in every room a story of the art in every room a ... - La Fonda Hotel

etween heaven and earth. The feathers of the eagle are sacred, and it is an honor
for dancers to wear them in their ceremonies.
Like Cassidy, Rönnebeck also included Native American symbols in his work
at La Fonda. The panels above the banco depict Deer Dancers, whose movements
symbolize the struggle between good and evil, between the sacred deer and the
coyote or hunter. Among the multiple figures in the bas-relief, several dancers
have spiritually become deer, looking for food while warily glancing about them
for signs of danger. Eagle Dancers were also depicted in his design for the banco
in the Santa Fe Room.
The AT&SF Railway made
36 x 24” reproductions
of Cassidy’s ten portrait
paintings in La Fonda’s
collection and many of
them can still be found
on the collectors’ market.
The subjects range from
conquistadors to Native
Americans to Kit Carson.
22 23
Gerald Cassidy
“El Tovar”, 1922
(left)
Casein on Paper
“Shalako, The Giant Messenger”, 1922
(right)
Casein on Paper