In the last couple of years I’ve feasted endlessly on 2,000 historic photos of the unexplored desert east of the Salton Sea. Taken by 1930s Mecca postmaster Susie Keef Smith and her cousin Lula Mae Graves, the collection offers an…
When a cowboy starts collecting Western art, you’d expect to see a lot of horses and saddles. That’s not true for Utah rancher George Wanlass. As he amassed art for the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, he was drawn…
David Picerne, a real estate developer, and Gary Fillmore, an art appraiser and owner of the Blue Coyote Gallery, went on a hunt to find the state’s very best landscape art, seeking out offerings from the Taos artists, Santa Fe…
Editor’s note–In anticipation of Kathi Hilton’s visit to Palm Desert March 17-20, 2017, we’re featuring Dan Rohlfing’s article about Kathi’s dad, John Hilton, and his own Wild Bunch of friends. John Hilton, who died in 1983, ran with a circle…
Effie Anderson Smith was an early Arizona settler and artist who studied with the esteemed California Impressionists Anna Hills and Jean Mannheim. She admired the Salton Sea mirages, declaring them on par with the Sulphur Springs Valley mirages in Arizona.…
One hundred years ago Cabot Yerxa scraped a dugout into a clay bank, claiming a 160-acre homestead on a patch of sand alive with wind and water spirits. (Today we call them energy vortexes.) He spent $10 on a burro,…
Here are more rarely seen images from Carl Bray’s life, courtesy of his son, Patrick Bray. An exhibit of Carl’s final paintings just opened at the The Historical Society of Palm Desert. The opening reception is Saturday, October 5, 2013,…
The Historical Society of Palm Desert is opening an exhibit of Carl Bray’s last paintings, along with a display of memorabilia from his studio loaned by the Indian Wells Historic Preservation Foundation. The opening reception is Saturday, October 5, 2013,…
The Brooklyn-based artist Gregory William Frux is a master of adventure art in Joshua Tree, Death Valley and all over the world. Also known as exploration art or expedition art, the practice dates to an era when documentary artists routinely…
Note: Through April 30, 2011, the Historical Society of Palm Desert presents the first contemporary display of Norton Allen’s work. Some 25 maps are on loan from book dealer William Dailey. Also on display are Norton Allen sketches and artifacts.…
