Two girls, identified in the title as sisters, sit outdoors in a sunlit community setting painted with thick, energetic brushstrokes and vivid color. The girl at right is nearest us, seated upright and turned slightly toward us. She has medium-brown skin, dark hair parted in the center and tied back, and a calm, steady expression. She wears a saturated blue-turquoise blouse and a yellow-orange skirt, her hands gathered in her lap. Beside her, the second girl turns inward in profile, smiling softly and looking down. She wears a bright rose-pink blouse and a lavender-purple skirt. Behind them, a loom spans the left side of the scene; other figures sit nearby, and horses appear at the right edge. Pale sandy ground, lilac shadows, and a bright blue sky create a dry, open atmosphere of everyday life, work, and kinship. The title preserves period catalog language (“Navajo”) and appears to pair a general title with a quoted identifying phrase naming the sitters as “two sisters.” Today, many people prefer Diné, the people’s own name, and the painting can be read with that respect in mind while retaining the museum’s recorded title. Ellis gives the girls individuality through expression, posture, and color contrast rather than treating them as anonymous “types.” Painted in 1957, this work comes late in Fremont F. Ellis’s career, after his long involvement in the Santa Fe art world and his association with Los Cinco Pintores. His handling here remains representational but animated by modern color relationships and brisk, visible paint. The painting also carries the civic history of its collection: gifted by the Springville High School Senior Class in 1958, it reflects Springville’s distinctive student-led collecting tradition and the role of local public institutions in shaping how regional and Southwestern art was seen and valued.

“Navajo Girls” / “Naki Deezht two sisters Navajo” by Fremont F. Ellis (American) - Oil on canvas / 1957 - Springville Museum of Art (Springville, Utah) #WomenInArt #FremontEllis #Ellis #SpringvilleMuseumOfArt #PortraitOfWomen #SouthwesternArt #Diné #art #artText #artwork #AmericanArt #AmericanArtist