No worries and no explanation needed, Aaron! Looking up Will’s bio led me to the nice artwork on the book cover. 
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Beautiful artwork by a lovely woman, Tom. Thank you for sharing.
I love the photo. Seeing the model posing alongside Sarah’s painting makes for a neat shot. the model’s hat, blouse, and sash are stunning!
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Apologies for any confusion, Aaron. The woman posing alongside the painting is the model, not the artist. Here is Sarah…
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No need to apologize for the ignorance and assumptions of others, Tom. 
Thank you for the clarification.
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Hi Everyone,
Sorry for skipping the “Introductions & Chat” but this felt like as good a place as any to start. I wanted to share the painting that sparked my interest in turquoise and southwestern Native American jewelry.
I’ve long been interested in interior design and have collected oil paintings and majolica plates to decorate my home. Funny enough, the majority of my majolica pieces fall within the same color palette of teal, turquoise, aquamarine, sky blue, etc. Alongside these interests, I’ve also done some casual reading on Native American history.
Here is one of my favorite paintings, by R. Lapham. A portrait of a Navajo man, with a stoic stare and a beautiful head sash and necklace. For many paintings that I own, I do not know much about the artists. I’d guess most are hobbyists, thought artists in their own right. I’m especially drawn to the unpolished, naive hand.
I became curious about who R. Lapham was, and I wanted to identify the necklace worn by the subject. I still haven’t been able to determine what type it is, so please chime in! It looks to be two stranded with turquoise beads and maybe shell?
The piece shipped from California, so I started looking at California obituaries for R. Lapham after I couldn’t find any living individuals by that name connected to similar work or themes. I found one in San Bernardino Sun for Richard N. “Dick” Lapham where “He will be remembered for his artwork”.
Then I found this! (sorry for the goofy layout):
Turns out that R. Lapham consulted with Ray Swanson! The artist that TAH originally posted as an example in this thread. If you do a quick Google search, majority of Ray Swanson’s Navajo subjects also feature head sashes and jewelry, just like in my R. Lapham painting. Pretty neat, right? I think I found the right story.
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@Ihavequestions This is a great post. Welcome to the forum.
Congrats on your R. Lapham painting! I am not familiar with this artist, but I love the painting’s simplicity, explosive color, and framing. I believe the adornment seen around this gentleman’s neck is a two-strand squash blossom necklace with the centerpiece naja out of sight. Similar to this one…
Thank you for your very enjoyable addition to this thread!
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Oh my gosh! For some reason it didn’t dawn on me that it could be a box bow! Thank you!
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Yes I was going to chime in to suggest it was a box bow squash blossom although we aren’t seeing the naja. Which makes me wonder if the painting is intact or is missing a lower portion, because it’s a bit of an unusual choice to not show it.
@ihavequestions Nice contribution!
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I think if the artist was focused only on portrait studies and had limitations on the canvas scale, that would contribute to not adding the naja.
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Welcome to the forum, @Ihavequestions!
Thank you for sharing your lovely painting. Like @TAH, I wasn’t familiar with Richard Lapham, but am loving your example. I am also in agreeance with @TAH, @chicfarmer, and yourself that the necklace in the painting is a box bow squash blossom.
Ray Swanson is an absolute favorite of mine, and I know many others here are fond of his timeless works, as well. It was awesome to learn that Ray aided Ralph in his artistic endeavors.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful painting and the great historical and educational information concerning its artist. This was a real treat!
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Photos of a Navajo Uranium miner, who looks like he just finished supervising the unloading of a supply truck, as well as a woman and child in the camp: taken by Loomis Dean in 1951. They were published in Life magazine on June 4 of that year.
The photo of Lillie Begay and her son is rather infamous: with her makeshift stool being an empty box of explosives. He looks to be keeping a close eye on the lamb beside her.
I found another photo of the same scene, although, in this shot, the beautiful Pendleton(?) shawl isn’t visible.
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Seems like some of these should be in a stand alone cultural history thread.
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I’m patiently waiting for @TAH to kick one off, Steve. We were just discussing that very idea last night.
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Brilliant minds… 
Seems more appropriate for the historical images.
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I would love a dedicated place to share them. I really thoroughly enjoy finding and looking at them and have got an unbelievable amount stashed. It would be great to have a stage for them.
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