Bess Bigham Hubbard found inspiration for her works in the Native American populations of the Southwest, of which this model is a notable example. Hubbard adopted the carving method of her instructor, the famed modernist sculptor William Zorach. Zorach advocated a direct, reductive chiseling method of working, rather than casting a sculpture in metal from a mold. Originally trained in painting and etching, Fort Worth-born and Lubbock-based Hubbard began to concentrate on sculpture in the mid-1940s.

Adapted from

William Rudolph, Label copy, 2008.

• Known mostly for her direct carving, Hubbard also created paintings, prints, bronze cast sculptures, jewelry, and stained glass.

• Handbook of Texas Online
  Read a biography of Bess Bigham Hubbard from the Texas State Historical Association.