1. Harrison Begay, known as Haashke yah Niya was a renowned Dine painter, printmaker, and illustrator.
22 Facts About Harrison Begay
1. 2.
Harrison Begay's work has won multiple awards and is exhibited in museums and private collections worldwide and he was among the most famous Dine artists of his generation.
3.
Harrison Begay was born circa 15 November 1917, in Whitecone, Arizona.
4.
Harrison Begay's mother belonged to the Red Forehead Clan, and his father was from the Zuni Deer Clan.
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Harrison Begay grew up in a hogan, where he was raised tending goats and sheep.
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Harrison Begay's classmates included Gerald Nailor, Quincy Tahoma, and Andrew Tsihnahjinnie.
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Harrison Begay served in the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project during the Great Depression era between 1933 and 1943, painting murals.
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From 1940 to 1941, Harrison Begay attended Black Mountain College in Black Mountain, North Carolina under a scholarship from the Indian Commission.
9.
From 1942 to 1945, during the Second World War, Harrison Begay served in the US Army Signal Corps in Germany, Iceland, the Czech Republic, and other parts of continental Europe.
10.
Harrison Begay took part in the D-Day storming at Normandy Beachhead.
11.
Harrison Begay was honorably discharged in 1945 and returned to Santa Fe.
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Harrison Begay travelled through Colorado, staying in Denver to study with Gerald Curtis Delano.
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In 1951, Harrison Begay expanded his artistic horizons by co-founding the Tewa Enterprises in Santa Fe with fellow artist Charles Barrows.
14.
Harrison Begay took an active role in cutting the screens for his serigraph reproductions.
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Harrison Begay's artwork was easily adapted to the new medium due to his flat forms, delicate lines, and strict fields of color.
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Harrison Begay was close friends with fellow Studio School artist Quincy Tahoma.
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In 1959, Harrison Begay decided to relocate to the Navajo Nation Reservation to be closer to his family and community.
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Harrison Begay placed particular emphasis on horses, colts, deer, and fawn.
19.
Harrison Begay's career was so profitable that he was able to support himself and his family through his art making.
20.
Harrison Begay died on 18 August 2012 in Gilbert, Arizona at the age of 95.
21.
Harrison Begay was buried in the Fort Defiance Veterans Cemetery in Arizona.
22.
Harrison Begay's work has been included in a large number of public museum collections, including the Montclair Art Museum, National Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Northern Arizona, the Heard Museum, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, the Wheelwright Museum, the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, the Philbrook Museum, the Gilcrease Museum, the De Young Museum of San Francisco, and many more.