Carmen and Child

Carmen and Child, a 1988 R.C. Gorman lithograph, is a tender madonna-and-child composition depicting a Navajo mother in a soft white blouse and voluminous periwinkle-blue skirt cradling her small child close against her shoulder. Beside her sits a large woven basket brimming with bright red and green chiles, with a few stray chile pods scattered across the warm earth ground. The background is a luminous gradient sky that transitions from deep purple at the top through rose pink and coral, giving the scene a romantic dusk glow. Signed and numbered from a limited edition, Carmen and Child is an essential acquisition for collectors of Gorman maternal imagery, Southwest chile harvest art, and Native American fine art lithographs.