Historian

`Picasso of American Art' dies at 74
R.C. Gorman's paintings, sculptures and contribution to N.M. and the Navajo culture made him an icon, friends say.
By Associated Press
November 4, 2005

Famed Navajo artist R.C. Gorman, dubbed "the Picasso of American art" by the New York Times, has died. He was 74.

His death was announced by Gov. Bill Richardson at a news conference in Santa Fe and confirmed by his gallery and the hospital where he had been since September.

"New Mexico loses a great citizen and the world loses a great artist," Richardson said.

Gorman, who had been ill with a blood infection and pneumonia, was surrounded by family and friends when he died Thursday at University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.

Gorman was internationally renowned for paintings and sculptures of graceful female figures, often depicted as generously sized and draped in a blanket.

"I revere women. They are my greatest inspiration," Gorman told the Associated Press in a 1998 interview at his studio north of Taos.

His work was collected by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Andy Warhol, among others.

"It's a big loss; he's going to be sorely missed," said Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. "He contributed greatly to the great name of the Navajo Nation. He afforded us the opportunity to talk about ourselves to the world. When they took an interest in him, they also took an interest in our nation."

Gorman's work represented an anthology of styles over the years - some featuring Indian rugs, pottery and sand-painting motifs. Some were mystical, surreal.

"His color and his whimsy, the way he celebrated Native American women in particular, and the way he elevated the figures to an art form, really, was tremendous," said New Mexico Cultural Affairs Secretary Stuart Ashman.

He said Gorman will be remembered as "one of the greatest Native American artists." He praised Gorman "not only for the quality of his work but for his contributions toward putting Native American artists into the mainstream of visual artists."

Gene A. Keams, a Navajo and pueblo artist from Albuquerque, said Gorman was a mentor and often shared with him important bits of wisdom about staying true to one's self and taking art seriously.

"He was almost like a father at times," Keams said. "He would take me under his wing and share with me some things only a true friend would get to hear."

Gorman began drawing at age 3. He credited a teacher, Jenny Lind of the Ganado Presbyterian Mission School in Arizona, for starting him as an artist.

"She gave me lessons in art history and different mediums and always encouraged me," he recalled in the 1998 interview with the AP. "I guess she was the most influential teacher that I ever had."

Gorman found his artistic hand, however, while visiting Mexico. He acknowledged strong influences of Tamayo, Orozco, Siqueiros and Diego Rivera.

"It was not only the art and the color and the material they used, but their subject matter came very close to where I came from," he said.

Gorman also relished food, wine and travel. He authored at least four cookbooks, each containing a collection of drawings and paintings, called "Nudes and Food."

He also visited the Louvre and other European museums to see the works of Picasso, van Gogh, DaVinci, El Greco and Michelangelo.

"They're all, to me, precious people," Gorman said.

Gorman had been hospitalized about seven weeks.

Richardson, who ordered flags around New Mexico flown at half-staff, said Gorman had been on life support for "quite some time."

Gorman's friend and agent, Virginia Dooley, said Gorman became ill at his Taos home in September. He had scraped a knee, leading to a bacterial infection in his blood.

Gorman initially was hospitalized at Holy Cross Hospital in Taos, then moved to the Albuquerque hospital.

Born Rudolph Carl Gorman on July 26, 1931, in Chinle, Ariz., he was known as R.C. throughout his career. He grew up on the Navajo reservation, the son of Navajo Code Talker Carl Gorman, and moved to Taos in 1968.

Gorman will be buried on land he owned near his Taos home, according to Tazbah McCullah, a spokeswoman for the family.

Gorman is survived by his brother, Don Mitchell of Chinle; and four sisters, Donna Scott of Chinle, Shirley Beecher of Black Mountain, Ariz., Zonnie Gorman of Gallup and Carla Anderson of Kaibeto, Ariz.

R.C. Gorman Gallery:
http://www.rcgormangallery.com/

__________________

"Be good, be kind, help each other. Respect the ground, respect the drum, respect each other."
--Abe Conklin, Ponca/Osage (1926-1995)