HOPI PAINTER, SILVERSMITH MICHAEL KABOTIE BORN
Born on the Hopi reservation in Arizona, Kabotie lived there until the reservation high school closed. After his junior year at Haskell Indian School in Kansas, he spent the summer with the Southwest Indian Art Project at the University of Arizona (UA). At UA, he studied engineering but left to pursue art, beginning his career in 1966 with a one-man show at the Heard Museum. In 1973, he helped found Artist Hopid–painters who experimented with fresh interpretations of traditional Hopi art. His colorful paintings, reflecting traditional Hopi life in contemporary media, broke new ground. As a silversmith, Kabotie taught Hopi overlay techniques at the Idyllwild Arts summer program and was a key member of the school’s Native American arts faculty. His paintings and jewelry are in museums around the world. Kabotie also lectured in the U.S. and internationally. His father, Fred Kabotie, also was a prominent Hopi artist and jeweler. Michael Kabotie died October 23, 2009, in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Source: Valerie J. Nelson, “Michael Kabotie dies at 67; Hopi artist and jeweler taught at Idyllwild,” Los Angeles Times, 11/15/2009. Retrieved 7/12/2019, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-me-michael-kabotie15-2009nov15-story.html
Photo: National Park Service, 2006. Public Domain. Photograph taken by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.