Jimmy Ernst (1920-1984, Bruehl, Germany) was the son of the Dada Founder and Surrealist artist Max Ernst and the very talented art historian and critic, Louise Straus-Ernst. He studied painting and typography before escaping the Nazis and arriving in the United States in 1938. He spent his first months here in anthropological fieldwork on a Navajo reservation in Colorado. Without formal training, Ernst began painting in New York. His work reflects a variety of periods and styles that are represented through the use of vibrant colors and natural symbols.

This Series, created in the 1970s, utilizes a decorative motif that is related to the art of the Navajo. Although they represent the Native American experience their iconography and symbolism are not unlike the bold imagery found in the art of Africa, Oriental and other cultures of the world.