The Santa Fe Indian Market announced this year’s Best of Show, Best of Classification, and Special Award winners in a variety of categories. Since 1922, Santa Fe Indian Market, the world’s largest and most prestigious Native North American art market, has awarded Best of Show winners to the nation’s exceptional Indigenous artists in a variety of juried categories.
Over 60 judges, experts in various mediums, reviewed and critiqued this year’s entries and determined the winners. The announcement of the Best of Show, Best of Class, and Special Award winners was made public at the Best of Show Ceremony in mid-August in Santa Fe.
The 2023 Best of Classification winners are:
Class I: Jewelry
Lyndon Tsosie (Navajo)
“Untitled” silver sea turtle pendant with movable flippers
4½ x 3 inches
Sterling stamped silver, inlay: coral, turquoise, lapis, Boulder opal, hand-fabricated
Class II: Pottery (Best of Show)
Jennifer Tafoya (Santa Clara Pueblo)
“Caught by Surprise” etched black pot with dinosaurs
4¼ x 4¼ inches
Hand-dug Santa Clara Clay, coil method, stone polished, etched and then painted with hand-dug natural clay paint
Class III: Painting, Drawing, Graphics & Photography
Dan HorseChief (Pawnee/Cherokee)
“Judgement Day Manifest, The Greasy Grass 1976 Keough’s Stand” painting
24 x 36 inches
Water-based oil on canvas
Class IV: Wooden Pueblo Figurative Carving & Sculpture
Arthur Holmes Jr. (Hopi)
“Talavi Morning Katsina”
18½ x 9½ inches
Root of cottonwood tree, fine wood burner, knives, and oil paint
Class V: Sculpture
Ryan Benally (Navajo)
“Dreamscapes of Love” 3-dimensional sculpture.
5 feet 8 inches x 22 feet 12 inches
Calcite onyx, black Indian granite, hand-carved stone, electric and hand tools
Class VI: Textiles
TahNibaa Naataanii (Navajo)
“Autumn Rose Carnival” shawl and purse Navajo weaving created using two sheds
16½ x 62 inches
Sheep wool with 26 aniline acid dyes in different colors
Class VII: Diverse Arts
Victoria G. Adams (Southern Cheyenne/ Arapaho)
“Sundance on Muddy Creek” tripod with glass containers, diverse artwork/sculpture
64 x 36 x 32 inches
Copper, Deerskin, American Indian-head pennies, dating from 1878 to 1910; glass, steel chain, wrought-iron, wood, acrylic paint, cotton fabric, sweet grass, snake root, Big Medicine, bee balm, sweet pine, sage, yellow ochre pigment, red ochre pigment, Ammonite fossils, sterling silver, mother-of-pearl beads, photographs, Edward Sheriff Curtis photo gravures
Class VIII: Beadwork & Quillwork
Jackie Larson Bread (Blackfeet)
“We Are Fierce” Blackfeet horse mask
18 x 15 x 23 inches
Wool, seed beads, brass beads and bells, wood, plexiglass, satin, lane stitch, applique stitch, and edge stitch
Class IX: Youth (Artists aged 17 and under)
Aydrian Day (HoChunk/Anishinaabe/Lakota)
“Father’s Love (Ate Iyocicila)” Lakota-style cradleboard
24 x 9 inches
Size 11 true-cut sterling silver beads, 24-karat beads, smoked hide, brass sequins, pine, and cotton
Class XI: Basketry
Carol Emarthle Douglas (Northern Arapaho-Seminole)
“Skywoman Watches” coiled waxed linen basket
7 x 9½ x 9½ inches
Waxed linen, thread, hemp, beads
2023 Special Award Winners
Excellence in traditional Hopi carvings: Shawn Deel
Excellence in lapidary: Benson Manygoats
Excellence in contemporary Hopi carvings: Arthur Holmes Jr.
Raw materials: Dominque Toya
Traditional Pottery Award: Delores Juanico
Mark Tahbo Memorial Award: Garrett Maho
Tony Da’ Memorial Award: Virgil Ortiz
Make Me Smile Youth Award: Aydrian Day
Margaret Tafoya Memorial Award: Chris Youngblood
Sarafina Tafoya Memorial Award: Sharon Naranjo-Garcia
Mela Youngblood Memorial Award: Chris Youngblood
Oqwa Pi Memorial Award for Excellence in Traditional Pueblo Painting: Rosie Yellowhair
Anita Da’ Memorial Award to Encourage the Work of a Young Potter: Xavian Suazo
IAIA Alumni Award: Terran Last Gun
The Native American Art Magazine Award of Excellence: Jason Garcia
 wins Best of Show at the Santa Fe Indian Market 2023 Awards Luncheon.){kind=link}