(1905/06-1993)
Born Merina Lujan in Castle Rock, Utah, Pop Chalee had strong ties to the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico. It is here at the Pueblo that she received the name Pop Chalee, which means "Blue Flower." The Taos culture and the Taos Art Colony had a special life-long influence on her as an artist. She studied at the Santa Fe Indian School in the studio class with Dorothy Dunn, who's flat decorative style she emulated. Thus, as an artist, she devoted herself to the flat, two-dimensional 'traditional' style of Indian painting, but injected lighthearted imaginary touches that appealed to the wide audience of both adults and children. Her work was exhibited throughout the United States, being shown at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC and the Gallery of Living Artists in New York City, among others.