For some strange reason, when the topic of art by Indigenous artists comes up, the tone is always deadly serious.  It is as if it is assumed that Indigenous people somehow lack a sense of humor.  That could not be further from the truth.  This is particularly problematic for the Inuit.  This has been fueled […]

If truth be told, I have a dark sense of humor and I’m often drawn to art that explores troubling aspects of human nature in a comic or serious way. I definitely do not like art that can in anyway be described with the words cute or saccharine. I do, however, enjoy works that can […]

For numerous travelers to the American Southwest, visiting the archaeological Big Three is an important goal.  Many visit Mesa Verde National Park, fewer get to Canyon de Chelly National Monument, and the fewest number make it to Chaco Cultural Historical Park. When I decided to revisit the most important archaeological sites of the Southwest, I […]

Although I have been visiting the Southwest for almost forty years, what originally drew me to this part of the United States, and still does, is the multitude of archaeological sites that can be visited.  Having been to archaeological sites in  Mexico, Central and South America, as well as Europe I couldn’t resist the lure […]

The first time I encountered Rick Bartow’s work in 2003 I was immediately spellbound and I still am. The depth, complexity, and diversity of Bartow’s art continues to fascinate me and, for that reason, I have more work by him in my collection than by any other artist.  Some people are put off by Bartow’s […]

It is often extremely difficult for an artist to create something completely new.  Frequently, if he or she changes direction the new work may not be embraced by collectors, curators, and the public at large.  For Pueblo ceramic artists the issue is even more complicated since there is a strong emphasis on cultural and family […]

Whether an Inuit Artist lives in a small Arctic community or in a large urban center, he or she is acutely aware of the demands of the marketplace.  For the most part, collectors of Inuit art have sought to acquire graphic works that present charming representations of Arctic wildlife and depictions of life as it […]

Left to right: Holly Wilson, Sallyann Paschall, and Kelly Church.  Photo by E. J. Guarino   Since antiquity, numerous artists such as Lucas Cranach the Elder, Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Rubens, Antonio Canova, Aristide Maillol, and Niki de Saint Phalle, to name a few – have explored the theme of The Three Graces.  Taken from ancient Greek […]

Cannon Beach is one of the most beautiful places on the Oregon Coast.  Because of its proximity to Portland, which is a seventy-nine-mile drive that takes about an hour and a half to two hours, this beach town is popular with day-trippers, tourists, and those who own or rent beach houses.  In a sense, it […]

That Rick Bartow was a multidimensional artist is well-known among the many admirers of his paintings, sculptures, and works on paper.  What is less known is that Bartow was also a prolific musician who wrote the words and music to songs he also performed.  Music was an important aspect of Rick Bartow’s creative output.  Not […]

Kananginak Pootoogook was part of the first generation of Cape Dorset (Kinngait) artists.  Besides being a sculptor and a graphic artist, he was a hunter and a trapper.  Kananginak drew from his memories of his life on the land as well as his observations of Arctic wildlife to create sculptures, drawings, and prints.  He is […]

For most Pueblo ceramic artists, their family is their art school.  They either learn directly from a relative or by closely examining the work of an ancestor.  This was certainly true of Al Qöyawayma and his aunt Elizabeth White, also known as Polingaysi, her Hopi name.  Al Q, as he is affectionately known, learned to […]

Ukiyo-e, a genre of woodblock printmaking that was particularly popular in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868), was an important influence on Rick Bartow’s art.  Ukiyo-e illustrated scenes from the “floating world.” Uki translates as floating, yo as world, and e as picture.   Originally a Buddhist term meant to convey the concept that earthly life […]

Until recently, I had never heard of Pitseolak Qimirpik.  However, in early March of 2023, I attended the Outsider Art Fair in New York City at the invitation of Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto.  When I stopped by the gallery’s booth, one piece jumped out at me, a sculpture by Pitseolak Qimirpik titled Autoerotic Asphyxia.  This […]

   “I fear that if Indigenous people cannot envision ourselves in      the future, we will not be there.” Skawennati   For the most part, Native Americans are thought of as having lived in the past and their existence in the present is barely noted.  As for the future, Native peoples are generally absent from […]

Mystical, mysterious, magical, and ethereal are just some of the adjectives that are used to describe the marvel that is Crater Lake.  However, none of them quite seem to capture fully what it is like to experience this natural wonder.  I first became aware of Crater Lake when I saw a photograph of it in […]

