Watercolors Unlike Any Other:
Norma Howard

By Rebekah Powers | January 2024

The watercolors of self-taught Native American artist, Norma Howard, are finely detailed, realistic paintings of genre scenes of daily life. They tell the stories of her Choctaw-Chickasaw ancestors, with watercolors applied in the tiny basketweave brushstrokes unique to Howard.

A self taught artist, she developed in her own way, with great emotional support from her family in spite of their continuing struggle to support 8 children in Stigler, Oklahoma.

As a young girl, Norma drew on everything, from brown paper grocery bags to scraps of paper, or if nothing else was available, she drew in the dirt with a stick! She says that when she saw other children playing with toys her family could never afford, she would draw them and it made her feel like she had those things, too. To buy her first set of watercolors, she gathered blackberries and sold them door to door with her mother. Her father was so proud of her talent, he carried her small drawings in his wallet and showed them around.

“A Walk With Grandma” 2002 – 16” x 13”

Later, she vividly recalls one art teacher who tried to break her of the tendency to draw “Indian things” which caused her to stop drawing altogether for a time, and to hesitate to show her work. However, not even this painful discouragement could dissuade her from becoming the renowned watercolorist she was meant to be.

Eventually, the sheer quality of her exacting watercolors garnered considerable attention. Becoming imminently collectible, Howard’s paintings of poignant scenes, women working in the fields, and children playing have a unique historic context and tribal legacy that preserves a bucolic way of life.

Norma Howard 2000 – 17.5” x 23.5”

Visit Chimayo Trading del Norte today, and see for yourself the meticulous watercolor paintings of rural tribal life that only the steady hand and discerning eye of Norma Howard could create.

“Lavender Sky Harvest” by Norma Howard 2014 – 4” x 6” SOLD

“Looks Like A Marsh” by Norma Howard 2013 – 7” x 10” SOLD

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#1 Saint Francis Church Plaza
Ranchos de Taos, NM 87557

575.758.0504

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Contact us directly to discuss and evaluate your collection. If you’re an artist, contact us about the possibility of selling your art on consignment or direct wholesale purchase.

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