I’m sitting at Gramma’s restaurant in Banning, California, with the 92-year-old artist Carl Bray across the table from me. The legendary “smoketree painter” of Indian Wells, Carl is one of the last of the early desert artists. With his huge railroadman’s hands, he pushes aside the plates and unfolds a map of New Mexico to show me where he first steered “Brownie”–the esteemed Western painter R. Brownell McGrew–into Navajo country. (Brownie lived in Cathedral City in the 1950s and then in La Quinta—read more about him here soon.)
Category: Desert Artists
Honoring Sally Ward and Louise Tennyson
UPDATE: Louise Tennyson Goble died on July 15, 2010, in Palm Springs. She is survived by her husband, Floyd Goble of Palm Springs, and son Gary Pierce of New York City, along with other relatives. This June CDA recognizes two…
Agnes Martin’s “The Desert” Fails to Bring Huge Price
Art experts predicted that Agnes Martin’s painting “The Desert” would bring $4-6 million at a Sotheby’s auction in May. Instead, the minimum price was not met and the painting remains unsold—though other Martin paintings sold at Sotheby’s and Christie’s auctions…
CV History Museum Auctions Art
Before the Coachella Valley History Museum moved their archives into a new building, the basement of the Smiley-Tyler adobe held a tantalizing stash of early desert paintings that had been donated to the museum over its 25 years in existence.…
Painting World War II: The California Watercolor Artists
The California Water Color Society was an important presence in American art in the 1930s through 1970s. The painters had been perfecting their abilities to document everyday life when World War II came along. Their medium was portable, cheap and…
Smoketree Painters Included in Grand Canyon Exhibit
The Blue Coyote Gallery (Gary Fillmore’s gallery in Cave Creek, Arizona) and the Grand Canyon Association collaborate to present Canyon Magic, an artistic appreciation of “the world’s best known chasm”, now through June 10, 2010. The show is at the…
Desert Art Center: Clubhouse of the Legends
An institution that nurtured generations of Smoketree painters—the Desert Art Center—celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. This is not some moldy shrine to art history; it’s a working co-op gallery in downtown Palm Springs. Located at 550 North Palm Canyon,…
Gary Fillmore Speaks in Palm Desert
Gary Fillmore, a well-known authority on Arizona and Western art, comes to Palm Desert on Friday, April 23rd to speak on the painters Marjorie Reed, John Hilton and Jimmy Swinnerton. All three once lived and painted in the Coachella Valley.…
Carl Bray Notecards
The Indian Wells Historic Preservation Foundation is selling note cards featuring Carl Bray paintings of classic desert scenes. The price is $10 for a box of 5 cards.
Artist Edna Hollinger
The Coachella Valley lost an important figure in desert painting in July with the death of Edna Hollinger.