TONY ABEYTA
Navajo

Tony Abeyta was born in Gallup New Mexico. He attended a multi-cultural high school and continued his art studies at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe N.M. "I was fortunate to study in an environment where the focus was on art and there were also native american students from all over the united states". It was this intertribal atmosphere and artistic community that was to affect Tony throughout his career. The Maryland Institute College of Art, two years of studies abroad in both France and Italy, The Chicago Art Institute and finally his masters of art from New York University all helped hone and further develop Tony's art history and personal style.

In 2000 the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles hosted a 10 year retrospective of Tony's work, featuring over 40 pieces from public and private collections.

In 2004, Tony's multi panel painting "Anthem" was chosen as the official image of the grand opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. The image was displayed on banners along the mall and on all the official posters and invitations to this momentous event.

Abeyta's work is included in numerous museum collections, private collections, books, periodicals and catalogs, both nationally and internationally.