Discovering what inspires an artist is always fascinating.  When Padloo Samayualie was in New York in 2015 for the first Cape Dorset Legacy Project, a creative residency at the Brooklyn Museum, I had the privilege of spending time with her
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To some, ceramic art produced by Native Americans, particularly women, is simply craft.  It doesn’t help that the entire output of these artists is referred to by the generic term pottery.  Of course, skill and craft are involved in the
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For collectors of Inuit prints the high point of each year is the release of the Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection.  The prints are produced in editions of fifty each, though on rare occasions one or two prints are done
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Most collectors of Rick Bartow’s work focus on his paintings, sculptures, and large monotypes, overlooking his drypoint etchings.  This is unfortunate since these small prints are among the artist’s most visceral works.  Rick Bartow used drypoint etching to explore a
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Over the last fifty years, Cape Dorset has been the only Canadian Arctic community that has consistently been able to attract and maintain a large group of international collectors.  This is due to the support of the West Baffin Eskimo
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Santa Fe is so enchanting that many visitors never venture beyond it.  Rich in history, culture and cuisines, the City Different has much to offer.  However, venturing outside Santa Fe adds depth and richness to any visit.  Over the years,
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Known for her strong visual style, her powerful use of color, and her distinctive sense of humor, as well as her talent for presenting traditional aspects of Inuit culture in a unique way, Ningiukulu Teevee is one of Cape Dorset’s
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Early in 2016, Jason Garcia E-mailed me, writing that he was in the process of beginning a series of prints about the 1680 Pueblo Revolt and asked if I would be interested in acquiring each work as he created it. 
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In more than thirty years of collecting, I have learned that there are many types of collectors.  Some people collect because they are passionate about the art they acquire; others do so for profit; and there are those who build
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In all of contemporary Inuit art, there is no one quite like Shuvinai Ashoona.  Celebrated for her dark sense of humor, Shuvinai (as she is known to gallerists and collectors) has staked out a territory that is all her own. 
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As a collector, I am always interested in acquiring new works.  For many years the focus of my collecting was historic and, then later, contemporary pottery created by Native American artists.  However, sometime around 2008 I became aware that a
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              “They’re all trade canoes, something is being traded and in most of my political statements it’s about money being traded for quality of life.” Jaun  e Quick-to-See Smith   In the summer of 2009 I visited the Indiana University
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Writers and artists have used boats as a symbol for humankind’s journey through life since ancient times.  In the Bible, Noah, his family, and all of earth’s creatures are saved from the waters of the Flood by taking refuge in
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Sometime around 2008 I encountered Kent Monkman’s work for the first time.  It took me a few minutes to realize that what I was looking at were more than modern versions of classic paintings.  I stared, fascinated by each piece
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For collectors of contemporary Inuit prints, October is the most important time of year since this is when the Annual Cape Dorset Print Collection, consisting of over thirty works, is released.  Anticipation is high among aficionados in Canada, the U.S.