Qavavau Manumie’s prints and drawings reveal an artist of extraordinary technical expertise and unique imagination.  His work is imbued with humor and a deep knowledge of Inuit culture as well as an awareness of the world beyond Kinngait (Cape Dorset). Qavavau Manumie (also written as Kavavaow Mannomee) creates complex compositions executed with great skill.  His […]

Although some might say that my collecting style is “all over the place,” I prefer the term eclectic since it definitely reflects who I am.  I’ve even furnished my home in this manner, much to the chagrin of my mother who was most definitely a traditionalist when it came to decor.   Although I also collect […]

Every culture has its share of mythological stories populated by strange beings, interfering gods and goddesses, and larger-than-life heroes.  The Inuit of Arctic Canada have a treasure trove of such tales.  Among the many interesting characters in the Inuit cosmos is Sedna, goddess of the sea and marine animals.     Sedna, who is also known by […]

After more than thirty years of collecting Native American and Inuit art, I can honestly say that it is not about how much I can amass.  For me, the great joys of being a collector are the thrill of meeting artists whose work is in my collection and frequently becoming friends with them, and discovering […]

A wide variety of creatures make an appearance in the work of Rick Bartow.  Among the most frequent are birds, particularly blackbirds, crows, and ravens, which to most of us are all the same.  However, they are not.  According to their scientific classification, blackbirds are in the genus Turdus and the family Turdidae while crows […]

Growing up I saw photographs of the Oregon Coast in my geography books, but it wasn’t until fairly recently that I was actually able to experience this unique and fascinating part of our country.  Although the entire coast is visually stunning, it is also rich in history, much of it obscured by our modern way […]

From its inception, a surrealistic strain has run through Inuit art and continues to do so.  Such works contain multiple perspectives, distortions, emotional intensity, seeming spontaneity and, often, strange creatures.  However, many pieces were given prosaic titles by the co-ops or by gallerists that lend themselves to an anthropological or ethnographic interpretation rather than an […]

In Western art cannon erotic art has had a long history, but such works have often elicited controversy and, sometimes, even outrage.  Nonetheless, artists have used this genre to explore a wide range of themes – power, gender relations, religion, and sexuality.  Some erotic works convey themes through suggestion rather than by being explicit.  Rick […]

Though geographically isolated on Dorset Island in Nunavut, Canada, the small hamlet of Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset) is known worldwide for its artistic output and many of its artists are so celebrated that collectors and curators simply refer to them by their first name.  Qavavau Manumie (also written as Kavavaow Mannomee and Qavavau Mannomie) is […]

Nudity and sexuality have the power to make people uncomfortable.  The mere depiction of the naked human form is not necessarily erotic, though some might disagree.  However, for many, the words are interchangeable and highly charged.  For Native artists the themes of nudity and sexuality are even more complex.  Fearing disapproval, many Native artists have […]

Indigenous Futurism is a concept that embraces literature, the visual arts, film, music, fashion, comic books, virtual reality, and video games.  The term was first coined by Grace Dillon, Ph.D. (Anishinabe) in her introduction to Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction, published in 2012 and has developed into an artistic movement.   While […]

Since the early 1970s, every time I have visited my Colorado family I somehow find myself returning to the Garden of the Gods.  Something continues to draw me back. Of course, the most obvious reason is the spectacular red, pink, and white sandstone outcroppings, many resembling giant fins, but beyond that the landscape has an […]

For many years, I would see Holly Wilson’s art at the Santa Fe Indian Market and wonder, “Who are these strange little beings, and what do they signify?”  My frame of reference was limited to fairytales and Disney movies so I was curious as to whether the tiny figures were fairies, elves, or pixies.  It […]

For the most part, Native Americans are thought of as having lived in the past; they are just barely considered as being part of the present and are usually absent from any concept of the future.  While other groups exist in the futures portrayed in the Star Wars franchise and the various Star Trek series, […]

As I was standing in front of Jean Dubuffet’s painting Portrait of Henri Michaux, on a recent visit to the Museum of Modern Art, I was immediately struck by the notion that it had a familiar quality, but I couldn’t quite determine what it was.  Not long after, I had a eureka moment.  (Well, anyway, […]

It appears that my fascination with all things Rick Bartow is limitless.  Although my collection contains fifty-five works on paper, two sculptures, and a small painting by this artist, I can never resist acquiring another Bartow work that captures my attention.  One could say that I have an insatiable appetite for the artist’s work. In […]

