Historical Objects

Dealers of historic Native American and tribal art gather in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this August for an art walk and sale.

SANTA FE, NM

Visiting Santa Fe, New Mexico, in August is on the bucket lists of many collectors and enthusiasts of Native American art. This year, Santa Fe might look a little bit different due to the pandemic, but a group of gallerists and art dealers from around the nation have come together to bring robust and diverse offerings of historic Native American and tribal artwork to the public—social distance style.

On April 28, James Compton of James Compton Gallery in Santa Fe began discussions with other dealers—Julie Kokin-Miller of Sherwoods Spirit of America, Brant Mackley of the Brant Mackley Gallery and Ted and Anna Trotta-Bono of Trotta-Bono Gallery— on how to bring commerce to the city and, more specifically, their galleries. Thus Santa Fe – August 2020, a five-day invitational art walk and sale featuring around 50 dealers, was born. “Even in the midst of the COVID-19 virus, I felt that Santa Fe was going to come alive this summer, especially later this summer, and that I wanted to be ready to accommodate that need,” says Compton. “Our galleries sell historic, or antique, tribal and Native American art. This is our specialty and others all around the country and world come here to Santa Fe to find such material.”