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Discovering what inspired an artist to create a particular work or why he or she used a particular style is always fascinating.  In the case of Rick Bartow the influences are many and intriguing: his Wiyot heritage, Vermeer, Klimt, Chagall,
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Rising to a height of 11,240 feet above sea level, with a base spanning ninety-two miles, Mount Hood is one of the West Coast’s most spectacular natural wonders.  It is the highest mountain in Oregon and the fourth highest in
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Not long ago I was invited to attend a reception for a small art exhibition in Manhattan.  During two separate conversations, I learned something that I had not realized before: Some people are intimidated by museums.  I first encountered this
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The term Inuit art encompasses a diverse range of media, subject matter, genres, and themes which, as a collector, continues to fascinate me.  I have been continually surprised to discover strange, surrealistic masterpieces among the early works and equally amazed
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Artists who continually experiment and explore hold the interest of collectors who anxiously wait to see what they will create next.  Les Namingha is such an artist.  It is astounding that he is able to produce so many astonishingly diverse
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Much of Courtney M. Leonard’s work is a response to the maritime influences that shaped the lives of her ancestors.  She is a member of the Shinnecock tribe whose ancestral lands are located on the southeastern shore of what is
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In March 2017, I was invited by the Feheley Fine Arts Gallery in Toronto to attend Art on Paper.  This art fair, held in New York City, is designed to highlight works on paper.  I spent a great deal of
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It is hard to believe that it has been just over twenty years since I first stumbled upon Two Old Women by Velma Wallis while I was visiting Fort Yukon, Alaska, the author’s hometown.   At the time, I was still
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The first time I saw the Zuni murals in the early 1990s they appeared to be in pristine condition.  Alex Seowtewa and his sons were in the process of completing them and as I marveled at their vibrant colors and
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Many years ago, when I was attending elementary school, my geography book contained a photograph of Crater Lake.  It is an image I never forgot.  Even at that young age, I knew that someday I wanted to visit this natural
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Each time I have traveled to the Hopi Mesas I have been struck by the hospitality and generosity of the people.  However, too often the mainstream press has portrayed the Hopi as rigid and unwelcoming whenever they have closed their
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As a collector, one of my very few regrets is never having met Rick Bartow.  I have been an admirer of his work since 2003 when I saw Continuum: 12 Artists at the National Museum of the American Indian in
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In August, 2016 the Case Trading Post at the Wheelwright Museum presented From the Sketchbooks of T. C., an exhibit and sale of fifty plus pieces from the T.C. Cannon Estate, including previously unseen work.  When I first looked into
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Recently, I came to the conclusion that, although I have ledger drawings from the 1800s and many contemporary Native American prints and drawings in my collection, it contains no Native works on paper from the early to mid-twentieth century.  As
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For over twenty-five years, collecting Inuit works on paper has been an exciting and often exhilarating experience. Of course, the high point of each year is the release of the Annual Cape Dorset Print Collection. This year the collection contains
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That art produced by contemporary Native American artists is American art is hardly a profound statement.  In fact, the idea seems obvious.  However, although there are notable exceptions such as the Denver Art Museum and the Brooklyn Museum, the work
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Much has been written about the decidedly modernist baskets created by Shan Goshorn but little, if anything, has documented her artistic process so that viewers can understand how these marvelous works of art (perhaps best deemed sculptures) come to be. 
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Because his art shatters stereotypical preconceptions, many collectors are surprised to learn that Glen Nipshank is Native American.  They are equally surprised that his tribal affiliation is Big Stone Cree since most collectors of Native American ceramic art predominantly collect
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An artist’s vision often outpaces the expectations of collectors, curators, and critics since innovations are very different from shortcuts and often require more time, rather than less, to execute.  Truly great artists know this.  Although they may push the boundaries
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Artists never know what will inspire them. The sources are myriad – personal experience, Nature, literature, or the work of other artists to name a few. In 2011, I began to acquire a group stencils and a collage by Eliza
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In the fall of 2013 I contacted Sarah Sense with an eye to acquiring some pieces from her My Basket Story Series, consisting of sixteen works. Sarah responded that she wanted the series to stay together and go to one
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There have always been farsighted people who have recognized great artists and acquired their work long before it was sought after by the majority of collectors or exhibited in galleries and museums. In the 1920s Gertrude Stein was buying up
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Collectors become aware of artists in a variety of ways.  Often it is through museum and gallery exhibits; sometimes it is via gallery and artists’ web sites; and in many instances an artist’s work may be recommended by gallerists or
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Collectors become aware of artworks they wish to acquire in a variety of ways.  From May 1 through July 5, 2015, the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa Hardesty Arts Center presented INTERTWINED, STORIES OF SPLINTERED PASTS: Shan Goshorn &
