08.27.21 RC Gorman

Who Is Rudolph Carl Gorman?

By Rebekah Powers | August 2021

Better known as R.C. Gorman, (1931-2005) he was a Native American artist of the Navajo Nation. Referred to as “the Picasso of American Indian artists” by the New York Times, his paintings are primarily Native American women, characterized by fluid forms and simple lines, with touches of brilliant color.

Primarily a painter, he also worked in sculpture, ceramics and stone lithography. People who live in Taos remember his love of the local cuisine and he authored 4 cookbooks, (with accompanying drawings) called Nudes and Foods, certainly 2 of his passions.

His father, Carl Nelson Gorman was one of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers during World War II. He was also a technical illustrator and taught art at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles.

R.C. Gorman grew up in a traditional Navajo hogan and began drawing at the age of 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 rocks and in the sand and mud. He would model the clay into figures and would later look upon these formative years as some of his happiest.

A high school teacher inspired him to become a full time artist, and later he studied art at Northern Arizona University, where he also majored in literature. Later, he studied art at San Francisco State University, where he also worked as a model. He was influenced by the work of Mexican social realists Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo. Inspired by their use of color and form, he began to use abstract forms and shapes to create his own unique style, recognizable to all who have seen his work. He also learned lithography from a master printer, Jose Sanchez and used it throughout his career to make multiple original images of his inspirations, often drawing directly onto the stones from which the lithographs were printed, similar to when he was a child, drawing on rocks.

Later, he moved from California to Taos, New Mexico where he opened the first Native American-owned art gallery. It was in Taos that he found his true spiritual and artistic home. He was gregarious and generous to a fault, often gifting his work, or buying a round for the whole bar. Everyone in Taos knew him and knew of him and his imprint on local lore is part his legend.

In 1973, he was the only living artist whose work was shown in the “Masterworks from the Museum of the American Indian” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. One of his pieces was selected for the cover of the exhibit’s catalog. His life’s work has been featured on PBS in a series on American Indian artists. His awards and honors are lengthy, but his stature in American art is undeniable and continues to grow to this day.

After Gorman’s death in 2005, New Mexico governor, Bill Richardson ordered flags flown at half-staff in R. C. Gorman’s honor. A final tribute to a man whose work will carry his memory far into the future. This special person had as many friends as he had collectors and that is saying something about an artist who has risen to the top in his field. Chimayo Trading currently has an extensive collection of original paintings, lithographs, and even early work by R.C. Gorman that will surprise and delight you.

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#1 Saint Francis Church Plaza
Ranchos de Taos, NM 87557

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