With a legacy half rooted in myth, it is of no surprise that the Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo caught the eyes of both Edward Curtis and Andy Warhol, two esteemed artists in their own right. Geronimo was born near the Gila River headwaters in New Mexico and became a warrior after his mother, wife, and …
Though it differs throughout tribes, there are many similarities in Native American Medicine. The primary function of most medicine men is to secure the help of the spirits. Sometimes this help may be sought to heal illness, psyche, or to promote harmony between people or nature. Medicine men are not necessarily doctors or herbalists in …
The epic battle of Little Bighorn took place in 1876 and remains shrouded in controversy to this day. Warriors of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes clashed with men of the 7th Regiment of the US Cavalry led by the famous and well-loved General Custer. The battle was a bloody display of the …
With the support of President Roosevelt and the financial backing of J.P Morgan, Edward Curtis was able to produce a photo-ethnographic study that was (and still is to this day) widely regarded as the finest set of limited- edition books ever made in America. The North American Indian consists of twenty volumes and twenty portfolio sets. …
Something in our brain responds when we look at a painting. That experience refreshes and changes us. Afterwards we are more creative and open to learning. We are less mentally fatigued. Our brains are primed for enjoying art. For longer than we’ve had the written word, humans have created and stared at images drawn onto …
Widely considered to be Colorado’s’ finest landscape artist, Charles Partridge Adams had a deeply engrained love for the natural world. Adams wrote in his memoir: “I saw the Rocky Mountains as I had dreamed of them before I came west. Towering above a great valley filled with afternoon mists, their summits glistening with the pure …
The painter Harold Joe Waldrum was born in Texas and came to New Mexico with an already-keen eye for the southwestern landscape. The color, texture, and character he found in Taos, however, exceeded his wildest imagination and the region became his lifelong muse. Waldrum’s journey to becoming a well-respected and established artist was fueled by …
A client came into our gallery the other day and asked us why Andy Warhol is considered so great. “I mean,” he said, “couldn’t anyone just take a picture of a soup can and put it on the wall?” He raised a worthy question. In many other artists’ work, their remarkable talent is immediately evident. …
Edward S Curtis art is focused on Native Americans from the United States. Edward S. Curtis’ iconic photograph of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce introduced America to a brave chief who led his people during a time of great upheaval for Native Americans. Initially, there was a tenuous peace between the Nez Perce and the …
It is not hard to see the beauty in one of Frederick Remington’s idyllic Cowboy portrayals, or the power in a Thomas moran landscape. Alone, even a reproduction of these works can take nearly anyone’s breath away. But why do they matter? Why are artists like Alfred Jacob Miller, Thomas Moran, Frederick Remington, and many …
Since the 1970’s Edward Curtis’ iconic images have surfaced from a whole variety of places: libraries, family heirlooms, undocumented museum collections, pawn shops, discovered in the basements of old houses, etc. And, since the 70’s, the artist’s work has consistently gone up in value to collectors. But why is Curtis so relevant? What really makes …
Valley Fine Art presents two of Edward S. Curtis’ most seminal photographs, Canon De Chelly and An Oasis in the Badlands, both traditional gelatin silver prints. Both images were, in fact, included in Curtis’ magnum opus, The North American Indian: Canon De Chelly is Plate 28, photographed in 1904 and An Oasis in the Badlands, …
Ansel Adams, the iconic American photographer, is famous for having said, “No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create, or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.” Isn’t that notion what is in the real guts …
Valley Fine Art has been privileged to feature work from historical artists such as Edward S. Curtis and from living masters such as Christopher Burkett. Edward Curtis lives on through those who admire and collect Curtis photographs, but art and history enthusiasts can only learn about him and his work from what has been documented. …
The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is seven floors of sensory stimulation. The museum is not a brick and mortar tombstone tribute to the life and times of Andy Warhol. It is the embodiment of Warhol life and art: a prolific pop of diversity. The galleries at the museum provide more than a spectator’s …
Edward S. Curtis and Andy Warhol are both artists with a connection to Theodore Roosevelt: Curtis for his friendship, and Warhol for his iconic “Old American West” imagery. Edward S. Curtis—his photographs of Native Americans, his portraits that honored Indian cultures— moved Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. Roosevelt and Edward S. Curtis shared a passion and a …
By Mary Ann Gwinn, Seattle Times, July 1st, 2013 SEATTLE AUTHOR TIMOTHY EGAN WINS CARNEGIE MEDAL Seattle author Timothy Egan has racked up another major award. Sunday night in Chicago, Egan picked up the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, given by the American Library Association for “the best of the best …
EXTRACT FROM LETTER FROM MR. HOLMES, CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, D.C. “Your idea is a grand one – the preservation for the far future of an adequate record of the physical types of one of the four races of men, a race fast losing its typical characters and soon …
This month we are focusing on artist, John James Audubon and a group of his Imperial Folio Edition of hand colored stone lithographs have arrived at Valley Fine Art, and are extraordinary. He is best known for The Birds of America, and his story is a dramatic and surprising one. Audubon was not born in America, but …
Hello everyone: One of the best things about owning a gallery is getting to know your clients and seeing their passion about the art first-hand. Sometimes the best relationships start with a simple email like the one I received from a gentleman in Germany asking about various vintage Edward S. Curtis pieces. To get a …
Welcome to Valley Fine Art at the historic Wheeler Opera House in downtown Aspen—and welcome as well to our brand-new web site, our first update in several years. We have many reasons to be excited, the main one being that the site allows everyone a much better look at all the artists, living and historical, …