R C Gorman

The Navajo Nation, Diné in Navajo, language encompasses all things important to the Navajo. The land, kinship, language, religion and the right to govern themselves. The Navajo Homeland covers about 26,000 square miles of land, occupying all of northeastern Arizona, and extending into Utah and New Mexico, and is the largest land area assigned primarily to a Native American jurisdiction within the United States. Members of the nation are often known as Navajo (or Navaho)but traditionally call themselves Diné which means people.

The 2000 census reported 298,215 Navajo people living throughout the United States, of which 173,987 were living within the Navajo Nation boundaries. 131,166 lived in Arizona and 17,512 of these lived in Maricopa County, which includes the city of Phoenix. Because the Navajo Nation encompasses land in three states, its Division of Economic Development extracts census data for the Navajo Nation as a whole, and sends a representative to the Census Board. Another group lives on the Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation along the Colorado River in California and Arizona.

A r t  b y  R.C.  G o r m a n
1932 – 2005

Rudolph Carl Gorman, a native American, was born in Chinle, Arizona. During his early years he lived in a hogan and had little experience with the world beyond the Navajo reservation. He was raised by his grandmother who ignited his ambition by recounting Navajo legends and by acquainting him with his artistic ancestors. In 1958 he received the first scholarship ever given by the Navajo tribe for study outside the United States. At Mexico City College, Gorman had exposure to the artists Rivera, Siqueiros, and Tamayo, who inspired him to change the direction of his art. He also met Jose Sanchez, a master printer, and, under his direction, made his first lithographs. Gorman has had more than twenty one-man shows and participated in thirty group shows, including the exhibit Masterworks of the American Indian held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (he was the only living artist represented). That museum is one of fourteen American art institutions to include his work in their collections.

R C Gorman Gallery here