Sanford Robinson Gifford was an American landscape painter and a leading member of the second generation of Hudson River School artists. A highly-regarded practitioner of Luminism, his work was noted for its emphasis on light and soft atmospheric effects.
John Mix Stanley was an artist-explorer, an American painter of landscapes, and Native American portraits and tribal life. Born in the Finger Lakes region of New York, he started painting signs and portraits as a young man. In 1842 he traveled to the American West to paint Native American life. In 1846 he exhibited a gallery of 85 of his paintings in Cincinnati and Louisville. During the Mexican–American War, he joined Colonel Stephen Watts Kearney's expedition to California and painted accounts of the campaign, as well as aspects of the Oregon Territory.
Fred Kabotie was a celebrated Hopi painter, silversmith, illustrator, potter, author, curator and educator. His native name in the Hopi language is Naqavoy'ma which translates to Day After Day.
Harrison Begay, also known as Haashké yah Níyá was a renowned Diné (Navajo) painter, printmaker, and illustrator. Begay specialized in watercolors, gouache, and silkscreen prints. At the time of his death in 2012, he was the last living, former student of Dorothy Dunn and Geronima C. Montoya at the Santa Fe Indian School. His work has won multiple awards and is exhibited in museums and private collections worldwide and he was among the most famous Diné artists of his generation.
Earnest Spybuck was an Absentee Shawnee Native American artist, who was born on the land allotted the Shawnee Indians in Indian Territory and what was to later become Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, near the town of Tecumseh. M. R. Harrington, an archaeologist/anthropologist, was touring the area documenting Native Americans, their history, culture and living habits. Interested in the religious ceremonies of the Shawnee which included the use of peyote, Harrington had ventured to the Shawnee Tribal lands. There he learned of Earnest Spybuck's artistic work and encouraged Spybuck in his endeavors. While Spybuck's work was obviously art, Harrington saw that he was illustrating detailed scenes of ceremonies, games, and social gatherings which could be used to illustrate many anthropological publications. Spybuck's work was received positively by both Native American and non-native artistic communities. Many of his works are now held by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.
Klah Tso was a Navajo painter. He is considered a pioneer Navajo easel painter.
Pablita Abeyta was a Native American activist and sculptor born in Gallup, New Mexico, United States. The eldest daughter of Sylvia Ann (Shipley) Abeyta and artist Narciso Abeyta. Her family was originally from the Cañoncito Band of the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, located west of Albuquerque. In 2000 the reservation decided to change its name to To'Hajiilee.
Jim Abeita is a Navajo oil painter from Crownpoint, New Mexico. He is best known for his realistic landscapes and portraits depicting his native people and their history and traditions. He was one of the first Native American artists to work in contemporary realism, painting with depth and shadow instead of in the flat-style traditional Native American art. Abeita is praised as a pioneering artist who modernized the Native American art scene, made it famous in the art market and paved the way for a new generation of artists.
Gilbert Benjamin Atencio, also called Wah Peen, was a San Ildefonso Pueblo painter, potter, medical Illustrator, and politician.
Lorencita Atencio Bird, also called T'o Pove, was a Pueblo-American painter and textile artist from the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. She studied at the Santa Fe Indian School under Dorothy Dunn and exhibited her artwork across the country and in Europe. In particular, she is known for her embroidery designs, utilizing symbolic colors and motifs such as diamonds, butterflies, and the color gold. Her artworks can be found in private collections including the Margretta S. Dietrich Collection and in museums including the Heard Museum, the Gilcrease Museum, the Philbrook Museum of Art, and the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian.
Frank Austin, also called Bahah Zhonie, is a Navajo American painter and textile artist born in Tsegi Canyon, Arizona, under the Navajo Salt Clan. He has exhibited his work across the country and is known for his silkscreen designs and textile paintings. Some of his works are in the permanent collection of institutions including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
Stanley K. Bahe is a Navajo painter. He studied at the Phoenix Indian School and has exhibited his work across the country, including at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa.
Kenneth Victor Young (1933–2017), was an American artist, educator, and designer. He is associated with the Washington Color School art movement. He worked at the Smithsonian Institution as an exhibit designer for 35 years.
Beatien Yazz, also called Jimmy Toddy, is a Navajo American painter born near Wide Ruins, Arizona. He exhibited his work around the world and is known for his paintings of animals and people and for his children's book illustrations. Some of his works have been in the permanent collection of institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Gilcrease Museum, the Logan Museum of Anthropology, the Museum of New Mexico, the Philbrook Museum of Art, and the Southwest Museum of the American Indian.
Clifford Beck, Jr. was a Navajo American painter, illustrator, photographer and educator born in Keams Canyon, Arizona. He exhibited his work across the United States and is known for his work in oils and pastels, particularly his portraits of older native people.
Arthur C. Begay was a Navajo American painter born in Newcomb, New Mexico. Begay has exhibited his work across the country and is known for his colorful, flat style paintings. Some of his works are in the permanent collection of institutions including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
Keats Begay was a Navajo American painter who lived in Chinle, Arizona and was active in the late 1930s. Begay has exhibited his work across the country, including at the National Gallery of Art, and is known for his colorful, flat style paintings. Some of his works are in the permanent collection of institutions including the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Museum of Northern Arizona, the Southwest Museum of the American Indian and the Museum of New Mexico.
Robert D. Draper was a Navajo (Diné) and Hopi/Laguna contemporary artist, known for his watercolor paintings. He often painted realistic landscapes of the Navajo (Diné) Reservation and Canyon de Chelly.
Timothy Bradley Begay was an American Navajo painter who lived in Chinle, Arizona. Begay has exhibited his work across the country, including at the Museum of New Mexico and the Philbrook Museum of Art. Some of his works are in the permanent collection of institutions including Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester and the Woolaroc Museum. He utilizes media such as watercolor to paint figurative scenes, often showing people with livestock.
Percy Tsisete Sandy, was a Zuni artist. His native name was Kai-Sa ; he is also known as Percy Sandy Tsisete. His paintings were signed with the name Kai-Sa.
