Merrill Quannie "Kokopelli's Buffalo Song" — Lithograph 42/65

"Kokopelli's Buffalo Song" is a color lithograph by Acoma Pueblo and Hopi artist Merrill F. Quannie (1955–1997), dated 1989 and issued in an edition of 65. The composition is Quannie's most narratively layered of his 1989 series: a massive circular ring built from interlocking teal and orange triangles — a form rooted in Pueblo geometric tradition — frames a solitary bison standing on a stepped adobe platform at center. Flanking figures animate the foreground: a decorated deer left, a long-necked ceremonial bird right, kokopelli musicians on the ascending pueblo terraces at both margins, and a diminutive kokopelli paired with a ladder at bottom center — a classic Pueblo motif of emergence and passage. A dark moon presides upper left; a radiant star medallion balances upper right. The warm cream ground and bold teal-orange-purple palette give this print exceptional wall presence.

Numbered 42 from the edition of 65, with a personal dedication to Sam Benevento in pencil lower left — the same collection from which the companion print "Mimbres Life" St II originates. Signed lower right by the artist with ©'89 copyright notation. Quannie's work is held in the permanent collections of the Albuquerque Museum and the Philbrook Museum of Art. Presented in a metal frame with cream and black double mat, behind glass.

CONDITION

Very Good. No remarkable damage. Colors register with full saturation across the teal, orange, and purple palette; margins are clean with no foxing, toning, or moisture history. Frame and double mat present without notable wear.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall (Framed): 25.25" W × 31" H × 1" D
• Visible Image: 19" W × 24.5" H
• Medium: Color lithograph on paper
• Edition: 42/65
• Date: 1989
• Artist: Merrill F. Quannie (Acoma Pueblo/Hopi, 1955–1997)
• Title: "Kokopelli's Buffalo Song"
• Dedication: To Sam Benevento (pencil, lower left)
• Signature: Pencil, lower right — Merrill F. Quannie ©'89
• Framed: Yes — metal frame, cream/black double mat, glass
• Collections: Albuquerque Museum; Philbrook Museum of Art

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Merrill F. Quannie (1955–1997) was a Native American artist of Haak'u (Acoma Pueblo) and Hopi Pueblo heritage, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Working primarily in ink drawing and color lithography, he built a sustained body of work around the iconographic traditions of the ancient Mimbres culture and the broader Pueblo world — subjects he rendered with graphic precision that earned institutional recognition during his short career. His work entered the permanent collections of the Albuquerque Museum and the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa. He died in 1997 at the age of forty-two, leaving a small and carefully defined body of prints and drawings that continues to attract Southwest art collectors.