Swanson, Ray

Ray Swanson was born in rural South Dakota and educated in a one-room schoolhouse. After his father passed away, the family moved to California where Swanson studied drafting and aeronautical engineering and became a civil engineer. When he inherited a box of paints from his grandfather, Swanson began to paint farm subjects as a hobby. The budding artist fell for the Native Americans of Arizona: the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, and Apache, and saw that their way of life would make an excellent subject for a professional painter.