Tony Begay was born in 1941 in Ganado, Arizona on the Navajo Nation. He was a graduate of the American School of Commercial Art in Dallas, Texas.

Begay served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1962 – 1966, during which time he was commissioned to paint murals at the officer’s clubs at Camp Horno and Camp Pendleton, California.

His first one-man show was at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona in 1970. His paintings are included in the Woodward Collection, the Navajo Nation Tribal Museum, and various private collections. Tony exhibited at the Eiteljorg Museum, the Philbrook Art Center, the Museum of Northern Arizona, the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonials and at the Navajo Tribal Fair. His life was cut short in an unfortunate accident in 1973.