Angela Tafoya Baca (1927 – 2014) was a Native American artist who was known for her redware and blackware

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

, especially melon bowls and bowls featuring a bear paw design. She had one of the longest careers of the potters in

Santa Clara Pueblo Santa Clara Pueblo (in Tewa: Khaʼpʼoe Ówîngeh ɑ̀ʔp’òː ʔówîŋgè ″Singing Water Village″, also known as ″Village of Wild Roses″ is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States and a federal ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. She was a member of the

Tewa The Tewa are a linguistic group of Pueblo Native Americans who speak the Tewa language and share the Pueblo culture. Their homelands are on or near the Rio Grande in New Mexico north of Santa Fe. They comprise the following communities: * ...

and a resident of Santa Clara Pueblo.

Personal life

Born on November 6, 1927, Angela Tafoya Baca was the daughter of Severa and Cleto Tafoya. Her childhood home, located in the center of the plaza in Santa Clara Pueblo, later became the Merrock Galeria, which was owned and managed by her nephew Paul Speckled Rock. Angela married Jose Antonio "Tony" Baca, who served as

private first class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ) ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He worked for the Zia Company (later Johnson Controls), which provided support services to

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...

Los Alamos, New Mexico Los Alamos is an census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, that is recognized as the development and creation place of the atomic bomb—the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Labora ...

. The couple had 10 children, four of whom (David, Darryl, Leona, and Alvin) became noted Santa Clara Pueblo potters. Angela Baca died on February 16, 2014. She was interred in the

Santa Fe National Cemetery Santa Fe National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the city of Santa Fe, in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. It encompasses , and as of 2021, had 68,000 interments. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it ...

Artistic creations

Angela Baca learned pottery-making techniques from her mother, Severa Tafoya, a well-known potter of Santa Clara Pueblo. According to Angela, her mother made melon bowls with large ridges, and Angela decided to make them with smaller ridges. Her initial work won first prize at the

Santa Fe Indian Market The Santa Fe Indian Market is an annual art market held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on the weekend following the third Thursday in August. The event draws an estimated 150,000 people to the city from around the world. The Southwestern Association for ...

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

, and she decided to focus on melon bowls, both red and black, although her work includes other designs, as well. She is considered to be the matriarch of the melon potters.
photograph of Angela Baca
at the Santa Fe Indian Market in 1991 is available in the

Palace of the Governors The Palace of the Governors ( es, Palacio de los Gobernadores) is an adobe structure built in the Territorial Style of Pueblo architecture on Palace Avenue in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Located within the Santa Fe Historic District along the Santa Fe ...

Photo Archives Collection. Four of her children have carried on their mother's tradition of making melon vessels. Sons Darryl and Alvin Baca craft melon bowls and melon jars; son David "Yellow Mountain" Baca is known for his squash design melon bowls and melon seed pots; daughter Leona Baca primarily makes miniature versions of melon bowls.

Awards

Exhibitions

Additional exhibitions:

Heard Museum The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

;

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

;

Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is a museum devoted to Native American arts. It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was founded in 1937 by Mary Cabot Wheelwright, who came from Boston, and Hastiin Klah, a Navajo singer and medici ...

, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baca, Angela 1927 births 2014 deaths Santa Clara Pueblo people Artists from New Mexico Native American potters 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans