Nopales

Nopales, a 1985 lithograph by R.C. Gorman, celebrates the iconic Southwest plant and the indigenous woman whose presence is inseparable from the desert landscape. A Navajo woman sits in profile against a lush, vibrant prickly pear cactus (nopal) rendered in brilliant shades of emerald and forest green with bright pink fruits glowing like jewels. The woman wears a richly colored shawl in multi-chromatic harmony—magenta, purple, and warm peach tones—her dark hair in profile, tan skin glowing. The background opens to blue sky and warm sandy desert ground beneath her. Gorman’s masterful color relationships create visual vitality while maintaining compositional balance. The work celebrates indigenous botanical knowledge, cultural resilience, and the aesthetic beauty of Navajo women. A signature mid-career Gorman work combining his strongest themes of figurative portraiture, color virtuosity, and celebration of Southwestern indigenous culture.