Biography from Blue Coyote Gallery:
| Considered by many to be the dean of traditional Navajo artists,
Harrison Begay was born in November of 1917 in White Cone,
Arizona. He grew up in a family that herded sheep and goats for
sustenance. There was a famous trading post at Keams Canyon,
north of his home, where Navajo families traded wool for foodstuffs and
manufactured goods. However most of what the Begay family needed
was found or raised on their own land.
When he was eight years old Begay left home to attend boarding
school. It was not until then that he heard English for the first
time. He returned home one year later. Then in 1934, when
he was seventeen, he entered the Santa Fe Indian School, which had been
recently founded by Dorothy Dunn and Geromina Montoya. Although
only serving as supervisor for five years (1932-1937), Dunn had created
an art education program at the school that eventually prove to be a
major influence on young Indian artists including Begay for almost
three generations. Prior to the schools founding Navajo artists
had no tribal tradition of painting. Artists like Begay adopted
the style taught by the school at the time which eventually became
known as the “Studio Style. In 1936, while a student of Dunn's,
Begay painted Navajo Horse Race. He sold the work that same year to
Charles Mc C. Reeve for twelve dollars. It is now in the collection of
the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles.
Begay graduated from Santa Fe in 1939 and later studied architecture at
Black Mountain College in North Carolina on a scholarship from the
Indian Commission. He served as a muralist in the Works Projects
Administration, a major program that hired artists to create public
works during the Depression. Although the location of these
murals is not known, beginning in 1939 Begay helped paint the famous
murals that can still be seen at Maisel's Trading Post in Albuquerque,
New Mexico.
Harrison served for three years in the U.S. Army in Europe and Iceland
during World War II. Upon returning to civilian life he took the
Navajo name “Haskay Yahne Yah”, which translates in English to “Warrior
who walked up to his enemy ”. He has made his living as an artist
ever since.
In 1946, Begay received a purchase award at the first Indian Annual
painting competition at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa,
Oklahoma. This was one of the first and most prestigious
competitions meant exclusively for Indian artists and was instrumental
in promoting the fine art of Native Americans. During the 1950s
Tewa Enterprises in Santa Fe was established by Begay and others to
make and sell reproductions of their artwork. This was one of the
first Indian-owned art reproduction businesses.
Because so many of his childhood and young adult years were spent off
the reservation, Begay did not have a deep understanding of his
religious and ceremonial heritage. During the 1950s, however,
while seeking a new creative stimulus, he was introduced to an early
book on Navajo legends by the artist Don Perceval. This filled him with
curiosity about traditional Navajo ceremonies, which became the subject
of his paintings. Since then he has recorded a way of life that is
thought by many to be vanishing.
One of the many unfortunate consequences of Begay’s lifelong struggle
with alcoholism has been the necessity to sell his work for far less
than its value to meet immediate needs for money. This has kept prices
for his work low overall. Despite these difficulties Begay is
still internationally recognized. He has won many art awards
including the Palmes de Academiques, a special comendation from the
French government in 1954 for his contributions to the arts. He
has also won many awards in the Southwest, including first place at the
Gallup Intertribal Ceremonies in 1967, 1969 and 1971 along with the
Elkus Special Award at the Ceremonies in 1969.
His art is included in almost every exhibition and publication on
Indian painting. His works are in the permanent collections of
major museums all over the world, including the Museum of Modern Art
and the Museum of the American Indian in New York City and the
Southwest Museum in Los Angeles.In 1990 Begay was invited to Japan to
show his work. He took forty-five works and sold them within three
weeks. His work has been compared to oriental painting (Bucklew,
1967), which may explain its popularity with the Japanese. In
1995 Begay received the Native American Masters Award from the Heard
Museum in Phoenix, Arizona
Now in his 80's, Harrison still paints a couple of hours a day despite
failing eyesight. Currently he is living in Greasewood, Arizona,
near his birthplace.
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Biography from Adobe Gallery:
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Harrison Begay (Haskay Yah Ne Yah, Warrior Who Walked Up To His Enemy), to
his knowledge, was born in 1914, approximately fourteen miles
west of present-day Greasewood, Arizona, on the Navajo Reservation at a
place known as Whitecone. His date of birth is often cited as a
few years later, however, there are no records and Harrison prefers the
year 1914.
When he was a boy of seven years, his mother died and soon after
that he was sent off to government boarding schools. As he grew older
he decided to study art in Santa Fe where an art school was organized
by the government in the early 1930s.
From 1934 until about 1940 he attended this school under Dorothy Dunn. Following art school, Harrison Begay attended college and then enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II. Serving under General Dwight Eisenhower, Harrison Begay
did not have much opportunity to pursue his painting. Soon after
his discharge and return to Arizona he was able to begin once more his
study of art.
Then in the 1960s he again met General Eisenhower at the annual Ceremonials in Gallup, New Mexico. At that time Harrison Begay presented General Eisenhower with one of his fine paintings which is in a permanent collection in Washington, D.C.
“Begay's paintings have exerted greater influence on Navajo artists
than any other person. His work is internationally known.” -Snodgrass
1968.
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Biography from AskART:
| Born in White Cone, Arizona, Harrison Begay creates prints and paintings in tempera, watercolor and acrylics of Navajo Indian figures and other Southwest scenes that are regarded as "quiet and peaceful" in tone. He has also painted murals for Maisel's Indian Trading Post in Albuquerque.
He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico and is a member of the Navaho tribe. He attended Fort Wingate Indian School in New Mexico and in 1939, graduated from Santa Fe Indian School. He also attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina and Phoenix Junior College before World War II and studied briefly with painter Gerald Curtis Delano. He began exhibiting his art work in 1946 and worked full time as an artist. He also served three years in the Army during World War II.
Source:
Peggy and Harold Samuels, "Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West"
Patrick Lester, "The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters" |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
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