The oldest son of famed Navajo artist Beatien Yazz, Irving Toddy attended Utah State University where he studied painting and illustration. He and several other Navajo painters became known as the "Gallup Realists." Because his work is so realistic, it is greatly different from traditional Navajo painting. One of his favorite subjects is Canyon de Chelly.
Irving Toddy, Bit’aanii (Folded Arms), is many faceted, working in acrylic, watercolor, pencil, charcoal, pen and ink and conte crayon.
Toddy currently lives in Pine Springs, Arizona with his wife Stella.
He has won numerous awards and honors at the Gallup Intertribal Indian Ceremonial Art; first, second, and third place awards at the Santa Fe Indian Market; and the Patrick Hinds Swazo Award for the most promising young artist. Toddy’s work can be found in museums across the country, as well as in numerous public and private collections.
Book illustrations:
Cheyenne Again, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Reprint edition (May 20, 2002)
Canyon Boy, Red Lake Press (September 20, 2002)
