Betty Manygoats (born 1945) is a Navajo artist known for her ceramic work. She lives and works at Cow Springs on the Navajo Nation in Arizona in the American Southwest.

Biography

Manygoats was born at Shoto/Cow Springs, on the Navajo Nation. ^[1] She was born into the Tàchiiʼnii clan. ^[2] She and her husband William Manygoats, whom she married in 1963, have ten children. ^{[2] [3]} Many of her grown children are also potters. ^[3] She is also known as Betty Barlow. ^[1]

Art work

Manygoats learned the art of silversmithing, weaving and beadwork when she was growing up. ^[2] When she was in her twenties, she learned to make traditional functional pottery from her grandmother, Grace Barlow. ^[1] As her work progressed, she developed a style that exaggerated the surface decoration, motifs, and shapes of traditional Navajo pottery. ^[1] In the 1970s, Manygoats developed a style of working that incorporated the application of hand-built clay horned toads which became her trademark. ^[3]

Collections

Manygoats' work is included in the collection of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. ^[4] She is also represented in the collections of the National Museum of the American Indian. ^[4] and the William C. and Evelyn M. Davies Gallery of Southwest Indian Art at the Museum of Texas Tech University.^{[ citation needed]}

References