Skip to main content

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Pueblo Life by Velino Herrera
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography
Pueblo Life
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography

Pueblo Life

Year1940
Classification painting
Medium oil on plaster
Credits New Deal Art Program


  • Buffalo Dance - Four men beat drums with a stick in their right upraised hands. Three men in center with elaborate headdresses of fur, buffalo horns, and feathers and full costumes, dance. Figure on left is not facing viewer and shakes a rattle. The middle dancer carries three feathers in each upraised hand. Right dancer holds a bow in his left hand and a rattle in his right. Right side of painting is composed of three dancers who bend over from waist and wear headdresses made from deer/antelope heads and antlers. They hold sticks which they point to the ground.



    Buffalo Chase - Indian with wreath on head rides a rearing horse while carrying a bow and arrow in his left hand and a quiver on his back. Two Indians mounted on horses, one on each side of the composition, chase and shoot buffalo. Man on left, facing the painting, rides a brown horse, carries a quiver on his back, and shoots from his bow. Man on far right rides white horse and carries a long spear. Herd of buffalo form the center of the painting; two animals on left face the viewer and the ones on the right are seen in profile.



    Pueblo Symbols: The Eagle Dance Design - The dancer is formed in a stylized circular manner. He is dressed in a bird costume, with a white headdress adorned with a beak in the center. The "arms" of the dancer appear to be decorated with, or made of, feathers which form the perimeter of the circle in which the figure is inscribed.



    Pueblo Symbols: The Shield Design - The shield is circular and is in the center of the composition. The top half of the circle is inscribed in a stylized serpent; the bottom half contains two footprints and two hand prints. Below the shield is a stalk of corn with the sun behind it. In the bottom right and left are one-quarter moons.



    Pueblo Woman and Child - The mother, facing the viewer's right, carries a papoose on her back.



    Women Making Pottery - Three women are making and decorating pots. In the immediate foreground a horizontal row of five finished pots is just above the wainscot. Behind them are the pottery makers. The woman on the left sits and paints a large pot; the middle woman bends over, either putting down or picking up an undecorated pot. The figure on the right kneels as she shapes a pot.



    Pueblo Girls Carrying Water - Three girls carrying pots over their heads. The figure on the left appears to be closest to the viewer because she is the largest; the middle figure is in the mid-ground, and the third is farthest back. Each girl has her arms to her sides, except the middle girl, who holds the pot with one hand.



    Pueblo Corn Dance – Four dancers and a drummer.