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In just over ten years Annie Pootoogook went from novice to emerging artist to a star sought after on the international art scene.    Unlike many Inuit artists of previous generations, Annie does not present an idealized or romanticized version of
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The most exciting time of year for collectors of Inuit prints is the October release of the Annual Cape Dorset Print Collection, consisting of over thirty works.  Since prints are produced in editions of fifty each, with the rare exception
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Most people would never connect a 1960s Hollywood movie about an ancient Egyptian queen, staring Elizabeth Taylor, with a Native artist and an Italian-American collector and expect the combination to result in a wok of art.  They would be surprised
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One of the earliest catalysts of my passion for Native art was the Brooklyn Museum.  It was there, in the early 1980s, that I first saw the pottery of Lucy Lewis, an event that set me on a journey of
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Drawing from a seemingly endless well of creativity, Susan Folwell and Les Namingha are two of the most exciting and innovative contemporary American artists.  Their predominant medium is ceramics, which they use much like a painter employs canvas or a
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Whenever I am confronted by the work of Sonya Kelliher-Combs I feel as if I’m on an artistic magical mystery tour.  I never know where I am being taken but the journey is always thrilling, filled with revelations, secrets, metaphors,
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They have been called “miniatures,” “small spirits,” and “cultural microcosms” but, with few exceptions, dolls are first and foremost a child’s earliest and best friend.  Being a male collector, I never really thought much about acquiring Native dolls but somehow
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When I first encountered Inuit art I knew nothing about it but the more I saw the more intrigued I became.  Visits to Vancouver and Toronto fueled my curiosity.  With a little research, I discovered that the Arctic Artistry Gallery
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As a collector, I can say in all honesty that I never know what type of art will attract my attention.  Lately, I am mostly drawn to abstract works rather than those that are representational.  When the 2014 Cape Dorset
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Collecting is a learning process, or it should be, in my opinion.  In order to remain relevant, collectors and collections must continually evolve.  Although, over the years, I have acquired many different types of Native art, I began with pottery
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More than ever before Native artists are challenging ideas of what it means to be both Native and an artist.  They are expanding Native art beyond traditional boundaries and refusing to be confined by anyone else’s notions of what their
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Each year scores of tourists are drawn to Alaska’s Pribilof Islands by the prospect of seeing millions of animals in their natural habitat.  Most, however, are totally unaware that the “Galápagos of the North” was once the site of a
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The purpose of art is not merely to be decorative. Great art forces us to see the world around us from a unique perspective. While art can be beautiful it can also be unsettling, shocking, or thought provoking. The work
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Late in her life, Inuit artist Napachie Pootogook began to create a series of drawings documenting life as it was once lived by her people, thereby creating a body of work the likes of which had not been seen before.
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As a former teacher, I tend to view all educational institutions with a critical eye and, it would be fair to say that, it takes a great deal to impress me.  It seems that there is often so much cant
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          Sometimes in order to go forward it is necessary to go backward.  This is especially true for artists who, for inspiration, often turn to earlier artistic forms, such as ledger art, or to a time
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For well over a century, images of Native Americans have been flashed across movie screens worldwide.  The tales of “wild Indians” and “noble savages” that audiences devoured as emblematic of the American West were illusions on more than one level. 
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In the minds of many, Native American artists are inexorably linked with what has come to be known as the “traditional arts” – pottery, baskets, beadwork and such.  However, while many contemporary Native artists still work in these media, more
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When most people think of Native American art I doubt petroglyphs or other forms of rock art come to mind.  However, these ancient markings are important to understanding much of the Native art that followed, including that produced in the
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Acquiring art for my collection has been an enjoyable process, except for figuring out how to pay for it.  Usually, that has been solved with payment plans.  In almost thirty years of collecting I’ve purchased pieces for my collection from
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          Whenever I lecture about Native art I always explain that as a collector sometimes one is given a great deal of information, sometimes just a little, sometimes none and, in some cases, misinformation.  As a beginning
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February, 2014 The American West is instantly recognizable to people around the world because, for generations, it has been portrayed in countless works of art.  Paintings, novels, plays, operas and, most recently, movies and TV have presented it as a
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Here is an essay and link to the virtual version of “Decolonizing the Exhibition: Contemporary Inuit Prints and Drawings from the Edward J. Guarino Collection,” which will be on view at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College through February
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January 2014 King Galleries is pleased that Edd Guarino has been a part of our website since 2007!  The opinions stated in his columns are his and do not necessarily reflect those of the gallery or its artists.  What started out as
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