Tony Abeyta facts for kids
Tony Abeyta is a talented artist born on November 6, 1965. He is a contemporary Navajo Diné artist. Tony lives and works between Berkeley, California and Santa Fe, New Mexico. His art is famous for its mixed media paintings and oil landscapes. These often show the beautiful American Southwest. He also paints about the New Mexico landscape, old Navajo symbols, and American Modernism.
Tony Abeyta's Early Life and Education
Tony Abeyta was born in Gallup, New Mexico. His father was Narciso "Ciso" Platero Abeyta, a Navajo painter. His mother, Sylvia Ann, was a Quaker ceramics artist. Tony was the youngest of their seven children.
He studied art at several places. In 1986, he earned a degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. There, he received the T.C. Cannon memorial scholarship. Later, he also received an honorary doctorate from the institute. He continued his studies, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1999. In 2004, he earned a Master of Fine Arts from New York University. Besides living in New Mexico and California, Tony has also worked and studied in cities like Baltimore, New York, Chicago, and even in Italy and France.
Tony Abeyta's Art Career and Achievements
Tony Abeyta has spent his career painting in both Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Berkeley, California. He has held many solo art shows in Santa Fe and Sedona, Arizona. He has also been part of many group shows. These shows took place in Santa Fe, Sedona, Los Angeles, California, and New York City.
His artwork is displayed in many important museums. These include the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. You can also find his art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Other museums include the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Denver Art Museum in Colorado. His paintings are also part of murals at the historic La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Tony Abeyta has received several special awards for his art. In 2012, he won the New Mexico Governor's Excellence in the Arts Award. The same year, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture named him a Native Treasures Living Treasure. In 2018, he received the Gene Autry Memorial Award from the Autry Museum of the American West.
