"Indian Village" by F. Schafer

(1839-1927)Native American village painting by F. Schafer; 30" x 60". Unframed. In script "F. Schafer" in artist's block letter hand and on verso "Indian Village in Arizona/relined." Said to have been inscribed "Indian Village, Arizona" before lining. A southwest desert scene with a flat horizon. Two women in brightly colored Native dress, one seated on a donkey, are talking in the center of the picture in front of a small village of shelters and sheds made mostly of sticks. Several other figures barely discernible within the village. Drying racks surround several of the shelters, and a tripod rack stands beside the nearest one. The desert is sprinkled with Saguaro and barrel cacti and sagebrush. Perhaps someone commissioned a painting of Arizona Indians, so the artist painted a local encampment and added the appearance of the Sonoran Desert.