Pictorial weaving has always been a favorite style of weaving in our family. Our father had a great collection; he and Mark Winter included several pictorials when compiling the Durango Collection, which is now housed at the Center for Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College.
My thought is that pictorials deserve a special place among Navajo weaving categories. As most people are aware, it was the traders who encouraged weavers to develop particular styles to market them. Mr. Hubbell at Ganado preferred red, grey, black, and white patterns. Davis and Bloomfield at Two Grey Hills and Toadlena preferred natural wool colors in geometric patterns. Sallie Wagner Lippencott at Wide Ruins preferred striped weavings colored with vegetal dyes.
Not every trader got involved in helping with the designs, but most of those who succeeded in marketing them did.
But pictorials were different. Early on, it was unusual for a weaver to treat her loom like an easel and "draw" a picture with yarn. There were, and still are, not many weavers who specialize in pictorial weavings. Early pictorial works were more like Grandma Moses' folk art, featuring simple designs with little depth of perspective. However, as time passed, they became more detailed and increasingly unique to the artist.
This trend in weaving was the product of the weavers. Sure, traders and dealers had to buy them to make it work, but it started with the weavers stepping out of the box and creating a new trail for others to follow.
I love them all, from the older styles with simple designs to the complex ones with a modern art look. The ones with Pepsi trucks and trains, as well as those that feature Navajo life as it was, all have their charms. And a lot of them are just fun!
