Sammy Myerson Navajo Sand Painting — Tree of Life, Shadow Box, Framed

The Tree of Life / Corn Pollen Chant is one of the most complete healing compositions in the Navajo sandpainting tradition — a cosmological diagram in which every element carries a specific ceremonial function. Myerson inscribed the verso in his own hand: "Tree of Life / Navajo traditional / Sandpainting and the healing in many different ways." He is not describing subject matter. He is describing purpose.

This piece also demonstrates the technical innovation Myerson is specifically known for: the copper-sand border framing the central corn plant is built within the sandpainting itself rather than using a separate mat board, creating a true shadow box effect from sand alone. It is a more demanding way to work, and it results in a more unified, fully realized composition.

The central Cornstalk — one of the four sacred plants of the Navajo people, used in wedding and healing ceremonies — rises the full height of the inner panel. The fanned Talking God figures flank both the upper and lower registers, the Four Sacred Mountains appear under a night sky with crescent moon at the crown, and layered ceremonial stripe registers in turquoise, sienna, black, and ochre mark each cosmological zone. The Rainbow Bars at the base serve as protection bars for the sandpainting. Birds and foliage populate the outer panels throughout. Every register has a name and a role within the Corn Pollen Chant ceremony this image is drawn from. Acquired from Bien Mur Indian Market Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, July 2008 at a retail price of $800.

Professionally framed without glass in a wood bead-rail frame, double-matted in cream with incised geometric step and arrow motifs in rust.

CONDITION

Excellent. Sand surface is intact with strong color retention throughout; no losses, lifting, or remarkable damage observed.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall (Framed): 34.5" × 18.5"
• Visible Image: 23.5" × 7.5"
• Medium: Sand painting, shadow box technique, professionally framed, double-matted, no glass
• Title: Tree of Life (inscribed verso by artist)
• Artist: Sammy Myerson (Navajo)
• Provenance: Bien Mur Indian Market Center, Albuquerque, NM, July 2008
• Original Retail: $800
• Signature: Verso, artist's hand, with title and inscription
• Frame: Wood bead-rail frame, cream double mat with incised geometric step and arrow motifs in rust

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Sammy Myerson is a Navajo sandpainter from Shiprock, New Mexico, in the Four Corners area of the Navajo Reservation. He comes from one of the most accomplished sandpainting families in the tradition. His father, Cecil Myerson — a 1982 New Mexico State Fair winner — was his teacher and primary influence. His mother Jean was also a practiced sandpainter. His brothers Orlando and Frederic are likewise recognized artists in the medium. Sandpainting is the family's living tradition across three generations.

Myerson works in the traditional ceremonial mode — intricate, finely balanced, and rooted in the iconographic vocabulary of Navajo healing ceremony — while pushing the technical boundaries of the form. His shadow box technique, in which the mat work is created entirely within the sandpainting itself rather than applied separately, is recognized as a significant innovation in the medium. He is considered one of the foremost practitioners of traditional Navajo sandpainting working today.