DRAWING WITH CASEIN FRAMED, BEATIEN YAZZ, NAVAHO.  BOBCATS. ORIGINAL, c.1938. AMERICAN.

Original drawing, framed size 11 inches x 8 inches. Simple pine frame.  

Ink drawing accented with white and beige casein paint. 

This charming drawing shows a rare subject, two bobcat kittens playing while learning to hunt birds.  

Signed lower right,  “ Beatien ”.

Drawn while a young boy, c.1938 to 1940.

Provenance;  Presentation inscription on back with reference to his illustrations in the book Spin a Silver Dollar  by Alberta Hannum.

A copy of this book is included with the sale of this drawing.

Beatien Yazz (born March 5, 1928), also called Jimmy Toddy, was a Navaho American painter born near Wide Ruins, Arizona.  He exhibited his work around the world and is known for his paintings of animals and people and for his children's book illustrations. Some of his works have been in the permanent collection of institutions including the Smithsonian America Art Museum, the Museum of New Mexico and the Southwest Museum of the American Indian. 

Yazz was born to Joe and Desbah Toddy on theNavaho reservation near Wide Ruins, Arizona.  He often went by his English-language name, Jimmy Toddy, as well as by variations of Bea Etin Yazz (means "Little No Shirt" in Navaho). As a young child, he colored with crayons and enjoyed making art. His talent was recognized by Bill and Sallie Lippencott, who ran the Wide Ruins Trading Post.  He exhibited for the first time at age 10, with his work shown at a museum in Springfield, Illinois.

 Yazz painted subjects familiar to him in a flat, colorful style with minimal backgrounds. He often used casein paint to accent his ink drawings. 

Yazz earned acclaim with collectors by the 1950s.  Author Alberta Hannum wrote two popular books about his life that included illustrations by Yazz.  Spin a Silver Dollar  told of his early life meeting the Lippencotts, and its sequel Paint the Wind continued Yazz's story as a young adult. 

He died in 2012.