Dooley, Virginia, 1956-

Virginia Dooley, circa 1970 (Box 11, Folder 11)

Virginia S. Dooley was born March 7, 1943, in New York City, the daughter of Raymond N. Dooley and Lovilla Frederick Dooley. She moved with her family to central Illinois, where her father was director of student services at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington and later president of Lincoln College in Lincoln, Ill. Lovilla, Dooley’s mother, died when Dooley was a child. Her father's second wife, Florence Adams Dooley adopted Virginia and her two brothers, William Paul Dooley (goes by Paul) and Raymond W. Dooley (goes by Sandy).

Virginia Dooley attended Lincoln public schools and Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, WI. She graduated from the College Conservatory of Cincinnati with a major in voice and a minor in piano. After graduation, she moved to Arizona and taught music at St. Michael’s Mission School. In 1970, she took a job in the Taos school system. Dooley met Gorman in the summer of 1970 at the Navajo Gallery on Ledoux Street. Gorman offered Dooley a part time job working in the gallery to supplement her music salary. In 1972, Dooley became the Executive Director of the Navajo Gallery. For over three decades, Dooley and Gorman worked together establishing Gorman’s art legacy that continues today.

R. C. Gorman and Virginia Dooley. Photo by Linda Montoya, © Linda Montoya Images, 1991. (Box 11, Folder 15)

Dooley and Gorman developed a close friendship sharing mutual interests of food, parties, art and music. Early in her days in Taos, Dooley won a national baking contest for her turquoise margarita pie, and she collaborated with Gorman on a series of books called Nudes and Foods, which features his drawings and recipes she collected or created. Dooley also published a column entitled "The Dooley Guide to Opera" reviewing productions of the Santa Fe Opera for Taos Magazine . Dooley served as an active member of the Taos Press Club, the Taos County Chamber of Commerce and the Taos Art Festival committee. She died in Taos on April 25, 2008.

R. C. Gorman, 1994 (Box 7, Folder 8)

R.C. Gorman was born July 26, 1931, in Chinle Arizona, the son of Carl Nelson Gorman and Adelle Katherine Brown. Gorman lived with his family on the Navajo Reservation until he joined the Navy in 1951. After his discharge in 1955, the Navajo people awarded Gorman a scholarship to study art at Mexico City College. Inspired by Mexican artists’ such as Orozco and Rivera, Gorman experimented with bold use of color and developed his own unique style. After a year of studying art in Mexico, Gorman established his first studio in San Francisco, California where he painted abstract canvases based on Navajo rug designs. His Navajo rug series brought him his first recognition in the art world.

Gorman’s career flourished in the late sixties. He became known for his depictions of strong Navajo women. In 1964, he went to Taos, New Mexico, and shortly after had an exhibition at the Manchester Gallery. Gorman had several sold out showings at the Manchester Gallery. Although Gorman returned to San Francisco, he made frequent trips to Taos and decided to make it his permanent home in 1968. He purchased the Manchester Gallery and renamed it in honor of his own people. The first group exhibition at the Navajo Gallery took place in May of 1969. The gallery roster included Patrick Swazo Hinds, Robert Draper, Al Momaday, Helen Hardin, Pablita Velarde, Charles Lovato, Cynthia Bissell, Dorothy Brett, and R.C.’s father, Carl Gorman. R. C. Gorman gained international acclaim in the 1970s for his own art, when the New York Times christened him the "Picasso of American Indian Art" after he exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum. Gorman became one of the Southwest’s best known late twentieth century artists. He died in Taos on November 3, 2005.

From the guide to the Virginia Dooley papers from her personal life and business relationship with R.C. Gorman, 1916-2008, 1960-2006, (University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research)