{{Short description|American contemporary artist (1936–2018)}} {{Infobox artist | name = John Nieto | image = File:John Nieto.jpg | birth_date = {{Birth year|1936}} | birth_place = Denver, Colorado | death_date = {{Death year and age|2018|1936}} | citizenship = American | alma_mater = Southern Methodist University (BFA) | field = painting | website = {{URL|nietofineart.com}} }} '''John Nieto''' (1936–2018) was an American painter who concentrated on Native American themes and wildlife from the Western United States.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Nieto, John, 1936-|title=John Nieto: forces of color & spirit |date=2009|publisher=Fresco Fine Art Publications|others=McGarry, Susan Hallsten, Ventana Fine Art|isbn=978-1-934491-15-7|edition=1st|location=Albuquerque, N.M.|oclc=456467098}}</ref> He was a longtime resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
== Biography == John Wesley Nieto was born in Denver, Colorado in 1936. He was the third oldest of 14 children born to Natalia Venegas Nieto and Simon Nieto. His father worked for the U.S. Office of Censorship during World War II and later became a Methodist minister.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.santafenewmexican.com/life/features/artist-was-known-for-colorful-depictions-of-people-animals-native/article_a1a421c0-20fe-528c-b186-843af47b12d1.html |title=Artist was known for colorful depictions of people, animals native to North America |last=Houghton |first=Howard|website=Santa Fe New Mexican|date=12 July 2018 |language=en|access-date=2020-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6pEgAQAAMAAJ&q=John+Nieto |title=National Art Museum and Gallery Guide |date=1985|publisher=Art Now, Incorporated|language=en}}</ref> Nieto's work reflects his Mexican-American ancestry. He earned a BFA degree from Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, in 1959.<ref name=":2" />
== Identity == John Nieto claimed to have been of Mescalero Apache descent; however, as art historian Julie R. Sasse wrote: "The Mescalero Apache Tribe took the matter under consideration and after a tribal vote, declared unconditionally that Nieto was not a tribal member and was not known to have any Mescalero relatives."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sasse |first1=Julie R. |title=A Piece of the Indian Pie: Contemporary Native American Art and the Authenticity Controversy |url=https://www.academia.edu/1011926 |website=Academia |date=January 1994 |publisher=Arizona State University |access-date=6 May 2024}}</ref> Because Nieto was not an enrolled tribal member, he could no longer claim to be a Native American artist after the passage of the 1990 Indian Arts and Crafts Act.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sublette |first1=Mark |title=John Nieto documentary reveals the man behind the paintings |url=https://www.medicinemangallery.com/blogs/essential-west/essential-west-john-nieto-documentary |website=Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery |date=8 February 2023 |access-date=6 May 2024}}</ref> After "protests by the members of the Native-American community," Nieto changed his claims of being a Mescalero Apache artist to having "mixed Indian and Spanish blood"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Daniel |title=The Fine Artist's Career Guide: Making Money in the Arts and Beyond |date=2004 |publisher=Allworth Press |location=New York |isbn=9781621531234 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EH34yY80qlkC}}</ref> or "Hispanic and American Indian ancestry."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.altamiraart.com/artists/6-john-nieto/biography/|title=John Nieto biography|website=Altamira Fine Art|language=en|access-date=2020-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6pEgAQAAMAAJ&q=John+nieto |title=National Art Museum and Gallery Guide|date=1985|publisher=Art Now, Incorporated|language=en}}</ref>
== Work and recognition == Nieto presented his painting “Delegate to the White House” to President Reagan in the Oval Office of the White House. which hung during the President’s term in office and later included in the presidential library.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/News/2018/smu-remembers-john-nieto|title=SMU Remembers John W. Nieto '59 - SMU|website=www.smu.edu|access-date=2020-03-22}}</ref>
In 2002 his painting ''Buffalo Dancer'' was installed in the Albuquerque International Sunport’s Great Hall.<ref name=":1" />
In 1994 Nieto received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Achievement in the Arts.<ref>{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QxwVAQAAMAAJ&q=John+Nieto+received+the+New+Mexico+Governor's+Award+for+Achievement+in+the+Arts+in+1994|title=The American Psychologist|date=2002|publisher=American Psychological Association|isbn=|location=|pages=1135|language=en}}</ref> He served on the Advisory Boards for both the Wheelwright Museum and the Native American Preparatory School.<ref name=":1" />
Nieto is represented in the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abqjournal.com/1195944/prolific-santa-fe-artist-john-nieto-81-dies.html|title=Painting was his life|last=Writer|first=Kathaleen Roberts {{!}} Journal Staff|website=www.abqjournal.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-25}}</ref>
===Public collections=== * New Mexico Museum of Fine Art Santa Fe, NM * Permanent collection, Marine Corp Museum Washington, DC * Heard Museum Phoenix, AZ * Capital Art Foundation Santa Fe, NM
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nieto, John}} Category:American contemporary painters Category:2018 deaths Category:American male painters Category:1936 births Category:Southern Methodist University alumni Category:American people who self-identify as being of Apache descent Category:Artists from Denver