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 […]
The Endangered Species portfolio was commissioned by Ronald and Frayda Feldman, longtime political and environmental activists. Warhol had always had an interest in animals and after a conversation with the couple about pressing ecological issues the idea arose to create this series. Using brilliant almost psychedelic colors and poignant expressions (suggestive of the animals fates) […]
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. […]
Known as one of Edward Curtis’ favorite medium, he describes the medium beautifully: “The ordinary photographic print, however good, lacks depth and transparency, or more strictly speaking, translucency. We all know how beautiful are the stones and pebbles in the limpid brook of the forest where the water absorbs the blue of the sky and […]
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 […]
With utmost care and attention to every detail, Woodrow Blagg creates each of his drawings using only graphite and paper. Demonstrating a mastery of his medium, his photorealistic pieces depict dramatic scenes of life in the West. Growing up in Texas, Blagg developed a deep appreciation for the ongoing rituals of ranch life and cowboy […]
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 […]
There’s no need to be daunted by contemporary art. Simply consider that contemporary art is a broad term used to describe artwork created in the 21st century. A contemporary artist must be living and working in our lifetime, regardless of the medium or subject matter. With that definition in mind, it is easier to overcome […]
When I think of the Plains Indian Photographs of Edward Curtis, the first images that typically come to mind are of his striking Native American portraiture. But, his images contain so much more than just faces. I find the scenery of the American West that he captures in conjunction with the Natives helps deepen the […]
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. […]
Valley Fine Art in Aspen—a gallery specializing in the work of Edward S. Curtis—gives thanks this November, a time in which we also celebrate Native American Heritage Month. We appreciate and recognize artists who have dedicated their talent and their lives to visual storytelling, and few have created an ethnographic legacy like Edward Curtis with […]
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 […]
Looking at a Woodrow Blagg graphite drawing is like being transported to another time and place. They remind one of a scene from a big screen Western. In fact, movies like Hud and High Noon, Blagg says in an Aspen Times 2010 article, inspired him. “These epic black-and-white Westerns were beautiful to watch, visually,” Blagg […]
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 […]
Valley Fine Art is pleased to include Italian landscapes by Colorado artist Joellyn Duesberry at The St. Regis’ new restaurant. THE ST. REGIS ASPEN ANNOUNCED THE JUNE 7, 2013 OPENING OF TRECENTO QUINDICI DECANO New Restaurant Features Authentic Italian Fare, Lively Mediterranean Design and Family-Friendly Menu Aspen, CO—May 21, […]