The Art of RUDOLPH CARL GORMAN

Rudolph Carl Gorman (July 26, 1931 - November 3, 2005) was a Native American artist of the Navajo nation, born in Chinle, Arizona. He grew up in a traditional Navajo hogan and began drawing at age 3. His grandmother helped raise him, recounting Navajo legends and enumerating his genealogy of artist ancestors. She kindled his desire to become an artist. While tending sheep in Canyon de Chelly with his aunts, he used to draw on the rocks, sand, and mud, and made sculpturels with clay.

In 1958, Gorman received the first scholarship from the Navajo Tribal Council to study outside of the United States, and enrolled in the art program at Mexico City College, where he learned of and was influenced by the works of Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo. He became inspired by their colors and forms to change from abstraction to abstract realism, using abstract forms and shapes to create his own unique, personal realistic style. While in Mexico, he also learned stone lithography from a master printer, Jose Sanchez. Gorman used lithography throughout his life as a means of making original multiple images of his inspirations, often working by drawing directly on the stones from which the lithographs were printed.

Gorman opened his Navajo Gallery in Taos in 1968, it was the first Native American-owned art gallery. In 1973, he was the only living artist whose work was shown in the "Masterworks of the Native American" show held at Metropolitan Museum in New York. One of his pieces was selected for the cover of the exhibit's catalog. Harvard University recognized him for "notable contributions to American art and Native American culture" in 1986, and he was referred to as "the Picasso of American art" by the New York Times. His paintings are primarily of Native American women and characterized by fluid forms and vibrant colors, though he also worked in sculpture and ceramics.