Still at the Easel

On top of Gorman Ridge Road in Hazard, Kentucky, lives 97-year-old Nancy (Nan) Gorman. 

In 1929, Nan and her family moved from Memphis, Tennessee, to Hazard just before the Great Depression.

Despite the economic turmoil, Nan fell in love with the mountains and the community nestled between them. Nan described Hazard in the 1940s as “an exciting place to live” because the town was practically being built from the ground up.  

Inspired by the beauty of Appalachia, Nan developed a passion for illustration. She attended Parsons School of Design in New York City to study fine arts. During her early twenties, Nan traveled to Greece, Rome, London and Paris. 

After traveling to vast corners of the earth, Nan returned to Appalachia after landing a job working as the first full-time artist and designer for the Kentucky state government.  

Nan created brochures of the state parks, illustrated Kentucky landmarks, and designed the governor’s Christmas cards. She was even tasked with updating the Kentucky state seal. 

The original seal, which was created shortly after the birth of the commonwealth in 1792, depicted two men embracing.

However, after nearly a century of reinterpretations of the original seal, Nan was assigned to create an updated version of the seal, depicting one of the men as a “pioneer” and the other as a “gentleman.”

Nan’s iteration of the commonwealth seal is still used to this day. 

“It’s just like all my work,” Nan said. “I really haven’t thought about it in years.” 

Nan’s humble confidence was present through her explanation of her career and passion for creation, especially as a woman in the early 1950s pursuing a career in design, which was a predominantly male field. 

However, Nan said, she “never had any trouble being a woman.”   

After her late husband, Mayor Bill Gorman, passed away in 2010, Nan was elected on a write-in ballot to serve as his successor.  

In addition to her career as both an artist and a politician, Nan has written and illustrated multiple books. One book, “Appalachian Christmas,” is a collection of fictional short stories that embody the Appalachian experience.  

Today, Nan spends her days painting any and everything.