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Percy Tsisete Sandy (Kai-sa)

Zuni Pueblo, 1918-1974

BiographyKnown for Native American figures and animal paintings

Percy Tsisete Sancy was born at the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, his Indian name is "Kai Sa," meaning Red Moon. As a child at the Zuni Day School, he was told to paint and discovered he loved the activity. At age 18, he took formal art instruction at Albuquerque and also studied at the Sherman Institute in Santa Fe. His goal as an artist became "depicting authentically the customs of my people. This, I hope, will be my small contribution to a great race," he said in 1940 (Snodgrass American Indian Painters). In 1959, he was severely injured in an automobile accident and was basically unable to paint from then on. He later moved from Zuni to Taos, due to internal conflicts connected to his depiction of sensitive religious subjects. He died in Taos in 1974.

Person TypeIndividual