Canyon Song

Canyon Song, an R.C. Gorman oil pastel, reduces the artist’s celebrated figure vocabulary to its purest essentials with a trio of Navajo women rendered in warm sienna and umber contour strokes on a bright white ground. The three seated figures face outward in different directions, their flowing skirts, cascading hair, and upturned profiles drawn with confident, lyrical line work that feels almost calligraphic. Gorman leaves vast expanses of untouched paper to amplify the quiet breathing space between the women, evoking a silent harmony as if they are listening together to the canyon itself. Signed by the artist, this original is an exceptional showcase of Gorman’s draftsmanship. A superb acquisition for collectors of minimalist Gorman originals, Native American line drawings, and Southwest fine art pastels.