Tonita Peña
| Tonita Peña | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Native name | Quah Ah |
| Born | May 10, 1893 San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico |
| Died | September 9, 1949 Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico |
| Resting place | Cochiti Pueblo Cemetery, Cochiti Pueblo, Sandoval County, New Mexico |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | American Indian painting, Pueblo art |
| Style | pen and ink with watercolor on paper, murals |
| Movement | San Ildefonso Self-Taught Group |
| Patron(s) | Edgar Lee Hewett |
Tonita Peña (born May 10, 1893 in San Ildefonso - death September 9, 1949 in Santo Domingo Pueblo) born as Quah Ah (meaning white coral beads) but also used the name Tonita Vigil Peña and María Antonia Tonita Peña. Peña was a renowned Pueblo artist, specializing in pen and ink on paper embellished with watercolor. She was a well-known and influential Native American artist and art teacher of the early 1920s and 1930s.
Tonita Peña was the daughter of Ascensión Vigil Peña and Natividad Peña of San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico but at age 12, her mother and younger sister died, as a results of complications due to the flu. Her father was unable to care for her and she was taken to Cochití Pueblo and was brought up by her aunt, Martina Vigil Montoya, a prominent Cochití Pueblo potter. Tonita married four times and had six children. Peña's first marriage was at the age of 15, arranged by village elders to Juan Chavez. She had two sons, who were raised by their Aunt while Peña finished school. In 1913 Peña has a second arranged marriage to fine art painter Joe Hilario Herrera who died in a mining accident, followed by Epitacio Arquero, whom she married in 1922.
In the 1930s Peña was an instructor at the Santa Fe Indian School and at the Albuquerque Indian School and the only woman painter of the San Ildefonso Self-Taught Group, which included such noted artists as Alfonso Roybal, Julian Martinez, Abel Sánchez, Crecencio Martinez, and Encarnación Peña. As children, these artists attended San Ildefonso day school which was part of the institution of the Dawes Act of 1887, designed to indoctrinate and assimilate Native American children into mainstream American society.
Edgar Lee Hewett, an anthropologist involved in supervising the nearby Frijoles Canyon excavations (now Bandelier National Monument) was instrumental in developing the careers of several San Ildefonso “self taught” artists including Tonita Peña. Hewett purchased Peña’s paintings for the Museum of New Mexico and supplied her with quality paint and paper.
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