Laila with Child is an R.C. Gorman oil pastel of maternal tenderness. A mother leans toward the child at her side, her burgundy dress edged in cream setting the warm tonal key while the child’s pale garments catch the light; the plain, warm ground keeps every ounce of attention on the relationship between the two figures. Gorman’s soft contour and the pastel’s velvety surface give the pair a stillness that has made his mother-and-child works among the most sought-after in his catalog.
As a one-of-a-kind original, Laila with Child is a centerpiece acquisition for collectors of R.C. Gorman originals, Native American mother-and-child imagery, and Southwest works on paper.
