Part of the Navajo Nation, his vibrantly hued work often captured Native American cultural scenes, fluid forms, and vibrant colors, serene though he also worked in sculpture, ceramics, and stone lithography. Gorman’s most prominent subject, however, were women. In the artist’s own words “I revere women. They are my greatest inspiration.” As Gorman achieved commercial success in the 1970s and 1980s, he created a series of nude “academic” and lithographic prints. These images are considered rare among Navajo graphic designs. Gorman, also an avid lover of cuisine, authored and illustrated four Nudes and Food cookbooks.

R.C.’s formative development in art began at home. He reportedly began drawing at age three—influenced by his grandmother an avid genealogist and student of ancestral folklore. R. C. Gorman’s creativity is said to have been inspired by the natural elements in his environment-- rocks, sand, and mud. In addition to these influences on his artistic development, R.C. credited Jenny Lind, his teacher at Ganado Presbyterian Mission School, for his inspiration to become a full-time artist. R.C and his father Carl, who founded a silk-screen design company and taught Indian art at the University of California at Davis.

His grandmother, along with his parents Adele Katherine Brown and Carl Nelson Gorman, helped raise R.C. whose father, was infamous in his own right. Known for more than is visual prowess, Gorman is also one of the original twenty-nine “Navajo Code Talkers.” He and his colleagues, developed an unbreakable code American forces used in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

R.C. who studied at Northern Arizona University, majored in literature and minored in art. After receiving a scholarship from the Navajo Tribal Council to study outside of the United States, R.C. enrolled in the art program at Mexico City College. It was a pivotal point in his career and artistic development. It was at Mexico City, R.C. learned of and became influenced by the work of Diego Rivera.