De Ana

De Ana, a 1977 R.C. Gorman oil pastel, is a lively reclining figure study in which a Navajo woman cradles a round golden yellow pot against her hip while lying on her side across a pale cream ground. She wears an open robe rendered in loose, gestural strokes of coral red, rose, cobalt blue, and lavender that wrap around a soft white tunic at her chest. Her silver gray hair is swept into a high bun and her eyes are gently closed. Horizontal bands of rose, magenta, and peach streak the background like a desert horizon at dusk. As an original early career oil pastel, De Ana is a rare acquisition for collectors of Gorman originals, Southwest pastel drawings, and Native American fine art.