Guardian Angel

Emmanuel C. Montoya

Emmanuel Montoya's "Guardian Angel" depicts an intimate scene of farm life that reads with some mystery. In it, two white calves enjoy their lunch as a woman, whose face is hidden behind a post, approaches in a white skirt and heels. It appears to be a warm summer day, with a lush green hedgerow and pale blue sky in the background. Perhaps it is the calmness with which the young bovines accept her presence that makes the unknown woman appear to be their "guardian angel."

Montoya, an enrolled member of the Lipan Apache tribe of Texas, is especially known for his murals and posters celebrating indigenous American and Mexican cultures, and the Chicano Movement. "Guardian Angel" is a rare window into the artist's observations of daily life and the quiet activities of everyday people.