Antelope Dance, 1919
B. J. O. Nordfeldt (1878-1955)
oil on canvas
Museum purchase with funds donated by the Archaeological Society and Friends of Southwestern Art, 1920.
B. J. O. Nordfeldt's 1919 painting Antelope Dance synthesizes Post-Impressionist style with ancient Pueblo tradition. Nordfeldt based his composition on Cézanne's paintings of bathers, while simultaneously alluding to Paul Gauguin's Tahitian imagery. The use of repetition, contrasting geometries, and complementary colors heightens the emotion conveyed by Nordfeldt's presentation.
