Ceramics and Textiles from the Southwest

Gifts of the Carley Collection

May 4, 2019 – April 4, 2021

Boise natives Joan H. and John B. Carley spent twenty years wintering in the Southwest. Their love of the region and the various cultures represented there led them to begin collecting art by Native American artists. They eventually amassed a collection of more than sixty-five objects, including ceramics, sculptures, and textiles. In 2016, the Carleys generously gifted their collection to the Boise Art Museum. The collection consists of artworks by Apache, Choctaw, Hopi, Navajo, Pueblo, Tohono O’odham, and Wyandot artists. Highlights include an early twentieth-century jar from the Acoma Pueblo, a series of black vessels by acclaimed San Ildefonso Pueblo artist Maria Martinez, several storyteller figures from Cochiti Pueblo artists, and various intricately patterned Navajo wool rugs.

Organized by the Boise Art Museum

Sponsored by the Carley Family Foundation

 

IMAGE: Nanette Loretto, Jemez Pueblo, Polychrome Jar, late 20th-early 21st century, Natural hand-harvested clay and slip, Gift of Joan H. and John B. Carley, Boise Art Museum Permanent Collection.

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Contemporary Cochiti Potter | Virgil Ortiz

Virgil Ortiz, Standing Opera Singer, natural clay and slip, 15″ x 11″ x 4″, Gift of Joan H. and John B. Carley, Boise Art Museum Permanent Collection.

“Hear My Voice” Artist Profile: Virgil Ortiz
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

At Home Activity

Carley Collection_vessel pattern tutorial graphic

Navajo Rugs

Artist Unknown, Klagetoh Rug

Artist Unknown, Klagetoh Rug (detail), c. 1990, homespun wool with natural colors and aniline-dyed red, 41″ x 52″, Gift of Joan H. and John B. Carley, Boise Art Museum Permanent Collection.

“Hear My Voice” Artist Profile: D.Y. Begay
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

San Ildefonso potters: Maria and Julian Martinez

Maria Martinez and Santana Martinez, Black-on-Black Jar, 1954-1956, naatural hand-harvested clay, reduction fired, 4″ x 5″ diameter, Gift of Joan H. and John B. Carley, Boise Art Museum Permanent Collection.

NMPBS ¡COLORES!: San Ildefonso potters Maria and Julian Martinez
New Mexico PBS

Cochiti Pueblo Storytellers

Ada Suina, Storyteller, n.d., natural clay and slip, 10.5″ x 8.5″ x 9″, Gift of Joan H. and John B. Carley, Boise Art Museum Permanent Collection.

NMPBS ¡COLORES!: Cochiti Pueblo Potter Helen Cordero
New Mexico PBS

Make Your Own Weaving
with a Cardboard Loom!

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