Friends called her Beck or Becky. She dressed in traditional Western garb — denim breeches, boots, and kerchiefs — and topped her mane of prematurely silver hair with felt hats. An ever-present cigarette dangled from her lips. Her face, sometimes embellished with bright red lipstick,...
In an area of mostly single-story adobe houses in Taos, New Mexico, Thom “Tex” Wheeler’s home and studio is an architectural anomaly. Visitors drive through an arched entry gate with a weathered wooden sign declaring “Happy Trails,” and they are indeed about to embark on...
When Brett Allen Johnson received the Victor Higgins Work of Distinction Award at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art’s Quest for the West Art Show and Sale in September 2021, more than the undeniable quality of his three paintings set him apart....
A personal art collection is full of stories. I was reminded of this fact recently while unpacking a box of keepsakes from my parents’ garage, in which I had squirreled away magazine clippings of artworks I liked when I was in high school: a Richard...
Having grown up surrounded by the lush Hawaiian outdoors and her mother’s vibrant watercolor paintings, Jenni Leasia’s natural inclination to improve people’s environments informs her design aesthetic. “My Hawaiian childhood instilled the importance of connecting indoor and outdoor spaces, which is a huge part of...
If you want to meet a modern day Renaissance man, say hello to Mark Sublette. Formerly a practicing physician specializing in preventative, occupational, and sports medicine, today he’s the founder and owner of Tucson, Arizona’s well-known Medicine Man Gallery. Sublette is also considered an authority...
Collectors showed enthusiasm for a return to in-person gatherings at art auctions this fall. Events brought together painters, sculptors, and buyers with pandemic safety precautions in place and virtual options for those who preferred them. And sales indicated that all is well on the Western...
Labeling Levi Jackson’s artworks as photographs alone would be the same sort of reductionism he undoubtedly advises his students against when teaching studio photography, art criticism, and artist’s theory at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. “I make temporary site-specific installations that I document with...
Artist William “Lucky” Davis stands by the window in his restored 1920s-era cabin-turned-studio in Paradise Valley, Montana. He’s gazing out at an open meadow that leads to forested land and the Absaroka Mountains in the distance. The sound of running water — riffles from nearby...
You’d think the adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” would be especially appropriate when describing photographer Edward S. Curtis [1868–1952]. After all, the portfolio that comprises his life’s work, The North American Indian, includes hundreds of images of Indigenous Americans. These photographs have...