Robert Chee (1938-1971) Navajo, Silkscreen Print. Depicts a Navajo family. Signature bottom right. Informative paper on back. 

Overall: 14 1/2 X 16 1/2 in. 

Sight: 10 X 12 in. 

#3921 . 

Robert Chee was born in St. Michaels, Arizona in 1937. His schooling through the 9th grade was in Brigham City, Utah as well as Bellemont, Arizona, where his skill at painting was evident by the time he was ten. He studied with Allen Houser at the Intermountain Indian School for two years, becoming a member of Tewa Enterprises, a Native American printmaking group, in 1951. He entered the United States Army in 1957, and served in Germany, where he painted murals on the buildings in the base at Mainz. He was permitted to return to the United States in 1959 and 1960 to compete at the Navajo Tribal Fair, where he won first prize both years. When he left the Army for good in 1961 he returned to St. Michaels and resumed painting in earnest, often depicting traditional Navajo life and customs. He began to go by his Navajo name Hashke-Yil-Cale and to write as well, illustrating his own books. Although he is best known for his painting and serigraphy, he also managed to complete an impressive number of illustrations, and worked in weaving as well. Chee's favorite medium to work in was watercolor, and he often used darker-colored paper (typically black or blue papers) as a background. He was known for his distinct flatstyle painting, which was in part a reflection of the earlier "studio-style" of painting taught at Dorothy Dunn's art classes in the Santa Fe Indian School's Studio School. His later work shows the suggestion of a foreground with hills or the sprigs of plants coming from the earth. In 1969, Chee started using lighter colored paper (grey or white papers), which changed the feeling of many of his works. Tragically, he passed away in 1971, just 34 years old, and his work is highly sought after both for his unique quality and the diverse body of art he was able to create in his short but prolific working life. Many of his pieces can be found in public museum collections including the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Museum of Northern Arizona, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, the Arizona State Museum, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, the Penticton Gallery, and the National Museum of the American Indian.