R.C. Gorman collection

Arrangement

Series 1: R.C. Gorman In Progress Work

Subseries 1.1: Lithographs, Subseries 1.2: Paintings/Pastels/Sketches, Subseries 1.3: Sculpture/Pottery, Subseries 1.4: Studio Printing, Subseries 1.5: Models/Reference

Series 2: R. C. Gorman Completed Work

Subseries 2.1: Lithographs, Subseries 2.2: Sculpture/Pottery, Subseries 2.3: Oil Pastels/Paintings, Subseries 2.4: R.C. Gorman Posed with Work, Subseries 2.5: Early Work, Subseries 2.6: Printing Documentation, Subseries 2.7: Original Work

Series 3: Additonal Material

Subseries 3.1: Personal Photographs, Subseries 3.2: Gallery Openings/Catalogs, Subseries 3.3: Articles, Subseries 3.4: Correspondence, Subseries 3.5: Book Materials, Subseries 3.6: Oversize Contact Sheets

R.C. Gorman Biography

R.C. (Rudolph Carl) Gorman was born in Chinle, Arizona in 1931 to Adele Katherine Brown and Carl Nelson Gorman, who was a Navajo Code Talker during World War II. Gorman grew up listening to Diné (Navajo) legends and stories of his family history. When he was little, he would draw pictures in the dirt and on rocks while tending sheep. After high school, Gorman served in the United States Navy before attending Northern Arizona University where he studied literature and art. He continued to study and create art at Mexico City College and San Francisco State University. In 1968, Gorman opened the Navajo Gallery showcasing 55 artists. It was the first indigenous-owned fine art gallery in the United States. Gorman's artistic style was heavily influenced by his time in Mexico where he was introduced to stone lithography and the artistic approaches used by Diego Rivera and other Mexican social realist artists. He moved away from more European depictions and began painting strong Navajo women, in honor of those who raised him. Gorman's use of bold colors earned him the title "Picasso of American Indian Art." In addition to lithographs, Gorman worked with ceramics, oil pastels, serigraphs, woodcuts, and etchings. R.C. Gorman passed away in 2005.

Houston Fine Art Press

In 1975, Tamarind-trained, master printer Richard Newlin and Yoko Saito established a printing business in Berkeley, California. The pair relocated to Texas in 1980 and founded Houston Fine Press. Newlin first printed an R.C. Gorman lithograph in 1976 and continued to work with Gorman for over a decade, in multiple countries. Saito often served as Gorman's model when he was in the Houston Fine Press studio.

Related Materials

Yousuf Karsh Photographs of R.C. Gorman, NMAI.AC.310