The Dictionary of American Ceramics, 1945 onward
Dictionary of American Ceramics, 1945 onward
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Christine Nofchrissey McHorse
Born 1948 Morenci, Arizona
Died 2021 Santa Fe, New Mexico
EDUCATION
1963 – 1968 The Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico
PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE
Ceramic Potter and Sculptor
BIOGRAPHY
Christine McHorse is best known for hand-built sculptural vessels made of native micaceous clay. Her earliest work was based on traditional Pueblo pottery, which she made for over ten years. In the mid-1990’s, McHorse began to create nontraditional one-of-a-kind vessels and sculptures, often of micaceous clay which fired to satin finished black, some with snake and animal motifs and fired using electric kilns.
McHorse was a Diné (Navajo). She learned her ceramic craft from Lena Archyleta of the Taos Pueblo. According to a 2000 article in Art New Mexico, Christine McHorse considered her parents and siblings as her foremost influences and teachers.
McHorse was an outspoken activist for Native American artists’ self-advocating. “She showed us we could come in on our own terms, with grace and integrity.”1
“Her real strength was her voice.”2
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
National Museum of the American Indian, New York, New York
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Begaye, Nathan. Free Spirit: The New Native American Potter. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Stedelijk Museum 2006.
Bishop, Robert, Cate, Barbara., Kogan, Lee., Rosenak, Jan., Rosenak, Chuck. Museum of American Folk Art encyclopedia of twentieth-century American folk art and artists. New York: Abbeville Press, 1990.
Clark, Garth, “Christine Nofchissey McHorse: A Free Spirit.” Ceramics Art and Perception 66, January 2006.
Clark, Garth, and Mark Del Vecchio. Dark Light: The Ceramics of Christine Nofchissey McHorse. Albuquerque NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2013.
King, Charles S., Peter Held, and Will Wilson. Spoken Through Clay: Native Pottery of the Southwest: The Eric Dobkin Collection. Santa Fe NM: Museum of New Mexico Press, 2017.
Matuz, Roger. St. James Guide to native North American Artists. Detroit MI: St. James Press,1998.
Rosenak, Chuck, and Janet Rosenak. Contemporary American Folk Art: A Collector’s Guide. 1996.
"McHorse" scratched into base of pot.
Citation: McGee, Donna. "The Marks Project." Last modified April 17, 2023. http://www.themarksproject.org/marks/mchorse
