Guardian of the Trail

ClassificationsPaintings-oils

Artist Carl Oscar Borg (Swedish, 1879-1947)

Datec. 1930

Made AtUnited States, North America

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions19 1/2 × 29 1/2 × 1 in. (49.5 × 74.9 × 2.5 cm)
Framed: 27 3/4 × 37 3/4 × 1 3/4 in. (70.5 × 95.9 × 4.4 cm)

Credit LineMartha C. Stevens Memorial Art Collection

Object numberF7710

DescriptionCarl Oscar Borg was interested in documenting the lives of the Hopi and Diné (Navajo) peoples before acculturation disrupted their cultural practices. He painted in Arizona and New Mexico each spring from 1916 to 1932, making "Guardian of the Trail" around 1930. Public fascination with romanticized depictions of Native peoples and California’s rancho era had been growing since the 1884 publication of Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel "Ramona." As rapid development transformed the state, regional collectors eagerly sought artworks that evoked its disappearing past.

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