Navajo Blankets from the Collection of Tony Berlant
Navajo Blankets from the Collection of Tony Berlant
Navajo Blankets from the Collection of Tony Berlant
Unknown (Navajo) / Navajo Eye Dazzler Blanket, circa 1885 / Brown and white are natural, red, yellow orange, blue and gray are synthetic dyed / 78 x 54 3/4 in. (198.1 x 139.1 cm)
Unknown (Navajo) / Navajo Eccentric Eyedazzler, circa 1878 / White is undyed native handspun wool, blue is native handspun dyed with Indigo, all other colors are native handspun dyed with Aniline / 86 1/2 x 56 in. (219.7 x 142.2 cm)
Unknown (Navajo) / Navajo Eye-dazzler, circa 1875-1885 / Native handspun wool: red, orange, synthetic dyed / 86 1/4 x 62 1/2 in. (219.1 x 158.8 cm)
Unknown (Navajo) / Navajo Classic Serape, circa 1870 / White is undyed native handspun; dark red is 3 ply yarn (Saxony) dyed with Cochineal; light red is raveled American flannel dyed with Aniline; blue is native handspun dyed with Indigo / 71 x 50 1/2 in. (180.3 x 128.3 cm)
Unknown (Navajo) / Navajo Wedge-weave Eye-dazzler, circa 1880 / Handspun native wool: white is un-dyed native handspun wool; the blue is native handspun dyed with indigo; and the red is aniline dyed native handspun wool / 78 3/4 x 59 3/4 in. (200 x 152 cm)
Unknown (Navajo) / Navajo Eye Dazzler Blanket, circa 1885 / All handspun native wool; the brown and white are natural; the red, yellow, orange, blue, and gray are synthetic dyed / 78 x 54 3/4 in. (198.1 x 139.1 cm)
Unknown (Navajo) / Navajo Eye Dazzler Blanket, circa 1875 -1885 / Handspun native wool; the gray and white are natural; the red, yellow, purple and green are synthetic dyed / 75 x 57 in. (190.5 x 144.8 cm)
24 Feb - 6 Mar 2026
L.A. Louver at 45 N Venice Blvd will be open to the public for the pop-up exhibitions Alison Saar | Meet Me at the Crossroads: Ruby’s Soul Service Station and California Color: Peter Alexander, Karl Benjamin, John McCracken from Tuesday 24 February to Friday 6 March, 10am-6pm. We will be closed Sunday 1 March. No appointment is necessary. Please contact us at 310-822-4955 or info@lalouver.com if you have any further questions. We hope to see you soon!
Tony Berlant
L.A. Louver presents a selection of blankets by Navajo (Diné) weavers from the collection of artist Tony Berlant. Dating from approximately 1870 to 1885, these textiles were woven primarily from handspun wool, colored using a mix of natural and synthetic dyes. These blankets are from what is considered the "Transition period" in Navajo weaving, when increased associations between the Navajo and Euro-American settlers through trading posts and the railroad facilitated access to a wider variety of dyes, commercial yarns, and other textile influences. Blankets from this period are renowned for their experimental patterns in bright colors, including the well-known "eye dazzler" styles. These textiles were likely made by women, although both men and women in the Navajo community now practice the art form.

Berlant began collecting Navajo textiles as a young art instructor at UCLA in the late 1960s. In 1972, collaborating with Mary Hunt Kahlenberg, then curator of textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Berlant organized a significant exhibition of Navajo blankets that traveled across the United States and Europe.

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