Harrison Begay – Pair of Original Paintings – Navajo Feather Dancers

Description

Harrison Begay (1914-2012)
Indian Name: Haskay Yahne Yah (The Wandering Boy)
Painting, Mid20
th
Century - Harrison rarely dated his paintings
Origin: Diné -Navajo Nation
Medium: Gouache on paper
Size:
9 1/4” x 15” each, image;
16-1/2” x 23” each, framed
Price:
,695.00 PAIR
Harrison Begay or Haskay Yahne Yah (The Wandering Boy) was born in White Cone, Arizona on the Navajo Reservation in 1917 or sometime around then.  He's never been sure about the date.  His parents were Black Rock and Zonnie Tachinie Begay.  His mother died when he was seven, and soon after he was sent off to government boarding school at Fort Wingate where he heard English spoken for the first time.  After a year he ran away from school to return home where he studied by himself and herded sheep.  At seventeen he entered the recently founded Santa Fe Indian School and studied art under Dorothy Dunn.
When he graduated from Santa Fe Indian School as salutatorian in 1939, Harrison went on to study architecture at Black Mountain College in North Carolina on a scholarship from the Indian Commission.  He also created murals for the WPA during the Depression before spending three years in the Army during World War II. He served under General Dwight Eisenhower and also participated in the Battle of Normandy.
Soon after his discharge and return to Arizona, he was able to begin once more his study of art. Then in the 1960s he again met General Eisenhower at the annual Ceremonials in Gallup, New Mexico. At that time Harrison presented General Eisenhower with one of his fine painting which s in a permanent collection in Washington, D.C
In 1954 Harrison was awarded the Palmes de Academiques, a special commendation from the French government, for his contributions to the arts.  Much recognition and many awards were presented Begay over the years.  In 1995 he was awarded the Native American Masters Award from the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.  Works from his 75-year career are in permanent museum collections around the world including the following:
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
The Museum of Western Art
Desert Caballeros Western Museum
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art
Great Plains Art Museum
Smithsonian Institute
Philbrook Museum of Art
Southwest Museum, Pasadena