Abigail Doan is a prominent American artist. Born in Southern California, she was raised in New Hampshire and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. There, she founded her studio where she concentrated on creating expressive works based on American Indian culture, nature, and women. While at college, Doan began to focus on her interest in Native American art, which would inspire her work as an artist. While at the College of Art Student’s Institute in San Francisco, she honed her sketching skills and began to develop her eye for color and light. She majored in printmaking at the College of Design and Communication at the University of San Francisco.
Abigail Doan has served as an art adviser to several nontraditional artists. She has also been a textile professor at New York University’s School of Industrial and Design. Doan is currently working with artist and curator Mark Langan on a project that will introduce computer-generated textiles to Native Americans. The goal of the study, calledogy for a shroud, is to create a visual history of American Indian life using textiles produced on an Apple iPad.
In addition to her current work as a textile artist, Abigail Doan has established connections to artists who have influenced her. She is part of the Friends of William Shea Doan, an organization that helps fund Doan’s artistic endeavors. Doan’s connection to Shea and other prominent American Indian writers such as Chet Richards continues to serve as a source of motivation and support for her artistic development.