NEWS RELEASE                     

For Immediate Release 

 
Contact:   
 
  Eric Davis,  Marketing & Communications Director
                505.424.2351, or [email protected]
  Ryan Flahive, Archivist
                 505.424.2392, or [email protected]

Institute of American Indian Arts Archives
Completes Preservation of 
Pop Chalee Collection


SANTA FE, NM - May 18, 2018 - The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Archives completed the arrangement, description, preservation, and digital imaging of the Merina Lujan Hopkins (Pop Chalee) Papers, funded by a grant of the New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board (NMHRAB). The finding aid for the collection can be accessed via the Rocky Mountain Online Archive at https://rmoa.unm.edu/docviewer.php?docId=IAIA.MS.26.xml.

Merina Lujan Hopkins (Pop Chalee) painting under the supervision of Oscar Berninghaus,
c. 1935. MS26. Pop Chalee Collection. IAIA Archives, Santa Fe, NM.


The Merina Lujan Hopkins (Pop Chalee) Papers contain mostly photographs and news clippings documenting her career as an artist. Correspondence, ephemera, and a comprehensive scrapbook paint a fairly complete picture of Chalee's life and career for future researchers.

The archive was a primary resource to The World of Flower Blue: Pop Chalee: An Artistic Biography, by Margaret Cesa (Red Crane Books, 1997). Merina Lujan Hopkins, otherwise know as Pop Chalee (Taos Pueblo) was a celebrated student of Dorothy Dunn at the Santa Fe Indian School during the 1930s and "...transformed a traditional style of painting to create magical, idyllic images of wide-eyed animals, ceremonial figures, and woodland settings," writes art historian John Villani.

Merina Lujan Hopkins (Pop Chalee) painting at Taos Pueblo, c. 1940. MS26,
Pop Chalee Collection. IAIA Archives, Santa Fe, NM.


"The generous grant from the NMHRAB allowed us to properly preserve and make available this important collection," states IAIA Archivist Ryan Flahive. "The archive tells the story of an important figure in New Mexican, Native American, and women's art history and we're pleased to complete the project."

Scrapbook cover, painted by Pop Chalee, c. 1945. MS26,
Pop Chalee Collection. IAIA Archives, Santa Fe, NM


The mission of the New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board is to advocate the preservation of the historical records of the state and to stimulate public access to the state's historical records. 
 
 
# # #
 
 
Offering undergraduate degrees in Studio Arts, Creative Writing, Cinematic Arts and Technology, Indigenous Liberal Studies, and Museum Studies -- a minor in Performing Arts -- an MFA in Creative Writing -- along with certificates in Business and Entrepreneurship, Museum Studies, and Native American Art History -- IAIA is the only college in the nation dedicated to the study of contemporary Native arts. The school serves 517 full time equivalent (FTE) Native and non-Native American college students from across the globe.  IAIA is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission -- and is the only college in New Mexico accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. 

About IAIA -- For over 50 years, the Institute of American Indian Arts has played a key role in the direction and shape of Native expression. With an internationally acclaimed college, museum, and tribal support resource through our Land Grant Programs, IAIA is dedicated to the study and advancement of Native arts and cultures -- and committed to student achievement and the preservation and progress of their communities.  Learn more about IAIA and our mission at www.iaia.edu . 

 
The Institute of American Indian Arts Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.  To make a donation on-line, please click here -- or call toll free: 1.800.804.6423.