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Image Not Available for Gilbert Benjamin Atencio
Gilbert Benjamin Atencio
Image Not Available for Gilbert Benjamin Atencio

Gilbert Benjamin Atencio

Po-woh-ge-oweenge (San Ildefonso Pueblo), 1930-1995
BiographyGilbert Atencio (Wah Peen) was born in 1930 in Greeley, Colorado and died in April of 1995. He was the son of Isabel M. Montoya and the nephew of Maria Martinez. He was educated at San Ildefonso Day School and graduated from the Santa Fe Indian School in 1947. He served in the U. S. Marine Corp and lived most of his life in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Gilbert was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corp. Gilbert seldom ventured far from his native San Ildefonso pueblo, due to a strong sense of family & tribal responsibility. Gilbert lived in Santa Fe, NM. Gilbert died in April 1995.

A painter, ceramist & a medical & technical illustrator, Gilbert's choice of medium was watercolor & clay. Much of Atencio's inspiration for paintings came from stories his aunts told him about their lives. His style varied from the traditional flat style done early in his career, to abstract or semi-abstract paintings done in the 1980s. Towards the end of his life Atencio said about his work:

“I do my paintings both for myself and for other people, especially for people who enjoy Indians, their way of life, their ceremonies. The people who buy my paintings are that type of people. They know some history of the Pueblo Indians. I do it for myself and for them."

Person TypeIndividual

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