On a warm day in San Francisco, September 22, 1959, Senator John F. Kennedy delivered a convincing campaign speech to some 1,500 supporters at the Sheraton-Palace Hotel. Standing in the Grand Ballroom beneath Austrian crystal chandeliers, he spoke of a new frontier and the urgent...
Santa Fe, New Mexico, has long been called “The City Different.” But for really different, take the Turquoise Trail, a National Scenic Byway (54 miles on State Road 14) that starts at the intersection of Interstate 25 south of town and roams southwest to Tijeras....
Jemez Solid Wood Bench by Pfeifer Studio From Pfeifer Studio in New Mexico, this sleek, contemporary sculptural bench is built from a solid log of sustainable Ponderosa pine from the Jemez Mountains and the Santa Fe National Forest. Knots, cracks, coloration and grain pattern will vary...
Michael Hennessey, the founder of San Francisco-based Hennessey Architects, is known as a minimalist, but his aims are far from minimal. “Even though our work is very measured and composed,” Hennessey says of his firm, “my hope is that it elicits an emotional response. That’s the...
In the 2002 film about Agnes Martin, produced by Mary Lance when the artist was 90, Martin looks mischievously at the camera and delivers this classic line: “Somebody once asked me what was my happiest moment painting? And I told them, ‘When they go out...
Patricia Michaels moves through the world like silk through light: with a gentle grace that belies a structural integrity stronger than steel. She is Taos Pueblo, a mother, a teacher at Parsons School of Design, and one of the most singular fashion designers working in...
Donna Howell-Sickles is known throughout the Western world for her vibrant, joyful paintings of cowgirls. Bursting with color and life, they are also layered with meaning, embellished with spiritual references and representations of ranch and farm life that symbolize the multiple facets and complexity of...
We have such amazingly creative artists, architects, and designers in the West, people who work tirelessly to make a difference. In this issue, we shine our spotlight on a few. Case in point: August heralds the 104th Indian Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Beginning on...
Western style. Its influences are varied, from dude ranches and dime novels to rodeo and the silver screen, to Native American artistry seen in such crafts as beadwork. The fine artists who came to the region as the railroad opened the Mountain West to tourism...
On a recent visit to a museum in the Southwest, I toured their collections, which included a long-term loan of Western saddles, bridles, and spurs. The museum staff member guiding the tour mentioned that the saddles had recently been frozen as part of the museum’s...