R. C. Gorman Untitled Oil Pastel Drawing of Native Woman [SOLD]

This original oil pastel drawing was made by influential Diné artist R.C. Gorman. For much of his career, the artist's preferred subjects were Diné women. Gorman achieved incredible success and recognition because of the compelling and original style that he developed over the course of many years.

The artist chose pastels for a gentle depiction of a Diné woman in profile. She is barefoot, wearing a red blouse and long skirt, resting her right hand on her knee as she sits and rests. Gray and black outlines define her face, hands, and feet; purple was chosen to outline her clothing. A soft cloud of light blue surrounds her, with purple and gray lines appearing within, adding depth. Wispy gray shadows appear on the ground beneath her. This is a wonderful example of R.C. Gorman's signature style.

The drawing is signed R.C. Gorman and dated 1982 in lower left. It is framed under museum glass in a carved wood frame.

Rudolph Carl Gorman (1932-2005) was a successful, influential, and famous artist from the Navajo Nation. Gorman was born in Chinle, Arizona, and grew up in a traditional Navajo hogan. His father, Carl Nelson Gorman, was a painter and art educator who served in World War II alongside a handful of other notable Navajo artists. Gorman began drawing and painting at a young age. He served in the U.S. Navy after finishing high school. After completing his military duties, he studied literature and art at Northern Arizona University.

In 1958, a Navajo Tribal Council scholarship sent him to study at Mexico City College. During this period, he was exposed to a variety of new influences—Diego Rivera, Francisco Zuñiga, and Rufino Tamayo, most notably—and explored new mediums. It was during this period that he studied stone lithography under the tutelage of master printer Jose Sanchez. After returning from this enlightening and productive journey to Mexico, he studied art at San Francisco State University. He then moved back to New Mexico—to Taos, this time—where he opened the R.C. Gorman Navajo Gallery. Founded in 1968, it was the first Native-owned art gallery in Taos.

Gorman was the only living artist whose works were included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Masterworks of the American Indian" exhibit. He was highlighted in a PBS television series about American Indian artists, alongside other groundbreaking Native artists Helen Hardin, Fritz Scholder, Joseph Lonewolf, and Charles Loloma. Gorman passed away in 2005 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this R. C. Gorman Untitled Oil Pastel Drawing of Native Woman is from the collection of a client of Adobe Gallery

Recommended Reading: ART AND INDIAN INDIVIDUALISTS: the Art of Seventeen Contemporary Southwestern Artists and Craftsmen by Guy and Doris Monthan, Northland Press, Flagstaff

TAGS:  Zuniga, Taos, New Mexico, Native American Paintings, Diné of the Navajo Nation, R.C. Gorman