Awee (My Baby)

Awee (My Baby), an intimate 1969 oil pastel by R.C. Gorman, distills maternal devotion into a hushed monochrome study of a Navajo mother cradling her swaddled infant. Rendered in cool slate blues, charcoal grays, and dusty white, the seated figure leans forward with bare feet tucked beneath a sweeping robe, her face shadowed beneath a hood as she presses her cheek protectively against the child. The loose charcoal linework and smudged pastel atmosphere give the piece a reverent, almost icon-like stillness, recalling the Madonna imagery Gorman often revisited throughout his early career. This original Gorman oil pastel is a foundational collector work, prized for its spare palette, tender subject, and the raw draftsmanship that would later give way to the artist’s signature color-saturated style. Ideal for collectors of Southwest fine art, Navajo maternal imagery, and museum-quality Gorman originals.