Nate Fischer can identify two major influences that led him to open his interior design firm: his love for the ocean and art. Growing up in Monterey, he appreciated the “eclectic mix of coastal California design” found in his hometown, Big Sur, and Carmel-by-the-Sea. After completing his...
Art can take us to unfamiliar settings, remind us of our favorite places, heighten our imaginations, or challenge our worldviews. It’s a gift to have such an array of expressions to depict and describe the human condition — all within reach to learn from, wonder...
It’s not your average artist who creates a series of paintings that becomes popular, then refuses to sell even one. But Poteet Victory is not your average artist. Of Cherokee and Choctaw ancestry, Victory, named Robert Poteet at birth, was born in Idabel, Oklahoma. His name...
One morning in 1923, Swedish-American painter Gunnar Mauritz Widforss was having breakfast in Camp Curry at Yosemite National Park when Park Service Director Stephen Mather asked if he could join him. Mather was out of uniform, as was his custom, so he could solicit honest...
“People hire me for my imagination,” explains Craig Wickersham. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based architect designed his first home when he was only a teenager. His family lived in Santa Cruz, California, and his father was building a new house. The whole operation caught Wickersham’s attention, and he...
Hand-Carved Leather Doctor’s Bag by John Blair A second-generation saddle maker with more than 40 years of experience, Wyoming native John Blair applies his leather-carving skills to create bespoke decorative pieces, like this Doctor’s Bag. A real work of craftsmanship, this bag is no ordinary briefcase....
At 176 years old, Fredericksburg, Texas, is still abuzz with youthful enterprise. This small historic town located some 70 miles north of San Antonio is estimated to draw more than 1 million tourists annually. In the mid-1800s, a delegation was sent to Germany to promote the...
Overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, approached by an allée of tall palm trees, the Grand Galvez stands as it has for more than a century. Newly renovated, the hotel exceeds her original grandeur, incorporating the elegance of the Gilded Age, enlivened with the charisma of...
Works by renowned Western artists continued to stand the test of time, achieving robust sums during spring 2022 auctions. Thomas Moran and Frederic Remington dominated the top-selling lots during Christie’s Stewards of the West. And Fritz Scholder, celebrated for bold exploration of his Native American...
R.E.C. Chipper Thompson, husband of the late artist Lanford Monroe [1950–2000], remembers a visit they made to Claude Monet’s gardens in Giverny, France. Monet’s house was closed to the public that day, but Monroe wanted to see inside. So, with permission from the guard, Thompson...