The Barnes Foundation's historic Pueblo and Navajo collections are explored alongside works by contemporary Native American artists This richly illustrated book makes the Barnes Foundation's exceptional collection of Native American art from the Southwest available to the public for the first time. Collector and educator Albert C. Barnes traveled to the U.S. Southwest in 1930 and 1931 and, deeply impressed by the generative art practices he saw there, formed a collection of Pueblo and Navajo pottery, textiles, and jewelry. Water, Wind, Breath illuminates the materials, forms, and designs of the objects as they relate to Pueblo and Navajo histories and ideas. The book blends postcolonial and Indigenous perspectives, introducing readers to living artistic traditions filled with purpose, intention, and a deeply embedded spirituality that connects places, practices, and Native identities. Works by contemporary Native American artists are juxtaposed with historic pieces, illuminating the connections between heritage traditions and modern practices. Distributed for the Barnes Foundation Exhibition Schedule: The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia (February 20-May 15, 2022)

This richly illustrated study of Southwestern Indian jewelry-design history is a must-have for collectors, jewelry designers, and students and scholars of Native American arts. Southwestern Indian jewelry inspires admiration and creativity through its beauty, mastery, and meaning. Delve into this fascinating and creative world with renowned design historian Paula Baxter as she explores the work of Navajo and Pueblo craftspeople in the years following the American Civil War to the end of World War II. During this productive 75-year period, Native American jewelry became increasingly popular in the US and international marketplace. Collected and celebrated as examples of true American artistry, these works continue to be highly desirable and eminently wearable. Through Baxters well-researched yet accessible text and more than 450 color images, readers will come to understand how Navajo and Pueblo silversmiths and jewelry makers exercised shrewd judgment to retain control over their inventive designs. Starting in the 1870s, these artisans interwove tradition, new fabrication methods, and personal vision to create works both for tribal adornment and tourist commodity. From the turn of the century to the 1940s, these designs evolved in harmony with the emerging modernist aesthetic. Native jewelry was winning critical attention and praise, becoming highly desirable products in the national and international marketplace. Follow the development of Navajo and Pueblo jewelry chronologically, from design origins to the pairing of silver and stone to the modernist styles around midcentury. Included are historical timelines, boxed supplemental information, a glossary of key terms, and an extensive bibliography. Written by a recognized authority and the author of such go-to references as Southwest Silver Jewelry and The Encyclopedia of Native American Jewelry, this book is destined to become a classic in the field.