Navajo Textiles: The William Randolph Hearst Collection

Rating:
Summary: Add this one to your collection
Review: If you love both Navajo textiles and well-designed art books, this is the best of both. The text provides an educational overview of the history of Navajo weaving from 1650 to 1920, explaining dying techniques, tribal uses for each style and the eventual marketing of them. Blomberg, a curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (or at least she was when the book was first published in 1988), also describes how their weaving was influenced in later years by relocation and the switch from native use to trading company sales. Regardless of how you feel about William Randolph Hearst's collecting style, his quest for traditional pieces at the turn of the century has become part of the history of the weavings and makes for an interesting story. The textiles are the main feature, of course, and they are beautiful. The 200 prints, illustrating pieces from about 1850 to 1890, are of excellent quality and displayed large enough to take a good look at. With only one print per page, each stands out to full effect. Reading this book is a lot like walking through a gallery exhibition; you can start at the beginning knowing next to nothing about the craft, examine the changing patterns and styles (ponchos, child's blankets, chief's blankets, saddle blankets, transitional styles), and come out with a new appreciation of Navajo design. In the absence of such an exhibit, I'm really happy to have this book.