VERSO
Titled and dated

Hopi Snake Dance, Walpi Pueblo, Arizona is included in the Eanger Irving Couse Catalogue Raisonné as number 1269 and is housed in an original Newcomb-Macklin frame designed by Couse.

On Couse and the Snake Dance, Virginia Couse Leavitt noted, “Couse was familiar with Charles Lummis’s recent book, Some Strange Corners of Our Country, which included a chapter about the Snake Dance. He learned from this that the remote location of the Hopi villages … had helped the Indians to ‘retain almost entirely their wonderful customs of before the conquest.’

“At that time, the Snake Dance was performed in alternate years at five of the seven Hopi villages. Couse witnessed and photographed the event at both Walpi and Mishongnovi.

“This ceremony is an elaborate prayer for rain. Snakes, which are held sacred by the Hopis and considered their elder brothers, are sent as messengers to the Water God. The dance is still performed at some Hopi villages today, although no longer at Walpi. Much of the ritual, which lasts for nine days, takes place secretly within the kivas, or ceremonial chambers, and cannot be viewed by the public. On the ninth day, however, the Couses joined the large group of visitors, including Navajos, Apaches, other Hopis, and a few Anglos, who gathered at sunset to view the public dance.”

PROVENANCE
The artist
Kibbey W. Couse, Taos, New Mexico, 1972
Private collection, California, acquired directly from the above
Present owner, by descent

EXHIBITED
Portland Art Association Exhibition, Portland Art Association, Portland, Oregon, 1904
Carnegie International Exhibition, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1923
A Retrospective Exhibit, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1936
A Retrospective Showing of Paintings by E. Irving Couse, Panhandle Plains Museum, Canyon, Texas, 1967
Palm Springs Museum of Art, Palm Springs, California, 1989-93
Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, Georgia, 1997-2023 (long-term loan)

LITERATURE
Portland Art Association Exhibition, Portland Art Association, 1904, listed
A Retrospective Showing of Paintings by E. Irving Couse, Panhandle Plains Museum, 1967, listed
Nicholas Woloshuk, E. Irving Couse: 1866-1936, Santa Fe Village Art Museum, 1976, p. 40, illustrated

Additional Resources

• Absentee & Phone Bid Form
• Eanger Irving Couse’s Past Results
• View Condition Report

Condition ReportSurface is in excellent condition. Faint vertical bar mark on left side. Small spots of inpainting in corners, at edges of frame.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders and reflect educated opinions, not facts. All painting frames are sold “as is.” The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions.