Nocturne

Nocturne, a 1996 lithograph by R.C. Gorman, evokes twilight reverie and contemplative solitude. A standing Navajo woman in deep burgundy-maroon blanket and red skirt with golden-yellow hem faces toward a surreal, luminous tree that dominates the background. The tree’s foliage glows in pale cream-white against a deep twilight blue sky, its interior branches rendered in cool blue, creating an ethereal, almost celestial presence. The woman’s dark long hair flows free, and her silhouette is rendered with graceful simplicity. The landscape transitions from warm tan-yellow horizon to deep blue mountains, with scattered stars suggesting the transition from dusk to night. The composition captures a liminal moment between day and night, consciousness and dreams. Gorman’s delicate chromatic handling and magical realism elevate this to a signature late-career work, prized by collectors of his most poetic compositions.