Percy Tsisete Sandy
Artist from Zuni Pueblo, 1918–1974
Person TypeIndividual
Terms
American painter and printmaker, 1878–1955, born in Sweden
American artist, 1919–1991
Percy Tsisete Sandy
BiographyBorn in the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, Percy Tsisete Sandy was given the name Kai-Sa, meaning Red Moon. He married Peggy Mirabel of Taos Pueblo and they lived in Taos. An enthusiastic painter from youth, he pursued formal art training in Albuquerque and at the Indian School and the Sherman Institute in Santa Fe. He absorbed influences from various Native American groups including the Navajo and Apache, as well as the Zuni and Taos Pueblos. The Native American community and its rituals were his primary subject, causing friction between the artist and members of his pueblo. He illustrated books and painted murals at the La Fonda Hotel in Taos and at the Black Rock School and Hospital in Black Rock.