Every year collectors from around the world vie for the prints produced by the small Inuit hamlet of Cape Dorset.  Since 1959 a print collection has been released every fall without interruption.  During the earliest years of production, the prints produced by the Cape Dorset artists were considered “primitive” rather than contemporary art and each […]

One of the joys of collecting contemporary art, as opposed to historic works, is meeting the artists who created them.  Over many years of collecting I have met quite a few of the artists whose work is in my collection and a number of them have become friends.  So, in the summer of 2021, it […]

Like many other Americans, for years I dreamed of visiting Glacier National Park, one of the jewels in our nation’s crown.  However, beyond the spectacular vistas, the many species of animals, and the historic hotels, I wanted to know what life in this vast landscape was like before the creation of the park. Lake McDonald, […]

For collectors of Inuit prints, each October is marked by excitement and expectation.  It is during this month that the Annual Cape Dorset Print Collection is released and collectors in Canada, the U.S., and Europe vie for works that are always artistically exceptional because of the willingness of Cape Dorset artists and printers to embrace […]

8 Prints + 4 Variations is a work that encapsulates many of Bartow’s interests and concerns. The works that comprise this volume are psychological, expressionistic, and sometimes surreal.  The prints feature a familiar cast of Bartow characters from the Animal Kingdom – bear, dog, wolf, crow, hawk, sparrow – that function as personal symbols.  The many […]

Known simply by her first name to curators and collectors worldwide, Pitseolak Ashoona typifies the first generation of Inuit artists: she had been born on the land; had lived nomadically for many years; and only became an artist late in her life.  Born in 1904, Pitseolak spent her childhood moving from camp to camp.  She […]

Over the centuries numerous artists have produced likenesses of themselves in paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, and photographs.  A self-portrait affords an artist the opportunity to control how he or she wishes to be remembered through a work that might be serious, introspective, comic, or even self-deprecating.  Some artists create numerous self-portraits over the course of […]

Since childhood, opera has been a part of my life thanks to my maternal grandmother with whom I spent a great deal of time.  While she cooked, she would often sing (off-key) “Un bel di“ from Madama Butterfly or “Celeste Aida” (even more off-key) from Aida.  Nanny would also tell me the tragic love stories […]

Over the course of more than thirty years, my collection came to encompass baskets, beadwork, textiles, masks, headdresses, katsinas, jewelry, pottery and works on paper.  Eventually, for various reasons, there were areas in which I no longer collected and, in recent years, my interest narrowed to three collecting spheres: contemporary Native American ceramics, Inuit works […]

Among collectors and even curators when Inuit works on paper are acquired or presented the focus is most often on the “Big Names” such as Kanojuak Ashevak, Pitseolak Ashoona, Kananginak Pootoogook, Annie Pootoogook, and, more recently, Shuvinai Ashoona.  However, there is much more to the story of Inuit graphic art.  Many artists did not get […]

When the public thinks of Hollywood actors and actresses, my guess is that Indigenous Americans don’t readily come to mind. That is unfortunate since Native people have been a part of the movie industry since its earliest days.  In the first decades of the 20th century, mainstream American audiences were so fascinated with the West […]

One of the joys of being a collector is discovering a work of art that you think is not only visually spectacular but intellectually fascinating as well.  During more than thirty years of collecting, I have been extremely fortunate to have encountered quite a number of such works.  Most recently, I was struck by Rick […]

When people refer to the early days of Cape Dorset graphic art the time period which they mean is the 1960s.  In that era, the prints and drawings the community produced were generally of small dimensions, though there were exceptions.  For prints, sizes were generally 8.5” x 11.25,” 12” x 10,” with many being in […]

I have admired Juan de la Cruz’s ceramic vessels for a number of years, but I had been unable to acquire one until recently for one simple reason: they sell like proverbial hotcakes.  As soon as they appear on the King Galleries website, collectors snatch them up.  I was never fast enough.  Finally, I inquired […]

Since ancient times and across cultures, animals have often been used to represent human characteristics in art and literature.  From Aesop’s Fables, The Fables of La Fontaine, countless children’s stories, and George Orwell’s dark tale Animal Farm, animals have been used by artists as stand-ins for humans and all their vices and follies.  Sometimes they […]

Although my collection began with pottery and I still consider pottery to be its heart I really had no idea what I was doing.  I was simply acquiring pieces haphazardly.   Eventually, I discovered Speaks of the Earth, a business run by Betty Johnston from her home in Sedona, Arizona.  Before long, Betty had become the […]

