National Anthropological Archives

Laurence R. Blair and Mary Ellen Blair photographs relating to Nampeyo and Thomas V. Keam, circa 1915, 1984-1986

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.PhotoLot.87-35
Creators:
Blair, Laurence R. (collector and photographer)
Dates:
circa 1915, 1984-1986
Languages:
Undetermined
.
Physical Description:
5 Copy prints
5 Color prints
4 Color slides
Repository:

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
Photographs relating to Nampeyo and her pottery, and Thomas V. Keam's life. Includes photographs made by Laurence Blair in the church graveyard at Truro, England, where Keam was buried; the house in Truro where he died; and a copy of a portrait, possibly the last made of Keam. The collection also includes images of the birthplace of A. M. Stephen in Edinburgh and his grave in Keams Canyon, Arizona. Two photographs show pottery made by Nampeyo, which is now in the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, and an additional photograph depicts Nampeyo with members of the Polacca family at the Tom Polacca Memorial at Hopi Pueblo. There is also an image of Nampeyo's eldest daughter Annie Lesou Healing with three other women (Rachel Healing Namingha, Priscilla Namingha Shamie, and Lydia Healing).

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Laurence and Mary Ellen Blair were historical researchers and authors. In 1999, they published a book on Nampeyo, entitled The Legacy of a Master Potter: Nampeyo and Her Descendants. The book detailed the life and work of Iris Nampeyo (ca. 1860-1942), a potter who lived at Hopi in Arizona. During the 1870s and 1880s, she sold her work at a local trading post operated by Thomas Keam, an English-born trader who worked with both Hopi and Navajo craftspeople.

Administration

Author
Sarah Ganderup
Custodial History note
Donated by Laurence and Mary Ellen Blair, 1987.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Conditions Governing Use note
Copy prints of photographs held by Royal Cornwall Art Institute and Dartmouth College's Hood Museum of Art cannot be copied. Copies may be obtained from these repositories.
Preferred Citation note
Photo Lot 87-35, Laurence R. Blair and Mary Ellen Blair photographs relating to Nampeyo and Thomas V. Keam, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Location of Other Archival Materials

Location of Other Archival Materials
Photographs of Nampeyo can be found in the National Anthropological Archives in Photo Lot 24, Photo Lot 59, and the BAE historical negatives.
Location of Other Archival Materials
The Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Museum of the American Indian, and Department of Anthropology hold examples of Nampeyo pottery.
Location of Other Archival Materials
The Smithsonian Institution Archives holds correspondence from Thomas Keam regarding his pottery collection (SIA RU000189).
Location of Other Archival Materials
The Peabody Museum at Harvard University and the Cline Library at Northern Arizona University hold photographs and artifacts donated by Keam.

More Information

Local Call Number(s)

Local Call Number(s)
NAA Photo Lot 87-35


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hopi Pueblo Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
England Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hopi Indian Reservation (Ariz.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arizona Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Blair, Mary Ellen Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hood Museum of Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Keam, Thomas V. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nampeyo, ca. 1856-1942 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stephen, Alexander MacGregor, d. 1894 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu