The forgotten desert artist Freda Marshall, recently rediscovered, was a central figure among the Coachella Valley resident painters. For a dozen years or more she lived in her own house on the Indio estate of the late Jackie Cochran. Freda created bas reliefs for the Cochran estate central room; she painted and created craft work, painting on fig boxes, doing ceramics and leather work. At the same time Jackie Cochran was entertaining the famous and powerful: Rosalind Russell, Howard Hughes, Edward Teller, Amelia Earhart and others who frequented the ranch. I can picture many of them purchasing art from Freda. …
