Harrison Begay was born in 1914 and educated at
various schools on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona. He attended both,
Santa Fe Indian School and Phoenix Junior College. He served in the U. S. Army
in World War II. Harrison Begay, of Lower Greasewood, Navajo County, Arizona
passed away on August 18,2012 at the age of 95.
One of the best known Navajo painters, Begay's
watercolors are known for their beautiful array of colors as well as the
precise sense of design. Begay is a traditional painter whose work depicts an
idealized manner of every aspect of Navajo life. Harrison often wrote on the back of his paintings, a title or what the painting depicted. This wonderful painting is titled "Going Out to Visit the Grandmother"
Sight size is 16 1/2" by 14 1/2". Framed non-glare glass, double matted, size 24" by 25 1/2".
Harrison Begay was awarded the French Palmes
d’Academiques in 1954. He has exhibited his paintings worldwide to include a
solo exhibition in Japan in 1989. His work is published in, American Indian
Painting by Dorothy Dunn, Southwest Indian Painting by Clara Lee
Tanner, The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters by
Patrick D. Lester, American Indian Painters by Oscar Jacobson and Jeanne
D’Ucel.