R.C. Gorman's full name was Rudolph Carl Gorman. He was born in Chinle, Arizona, in 1931 on a Navajo reservation. He started drawing sketches at an early age, using charcoal. He started using the initials "R.C." while enlisted in the Navy.

When R.C. Gorman attended college, his initial intention was to become a writer, so he majored in literature, with a minor in art at Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff. He then went on a scholarship to Mexico City College, where he was highly influenced by artist Diego Rivera.  

R.C. Gorman once posed nude for college students in San Francisco.

His artwork mainly depicts strong Navajo women, using bold colors and clean, simple lines.

His earliest subjects in drawing where Mickey Mouse and Shirley Temple.

He created artwork including prints, ceramics, bronze sculptures and paintings.

He did small art shows in in San Francisco in the 1950s and 1960s, then bought his own gallery, which became his home base for the rest of his life.

He borrowed money from his father, and opened his Navajo Gallery in, Taos, New Mexico in 1968. He would do ten shows a year, which were mainly sold out events.

When he became famous, the New York Times coined him as "The Picasso of American Indian Art".

Celebrity collectors of his art included Andy Warhol, Jackie Onasis and Elizabeth Taylor.

Hope Hartley