Jim Abeita facts for kids

Jim Abeita (born 1947) is a famous Navajo oil painter. He comes from Crownpoint, New Mexico. He is well-known for his realistic paintings of landscapes and people. His art shows the history and traditions of his Native American community.

Abeita was one of the first Native American artists to use a modern, realistic style. He painted with depth and shadows. This was different from the traditional flat style of Native American art. Many people see Abeita as a pioneer. He helped make Native American art popular in the art world. He also opened doors for new artists.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Abeita started entering art competitions. He also joined art groups and worked with galleries. He began showing and selling his art in places like Gallup, New Mexico. His big break came in 1971 when country musician Johnny Cash noticed his work. Cash asked Abeita to paint album covers, family portraits, and many other paintings. Abeita painted Cash's portrait for the album Johnny Cash Collection: His Greatest Hits, Volume II. He also painted for Cash's religious album Johnny Cash Sings Precious Memories. Other famous people soon asked Abeita to paint for them too.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Abeita showed his art at many events. These included the New Mexico State Fair and the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial. His work has been shown in museums like the Museum of Northern Arizona. It has also appeared in magazines such as Southwest Art and Arizona Highways. In 1976, he released a book called The American Indians of Abeita: His People. It featured 108 of his oil paintings of the Navajo people and their homeland.

Since 2011, Abeita has been semi-retired. He still paints for fun and sometimes shows his art. He is seen as a very important artist in modern Navajo art. He is often mentioned alongside other great Native American artists.

Jim Abeita's Art Style and Impact

'Market Drive' painting by Jim Abeita

Jim Abeita is most famous for his realistic landscapes and portraits. He uses oil paints in his artwork. His paintings often show scenes from everyday Navajo life. People admire his ability to capture daily life and small details. They say his art is "unmistakably accurate."

Since he was a child, Abeita loved painting people, animals, and the lands around him. Sometimes, he painted strong images like warriors. But his main focus was always the peaceful daily life and traditions of his people.

Abeita's realistic style made his art stand out. Most traditional Native American artists used a "flat-style" approach. This meant painting without shadows or depth. They often used watercolor or casein. Abeita chose to paint in a way that made his subjects look three-dimensional. He was inspired by modern Western American artists, like Frederic Remington. Abeita calls himself a "Western-Indian" artist.

His new approach made him famous in the art world. By the 2000s, Abeita was praised for changing the Navajo art scene. He became known as one of the most skilled Native American painters. Today, he is considered a key figure in modern Navajo art. His works are collected by people all over the world.

Abeita has also helped and encouraged other Native Americans to learn oil painting. He has inspired new generations of artists to use a realistic style. Many successful Native American artists, like Anthony Chee Emerson and Ryan Singer, say Abeita influenced them. They praise him for helping Native American art grow and become more popular.

Early Life and Family

Jim Abeita was born in 1947 in Crownpoint, New Mexico. This is on the Diné (Navajo) Reservation. His mother was from the Tsenabahilnii (Sleep Rock People Clan). His father was from the Ashiihi (Salt People Clan).

His parents were Mary and Howard Abeita. Jim was the second oldest of 16 children. His younger brother, Emerson Abeita, also became a painter. As a child, Jim often stayed with his grandmother near Crownpoint. He helped her raise sheep in Canyon de Chelly.

Around 1955, Abeita moved to Salt Lake City for school. He lived with a foster family there who were Mormon. Since then, he has identified as a Mormon himself.

Education and First Steps in Art

Abeita started drawing when he was only four years old. In his younger years, he used watercolors or charcoal from a stove. From that time, he knew he wanted to be an artist. He learned his first painting skills from his uncle, Joe Charley, who taught himself to paint.

In 1953, Abeita went to Crownpoint Boarding School. Later, he moved to Salt Lake City for a school program. He lived with a foster family there. Abeita won his first painting awards while in Salt Lake City. To support his talent, his foster family gave him his first oil painting kit for Christmas when he was 11. He learned the basics of oil painting within a year. One of his early inspirations was the oil artwork of Norman Rockwell.

Abeita studied in Salt Lake City until his last year of high school. Then he returned to New Mexico and finished at Gallup High School in 1966. He was a top art student and loved to experiment. His high school art teacher, Duane Berg, said Abeita could paint anything. Berg helped Abeita show and sell his first works. This was at the Gallup's Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial. This is an annual event with parades, rodeos, and art shows.

After high school, Abeita worked a summer job. His boss noticed his talent and suggested he apply to art school. Abeita got a scholarship from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). He then enrolled at the American Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago, Illinois. He married Hannah Foster, and they moved to Chicago around 1967.

Abeita took a 15-month art course in Chicago. He was very eager to learn oil painting. He finished a required nine-month course in just one month. Then he moved on to the subjects he was most interested in. He completed a two-year art program in less than six months.

Career Highlights

Early Career (1960s–1970s)

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Abeita often entered art competitions. His first competition was at the New Mexico State Fair in 1968. He also took part in events like the Heard Museum Indian Arts and Craft Show. Within ten years, he won many awards. He became well-known in the modern Native American art world.

While living in Chicago, Abeita's wife, Hannah, helped promote his paintings. She took them to galleries around the city. She sold several to a gallery that had branches worldwide. This gallery then ordered more of Abeita's work.

In Chicago, Abeita painted a portrait of Johnny Cash. In 1971, his wife encouraged him to take the painting to a Cash concert. They hoped to get it signed. They couldn't go backstage, but Cash's manager took the painting to him.

