Slim Woman and Chewing Tobacco Begay

Slim Woman and Chewing Tobacco Begay is an oil on masonite painting by artist Lloyd Moylan measuring about two feet wide by two feet tall.

In keeping with the early 20th-century practice of Native American portraiture in Western American art, Slim Woman and Chewing Tobacco Begay reflects and promotes a superficial understanding of Diné (Navajo) culture. For more about this painting style and the history of this painting, read the “About this Artwork” section above.

Filling the painting frame is a man and a woman from the waist up, standing close together and facing the right side of the painting, almost in profile. The background, seen in the upper left corner and along the right edge of the painting, has few details, only consisting of large, abstract shapes painted in yellow, blue and grey. Both figures have dark skin and strongly drawn facial features, with serious expressions on their faces.

On the left, the woman is draped in a beige shawl that wraps around her head and shoulders. She wears a pink collared blouse and a long blue earring on her right ear. Her neck is adorned with double strands of a blue beaded necklace. She holds her hands up in front of her so the backs of them are visible, showcasing blue and silver rings on almost every finger.

On the right, the man wears a grey coat and a large-brimmed gray hat, which he tilts down to the right with his left hand. A long scarf, in shades of yellow and orange, hangs around his neck and down his torso. Like the woman, he also wears blue and silver rings on the fingers of his right hand, which he holds upright against his chest.