Pictorial Textile Collection

While the first known Navajo pictorial weavings date from the 1860s, the art form, like much of Navajo weaving, experienced a radical shift with the arrival of the railroad to the Southwest, and with it access to both Germantown wools as well as brightly colored aniline dyes.

We are pleased to present the J. Peter Segall collection, which situates itself at this cultural crossroads and extends until the middle of the twentieth century. Representing more than forty years of focused collecting, the Segall collection does not pretend to be comprehensive in its scope, but rather was guided by a deep appreciation of a true Native American folk art.