Tony Abeyta (Navajo)

Tony Abeyta, from Gallup, New Mexico, is a very celebrated artist in the Native American art world for his unique style. Raised in a family of artists, his father is the famous painter, Narcisco Abeyta. His sister, Elizabeth Abeyta is a very well respected sculptor. At the age of 16, Tony realized he wanted to be an artist. He attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico for four years. When he graduated he enrolled at the Maryland Institute of Arts in Baltimore. There, he was exposed to the big city museums of New York and Washington, D.C. He continued his education in the South of France and Italy. He finally returned to the States where he entered a Master’s study program at Santa Fe Institute of Fine Arts and post-baccalaureate program at the Art Institute of Chicago as a Ford Foundation Scholar.

He is featured in all of the definitive publications and books on Native American art and has won numerous awards and honors. His paintings are rich in spirit and depict mythological and religious images of his own contemporary adaptation, as depiction of a particular God would be sacrilegious.