When Alan and Lois Stoneman built a home at Thunderbird Country Club in 1960, they asked Jimmy Swinnerton to paint them a smoke tree (a favorite of Alan’s.) Swinny borrowed the throw pillows from the couple’s sofa to make the painting match…
Category: Galleries
Lost Desert Artists, Erin Hanson’s Painted Parks, Bill Ogden, Hilbert Museum and More
One of the premier Impressionist painters in the US in the early 1900s, Julian Itter was also a Mojave desert artist and gold miner. Yet none of his desert paintings have been found. Adrienne Sadlo, a student at Eastern Washington…
New Sven-Ska Photos, Helen Lundeberg, Agnes Martin, William Bartko and more
Two major retrospectives of women who drew inspiration from the desert are on view currently in Southern California. Agnes Martin came to New Mexico in the late 1960s and lived alone in an adobe hut on a mesa. The Los…
Deborah Martin Curates the Salton Sea, Marian Yost Rediscovered, Edan Hughes, Travels With Gary
Five years after her groundbreaking exhibit of Salton Sea art, Valley of the Ancient Lake, Deborah Martin again brings together a mix of artists interpreting the Sea. The new exhibit, The Salton Sea: Lost in Paradise, opens March 21st, 2016,…
Desert Americana, Western Abstraction, Coyote Fur and Rams’ Horns
The Cathedral City Historical Society hosts the master of desert Americana, Ron Backer, at a luncheon Thursday, November 5, 2015. Backer, a transplant from South Dakota, zones in on a neighborhood and soon unearths stories even the locals don’t know;…
Billie’s Taxi, Tribute to Edan Hughes, Adobe Dweller Frances Nugent and More
Fans of Cathedral City artist Agnes Pelton have long awaited the book by the City’s first mayor–and a friend to the early artists–Robert Hillery. At last Cathedral City: the Early Years 1925 to 1981 is in print. You can meet…
Andy’s Sea, Agnes’ ‘Hood, “Wild” Movie and More
If anyone can save the Salton Sea, I’m betting on Andrew Dickson. The Cal State U. Fullerton art professor has been quietly, intently focused on painting the Sea for 15 years. Now you have a chance to study with him…
Tribute to Fran Elliott, Natural Desert Pigments, Salton Sea Sabbatical and More
Forgotten desert artists lost a champion when Fran Elliott, of Sedona, Arizona, died on April 22, 2014. Fran and her husband Ed unearthed the stories of dozens of neglected Arizona women artists. Their collection sparked the 2012 exhibit Arizona’s Pioneering…
Joshua Trees in The OC, Agnes’ Spirit Guide, New Morongo Gallery and More
In the spirit of the early desert painters, Jim Trolinger and a band of talented friends are taking on the California deserts one by one. They’ve twice journeyed to Death Valley, and they descended on Joshua Tree in March. You…
Val Samuelson House, Ziemienski’s Sunset, Mystery Artist and More
The Cathedral City Cove continues to assert its place in desert art history. First there was the recognition of the Agnes Pelton home (thanks to Peter Palladino and Simeon Den) and now a restoration-minded couple has purchased the former Val…