Shonto Begay
View Shonto Begay's Paintings   |  Read Shonto Begay's Canyon Road Arts Article

Read Shonto Begay's Native Peoples Article

Read Shonto Begay's Western Art Collector article

Shonto Begay, In the Late Light, Acrylic on Canvas, 44" x 67"

Biography Shonto Begay

A professional artist since 1983, Shonto Begay spends his time painting and speaking to audiences of all ages. His art has been shown in more than 50 shows in galleries and museums including The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, the American Indian Contemporary Arts' museum in San Francisco and Phoenix Art Museum.

Shonto Begay, Moonlit Mile, Acrylic on Canvas, 16" x 20"

Shonto Begay attended Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding schools all over the Navajo Reservation and high school in Kayenta. He received an Associates of Fine Art degree at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from California College of Arts and Crafts.

Shonto Begay worked as a National Park Service ranger for ten years at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and Navajo National Monument in Arizona.

Shonto Begay, The Fight, Acrylic on Canvas, 18" x 24"

Shonto Begay speaks to audiences of all ages. He presents his personal history as a Navajo who happens to draw upon his culture in its modern context. He illustrates his talks with slides and prints and gives short art lessons to students.

"I have always had a love for art. From a very young age, I found excitement in the experience of drawing. To recreate facets of my universe in varying degrees has always been my life's adventure.

Shonto Begay, Rhythms from the Edge of the Rez, Acrylic on Canvas, 40" x 44"

I was born in a hogan in Shonto, Arizona. My parents are traditional Navajo people. My father is a medicine man, and my mother weaves rugs and herds sheep.

My message is simple. Build bridges through the arts and stories of your culture, validate and share these visions and voices. Celebrate your personal identity through the arts. In my talks, I am as much a student as I am a teacher," says Shonto Begay.

Books

The Magic of Spiderwoman, 1996

Navajo: Visions and Voices Across the Mesa, 1995

Scholastic: Multicultural Books, 1994-1995

Mali and Cousin Horned Toad, 1991

The Mud Pony, Owl award for Illustration in Japan, 1988

Visual Chant: The Paintings of Shonto Begay, San Juan College Art Gallery

Publications

Western Art Collector, Premiere Issue 2007

Canyon Road Arts, 2007-2008

XFuns, Interview, Japan, 2007

Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, Cover painting, 2003-2007

Native Peoples, “Creative Journeys,” 2004

Arts and Living, MJural , Sierra Club, Arizona Ethnobotanical Research Association and the Black Mesa Trust, 2004

Warrior’s Voice, Interview, 2002

IAIA Museum Exhibition, Cover painting, 2002

Memo, Japan, 2001

Arizona Daily Sun, 2001

Arizona Highways, Cover painting and Illustrations for “Sacred Gift” 2001

Jackson Hole News, 2000

Live!, Flagstaff, AZ, 1997, 2000, 2001

The Sunday Journal, 2001

Navajo Hopi Observer, 1999

The Daily Times, 1997

Indian Artist, “Talking with Shonto Begay,” 1997

Time Machine, 1996

Instructor: The Whole Teacher’s Handbook, 1995

West University Sun, 1995

Phoenix Home and Garden, January 1994

Book Links, 1992

Plateau Journal

Time Machine

Exhibitions

Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Indian Market, Santa Fe, NM, 2006, 2007

Arizona: A Millennium of Arizona Art, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ 2007

IAIA Museum, 2002

Walk the Line, Santa Fe Indian Market

The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe, NM

American Indian Contemporary Arts' Museum, San Francisco, CA

Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona

Teaching

Colorado Plateau Workshop, Flagstaff, Arizona, 2000

Film

Featured art, "Skinwalker" Robert Redford adapted from Tony Hillerman's book "The Skinwalker"

Cultural Consultant, line producer, actor and artist in upcoming film "Vacuuming the Cat" starring Barbara Hershey and Ron Perlman

Return to Shonto Begay's Paintings

Shonto Begay, Blessed, Acrylic on Canvas, 24" x 20"