"Patricio Calabasa" reimagines T. Harmon Parkhurst’s striking 1927 portrait of a Santo Domingo Pueblo man through digital colorization, a contemporary New Mexico palette, and an expressive, richly textured modern background.

"Patricio Calabasa" began with a remarkable 1927 photograph by T. Harmon Parkhurst (1883–1952), whose extensive body of work documented the people, landscapes, and cultures of New Mexico. The original toned gelatin-silver print depicts Patricio Calabasa of Santo Domingo Pueblo, now known as Kewa Pueblo. It is in the public domain and is held in the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives / Museum of New Mexico.

Working digitally from this historic image, I colorized Parkhurst’s monochromatic portrait and then took it somewhere decidedly less historical. Turquoise beads, a mustard-yellow scarf and red headband emerge against a thoroughly modern background built from New Mexico earth tones, distressed surfaces, scratches, drips and gestural marks. The intention was not to disguise the photograph’s age, but to create a visual conversation between 1927 New Mexico and the present.

The result retains the quiet dignity and commanding presence of Parkhurst’s portrait while placing Patricio within an energetic contemporary composition—part historical photograph, part digital painting, and unmistakably Southwestern.

Source credit:  Patricio Calabasa, Santo Domingo Pueblo, ca. 1927. Photograph by T. Harmon Parkhurst. Courtesy Palace of the Governors Photo Archives, New Mexico History Museum.

• Available on: Watercolor paper, wood panel, metal panel, or gallery-wrapped canvas
• Maximum size: 50 × 40 inches

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