A few months later, Cash invited Abeita and his family to his home in Tennessee. There, Abeita painted another portrait of Cash. This painting became the album cover for The Johnny Cash Collection: His Greatest Hits, Volume II. This was Abeita's first painting sold commercially. It brought him national fame.

As Cash's guest, Abeita painted portraits of Cash's family. He also painted a picture of Jesus for The Johnny Cash Show. He ended up painting about 30 portraits for Cash. After the album came out, Abeita gained attention in the music industry. Other record companies offered him partnerships. Later, he painted portraits for many other famous people.

Success in the Art Market (1970s–2000)

Around 1971–1972, Abeita and his family moved back to his hometown of Crownpoint, New Mexico. Abeita worked as a freelance painter. He showed his art in New Mexico and other states. He worked closely with Nello T. Guadagnoli, a photographer and businessman. Guadagnoli helped him sell paintings through the Mullarky Studio and Camera Shop. He also helped Abeita get into the Kiva Gallery. These partnerships brought Abeita great success in the art market.

In 1972, Abeita was named one of the "outstanding Indian artists." This list included famous names like Julian Martinez and R. C. Gorman. That same year, he had his first solo show in Scottsdale, Arizona. He also took part in a major art event in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In 1972, Abeita competed at the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial Art Show. His painting "Praying Hands" won the Grand Prize. Other paintings also won awards in different categories.

By 1973, art collectors began to notice Abeita's work. Galleries in Texas, Wyoming, Arizona, and New Mexico started buying his paintings. From 1974 to 1978, he painted group portraits for a competition in Scottsdale, Arizona.

In 1975, Abeita painted another album cover for Johnny Cash. This was for his religious album, Johnny Cash Sings Precious Memories. That same year, two of Abeita's paintings were part of a very important collection of Zuni and Navajo art.

In 1982, Abeita again took part in the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial. He showed his work and led an art workshop. In 1988, his paintings were in a big exhibition in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A year later, he was part of a show in Evanston, Illinois.

For a few years in the early 1990s, Abeita took a break from his career. In 1995, he returned with an exhibition in Farmington, New Mexico. His painting "The Medicine Woman" was chosen for the festival's poster that year.

By 1995, Abeita's works were part of the public collection at the Museum of Northern Arizona. He also had paintings shown at other major fairs and markets. In 1997, he was featured in an art research journal. He was recognized as one of the best-known Native American artists working in Western American Art.

Printed Works and Publications

In 1974, one of Abeita's paintings was chosen for an annual lithograph. His art was used for covers of Arizona Highways magazine in 1974, 1976, and 1978.

In 1976, he published his book, The American Indians of Abeita: His People. It had 108 pictures of his oil paintings. Johnny Cash wrote a special message for the book. A review called Abeita "a genius" and praised his painting skills.

Over the years, Abeita's images have been in many books and magazines. These include Southwest Art, Artists Of The Rockies, and New Mexico Magazine.

Current Activity (2000–Present)

In 2006, Abeita was named the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial's "Living Treasure." In 2009, he was a grand marshal for the Navajo Nation Fair parade. He also painted a poster for the fair.

By 2011, Abeita was painting mostly for his own enjoyment. He was not focusing on selling his art. In 2011, the Navajo Nation Museum held a special show of his work. It included about 70 paintings from almost 50 years. Some paintings were from Abeita himself. Others were loaned by collectors. Several paintings from Johnny Cash's personal collection were given by the Cash family.

In 2017, his life story was included in the book Legendary Locals of Gallup, New Mexico. In 2018, Abeita was still active in art events. He took part in the Gallup Native Arts Market. There, Native American artists show and sell their work.

Exhibitions

Awards

Personal Life

Jim Abeita married Hannah Foster Abeita on March 25, 1967. Hannah was born on June 19, 1949, in Sheep Springs, New Mexico. She also went to Gallup High School. Jim and Hannah had three children: a son named Troy and two daughters, Michelle and Carmen.

After living in Chicago for a few years, the Abeita family moved back to Crownpoint, New Mexico in 1971 or 1972. They settled there to be closer to nature and enjoy outdoor activities. Jim and Hannah were active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sadly, Hannah Abeita died in a car crash on July 12, 1975. She was buried in Crownpoint.

Jim Abeita became good friends with Johnny Cash after they met in 1971. Their families also became close. Cash taught the Abeita children how to swim. He even threw a party for the Abeitas, inviting other celebrities. Through Cash, Abeita met famous people like actor Burt Reynolds and musicians Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, and Roy Orbison. Jennings and Reynolds even owned some of Abeita's paintings.

In 1973, Cash invited the Abeitas to his concert in Las Vegas, Nevada. They spent three days with the singer. Abeita also invited Cash to the Navajo land. Cash visited and performed for Abeita's community there. Johnny Cash even attended Hannah Abeita's funeral in 1975.

Cash spoke fondly of his friend in his 1975 song Navajo:

I have seen your red rock canyons out of Gallup
I have walked upon your Arizona hills
At Crownpoint I watched an artist painting
All the secrets of your past surviving still.

—Johnny Cash, Navajo

See also

• Navajo
• Julian Martinez
• Pablita Velarde
• Helen Hardin
• Harrison Begay
• R. C. Gorman
• Fritz Scholder
• New Mexico State Fair
• Navajo Nation Museum