NEWS

Harry Fonseca (Nissinan Maidu).

On, Sunday, January 7 in the Ticket section of the Sacramento Bee, Victoria Dalkey had an article "In Appreciation" about Harry Fonseca (Nissinan Maidu). Ms. Dalkey wrote the article in memory of Harry who passed away at age 60 on December 28 in Santa Fe, NM where he maintained his studio. He was surrounded by family and loved ones. I am shocked as I know many of my friends will be when they hear about his passing.

Harry grew up in Bryte, a community where my mother's family lived. The Fonseca family lived there many years and raised five sons and a daughter. I remember visiting Harry's father and in the living room there were photos of each son in military uniform. His father was so proud of those photos all lined up on the wall. Harry was in the Navy stationed in Alaska and I used to write to him and send him books to read. I saved his letters and one Christmas letter he wrote to me had a Robert Frost poem surrounded by his artwork. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from California State University, Sacramento.

He made my wedding announcement - a block print symbolizing an Aquarian (me) and a Pisces (my ex). I don't think many of the people receiving the announcement realized it was an artwork.

Harry even used to tap dance when he was young and was on a local station program dancing. We often laughed about some of the memories we had growing up in East Yolo.

A friend and I visited Santa Fe this past September and paid a visit to his loft. I sent emails and telephoned him about my visit but never heard from him. We went to his loft but he wasn't home and now I understand why. I am so glad we took the time to find where he lived and even took photos of his front door and the building where he lived. We both really wanted to visit with him but it was not meant to happen.

In the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian Spring 2005 issue of their magazine, there was a four page article with photographs on Harry written by Aleta Ringlero (Pima) who is an art historian. She wrote: "Harry Fonseca is a painter's painter. By the late 1970's, Fonseca had produced an icon for Southwestern art with his mischievous and randy creation, the Coyote, a figure drawn from the mythology of the Maidu." Later she wrote in the article: "Fonseca introduced two powerful bodies of work - Stone Poems and the enigmatic St. Francis series. The large-scale canvases were exhibited internationally in Japan and Germany and established the painter as an important force in the elite and competitive world art market."

I am very saddened by his passing. He was a kind, intelligent, loving, political, passionate individual who never gave up on his love: artwork. I can remember when he was a struggling artist but always continued to do his artwork and eventually received the recognition he deserved. He never forgot where he came from and always stayed in touch at Christmas time.

On January 31, 2007, at the Crocker Art Museum, the California Arts Council closed their meeting in Harry's name. On Sunday, February 4, 2007, a memorial was held for Harry at the Elks Lodge.