Flowers speak to us in many ways; they have a language all their own.  For thousands of years, meanings have been associated with various flowers.  They were used as symbols in the Old Testament, in noble coats of arms as well as in Shakespeare’s plays.  Known as floriography, the language of flowers peaked during the […]

Like so many others before me, I had no intention of becoming a collector when I first started acquiring works of art more than thirty years ago.  I was simply buying whatever I found beautiful to decorate my home.  In those days, the focus was on pottery, in particular pieces from Acoma Pueblo.  It took […]

Simply put, a paper doll is a printed or painted paper figure, which has an accompanying paper wardrobe.  Often, this two-dimensional creation and its array of outfits were meant to be cut out.  As early as the mid-1700s, paper dolls were being produced in London, Paris, Berlin and Vienna, all considered fashion centers of the […]

Although there are seventeen works in Rick Bartow’s Autumnal Metaphor Series, certain pieces speak to me more than others.  Among the images of flowers, birds, dogs, and a bear, it was those employing the likenesses of salmon and human-headed fish that most spoke to me.  I have no idea why this is so. Bartow used […]

A few months ago I saw Rick Bartow’s Autumnal Metaphor 9, Salmon (red fin) on the Froelick Gallery website and emailed Wilder Schmaltz, Assistant Director of the gallery, for some additional images and information.  I learned that the piece is part of a series of seventeen works, which piqued my interest.  Salmon,  human-headed fish, flowers, […]

As a collector, I have very few regrets.  One of my biggest, however, is never having met Rick Bartow.  From the very first time I encountered the artist’s work in 2003 as part of Continuum: 12 Artists at the National Museum of the American Indian in Manhattan I knew that I was seeing something important.  […]

Collecting is a strange endeavor.  It means different things to different people.  Each person has an individual path that brought him or her to this pursuit.  In many cases, if not most, an individual becomes a collector long before realizing it.  That was certainly the case with me.  I began by buying pieces I thought […]

For many collectors, museum-goers and even curators the term “Inuit works on paper” conjures up images of iconic Arctic wildlife isolated on a page and scenes of life as it was once lived on the land.  These two categories, of course, make up a large portion of Inuit artists’ output.  However, there is much more.  […]

When I first started collecting Native American art more than thirty years ago, I was drawn to do so by the spectacular pottery that I saw at the time in a few Manhattan galleries and at the Brooklyn Museum.  I became fascinated by ceramics and I still am.  Although I have broadened my collecting to […]

Collectors never know when the chance to acquire a wonderful work of art will present itself.   It is one of the most exciting aspects of collecting.  Most collectors probably rely on galleries, but for those who collect the work of contemporary Native American artists there are a variety of other possibilities available such as the […]

For those of us who collect Inuit works on paper, October is a very exciting time since each year this is when more than thirty prints are released as part of the Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection.  More than any other Canadian Arctic community, Cape Dorset has consistently been able to attract and maintain a […]

It is no secret that I am a great admirer of the work of Rick Bartow, especially his drypoint etchings and other small-scale prints, so much so that my collection contains thirty-seven works on paper by the artist – thirty drypoint etchings, four lithographs, two mixed media works, and one carborundum print.  Bartow’s drypoint etchings […]

When most people think of Arctic wildlife polar bears, seals, and, perhaps, whales most likely come to mind.  However, many more animals call the vast northern wilderness home and thousands of others migrate there during the warmer months.  The arrival of the sun after the long Arctic winter heralds a time of plenty for both […]

“With Cats, some say, one rule is true: Don’t speak till you are spoken to.” T.S. Eliot, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats Just about anyone who knows me is aware of my affinity for cats.  If I see one, I can’t resist talking to it and petting it.  There are quite a number of […]

In the popular imagination, the Arctic is a vast, flat, monochromatic landscape, which is always covered in snow.  The truth is far different.  Depending on the season, the land may be white, shades of brown, or multicolored from a profusion of flowers.  Spring, summer, autumn, and winter bring with them a diversity of light, which […]

When most people think of Native American art, they probably don’t think of portraiture.  Nonetheless, it does exist.  The people represented are often anonymous, but there is a large and growing body of work in which the subjects are identified.  The purpose for creating portraits and self-portraits is to preserve the image of a particular […]

More than thirty years ago I started a collection though I had no idea that I was doing so.  During that period there were a number of gallery exhibits in Manhattan that focused on Pueblo pottery, including a gallery in Greenwich Village called Common Ground that specialized in Native American art.  It was there that […]