Unbounded Creativity: Navajo Transitional Weavings 1880-1900

We welcome the joyous colors of summer to Shiprock Santa Fe with an exhibit of Transitional Period Navajo textiles.

With the arrival of the railroad to the Southwest in 1881, aniline dyes became available to Navajo artists for the first time. This access to colors previously unavailable to weavers precipitated an artistic movement largely unaffected by outside market forces. It was a time period of great change in all aspect of life in the Southwest, and coincided with a shift in weaving away from wearing blankets towards heavier floor rugs.

From wearing blankets to rugs within rugs, this small collection hints at the breadth of style and innovation present during this period of unbounded creativity.