Gerald Nailor

Born in New Mexico, Gerald Nailor was a Navajo painter. Nailor, also known as Toh Yah, which translates to “Walking by the River,” trained at the Santa Fe Indian School in New Mexico from 1935 to 1937. After completing his studies, he opened a studio with friend Allan Houser, a Chiricahua Apache artist. In 1938, the federal government commissioned Nailor and Houser to paint murals for the Indian Arts and Crafts Shop at the Department of the Interior building in Washington, D.C. One year later, they were invited back to paint a series of murals for the eighth-floor penthouse together with Potawatomi artist Woody Crumbo and Zia Pueblo painter Velino Herrera. In 1942, Nailor received another commission for the Navajo Nation Council Chamber in Window Rock, Arizona, where he painted a series of murals documenting the history of the Navajo people. The artist’s career was cut short by his untimely death in 1952.