Occasionally, the phone rings, and it’s a call you’ll never forget. For artist Kim Douglas Wiggins, that call came one day in 1998. On the other end of the line was John Geraghty, a trustee of the Autry National Center for the American West, who...
In medieval times across Europe, the goal of the court-appointed alchemist was to transform base metals into gold, that rarest of elements, deemed to exalt the wearer. Who could imagine that today, an artist originally trained as a master patineur, devoted to altering the surfaces...
After 53 years as a professional fine artist, Len Chmiel hopes he can paint until he can’t hold a brush. Curiosity is a constant companion for the 82 year old, which allows him to see every landscape as if for the first time. Living atop...
Among the most common reactions to Josh Tobey’s sculpture, aside from smiles, is the question: What is this made of? Is it stone? Ceramic? The surface is so smooth — with rich, delicately gradated hues and often marble-like patterns — that bronze is not what...
Places you fall in love with when you’re young occupy a special place in your heart. That’s why this outdoorsy Bay Area family decided to put down roots in the Martis Valley, just north of Lake Tahoe. “Many of our best times are when we...
ARCHITECTURE | SOK Design Studio CONSTRUCTION | Mountain View Construction INTERIOR DESIGN | Base Camp Design While most homes reflect the people who live there, few residences contain the words their inhabitants live by. But along the main corridor of this new home in Sandpoint, Idaho, a cobalt...
Overlooking a lake that connects two golf courses in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a home named Casa Moderna is not typical of “modern” architecture. Instead, it incorporates warm spaces with clean lines, linen fabrics, and a tonal atmosphere that invites complete relaxation. “I wanted it to...
This home’s construction began with building a Google Doc. Soon after the homeowners purchased the steeply sloped site in the private community of Martis Camp in Truckee, California, the husband and wife began devising a list. On it, they put down everything they wanted —...
What is the true West, and why does our search for an answer matter today? Will James straddled a fine line between real and imaginary, fact and fiction, the mythological and genuine article. He traversed, as an artistic underdog, the boundary between invention and reinvention, often...
It was a revelation when Krystii Melaine realized she could step outside the box of Western American art, her realm for three decades. Or, more accurately, “My brain exploded,” Melaine says, laughing. Not that her paintings of wildlife, cowboys, and Native American subjects — internationally...