Gorman was legendary for his drawings, paintings and sculptures of colorful, blanketed, generously sized women. Gorman was quoted as stating, “I revere women…they are my greatest inspiration.”New Mexico Cultural Affairs Secretary Stuart Ashman said that “Gorman will be remembered as one of the greatest Native American artists.”


ARTIST INFORMATION

R.C. GORMAN
July 26, 1932- November 3, 2005

Rudolph Carl Gorman was a Navajo Indian who was born on the Reservation in Chinle Arizona in 1932. His grandmother, who told him enumerable stories about Navajo legends raised him. In 1958 Gorman received the first scholarship given by the Navajo tribe to study outside the United States. Gorman studied in Mexico City and received exposure to the extraordinary art of Zuniga, Tamayo, Rivera and Siqueiros. It was during this period that Gorman began his transition to figurative drawing. He began creating brilliantly costumed Navajo women working at their daily chores. In 1973 he was the only living artist to be included at the "Masterworks of the American Indian" show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Gorman's work is in many prestigious museum collections including: Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ; Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, OK and the Department of the Interior, Washington, DC