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...
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...
When the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco was badly damaged by fire following the deadly earthquake of 1906, architect and engineer Julia Morgan was hired to design and oversee the building’s restoration. Known for her hands-on approach, the 34-year-old architect arrived early on the first...
By the time Catharine Carter Critcher set off on her own for Taos, New Mexico in 1920, she was 52 and had been making her living from art for almost three decades. She had spent five years in Paris, started an art school there and...
Post-war American artist Paul Harris [1925 – 2018] decided to become a sculptor while attending the University of New Mexico in 1948, where he studied with Agnes Martin. After that, a summer working under Hans Hofmann became crucial to his creative development. Primarily a sculptor,...
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,...
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...
WA&A publisher and art critic Tim Newton breaks down an iconic Western work Gunnar Widforss’s portrayals of the Grand Canyon are second to none. He was meticulous in his technique and brilliant with his compositions. This view of the Grand Canyon from Hopi Point is one...
When Texas-based artists and twin brothers Stuart and Scott Gentling were asked why they never tried to extend their art presence and collector base beyond their home state, they always responded, “Because we don’t need to.” And it was true. Wealthy collectors and patrons in...
It was the day of Louisa McElwain’s annual studio tour. Organized each summer by Evoke Contemporary, the event would see invited collectors and friends gather for a barbecue, painting demonstration, and tour of the artist’s studio and small ranch just north of Santa Fe. The...