Nizhoni

Nizhoni, a 1989 lithograph by R.C. Gorman, celebrates the bounty and beauty of the Southwest through its title word meaning ‘beautiful’ in Navajo. The composition features a reclining Navajo woman rendered in warm peachy-tan skin tones, wearing a magenta-purple top and soft lavender-pink lower garment. Her dark hair is gathered in a simple bun, and her body reclines gracefully on warm sandy desert ground against a purple-tinged transitional sky. Before her sits an abundant harvest basket filled with golden vegetables—squash, corn, and root vegetables—alongside a ripe banana. The color palette harmonizes warm and cool tones beautifully, creating an atmosphere of nurture, sustenance, and quiet contentment. Gorman’s tender rendering celebrates indigenous agriculture and the dignified presence of Navajo women as life-sustainers. An essential piece for collectors of Gorman’s celebration of Navajo identity.