the floor of the hogan, so he will not need to reach far and risk damaging the painting. His hair has been tied back with a vermillion kerchief and the silver on his concho belt reflects the light coming in from the doorway. The patient is noticeably absent from the composition and the artist has intentionally left the area beyond the medicine man blank, to focus the eye of the viewer on the lone figure in the foreground and the sole object of his attention, the sand painting.