banner painting (right),
Sunset Symphony
by Linda Sorensen

In "Shadows on the Mesa," Gary pays tribute to a special place and time. In the early days of the twentieth century, the Wetherill-Coville Guest Ranch was host to a community of artists who brought the gift of their artistry to the wonders of the surrounding desert. He focuses on a large group of notable painters who set up their base camp at John and Louisa's Wetherhill Guest Ranch, among them Maynard Dixon. William Robinson Leigh, James Swinnerton, Carl Oscar Borg, and Gunnar Widforss.

Harvey Leake told Gary of fascinating stories he had heard from his mother, tales of native Americans arriving at the Trading Post on foot or horseback to trade woven goods, pelts or turquoise and silver jewelry in return for supplies. Harvey learned from his mother that John and Louisa's lodge served as a base camp for a truly adventurous group of visitors. They would provide bed and board and then outfit visitors with supplies loaded onto pack mules and horses for expeditions to the outback, with John often serving as guide to the wonders of Monument Valley.

With Harvey's help, Gary Fillmore was able to reconstruct some of this fascinating history, how a long list of notable desert painters who came to paint the majesty of Monument Valley shared the humble hospitality of the Wetherill-Coville Guest Ranch. The real treasure here is the paintings themselves, an artistic testament to the shared marvel these artists held for this landscape and the people who lived there. Their art can only inspire us to see what they first saw, to explore and appreciate for ourselves the wonder of this magic land.

John Wetherill once wrote, “The desert is home.” Harvey says of his great-grandfather's short statement, “I realized he was not speaking of the gracious, comfortable lodge where he and Louisa hosted their many guests down through the decades, but the rugged land of canyons, mesas, and monuments where adventurers who had the will to adapt could overcome their sense of estrangement from nature and gain ancient insights that had been lost to civilized society.”

A similar sentiment was recorded in the Kayenta lodge's registry by author Zane Gray who wrote, “The so-called civilization of man and his works shall perish from the earth, while the shifting sands, the red looming walls, the purple sage, and the towering monuments, the vast brooding range show no perceptible change.”

Gary Fillmore is the creative energy behind Blue Coyote Gallery in Cave Creek, Arizona. He has arranged for museum exhibitions, authored books and given talks concerning the desert, its history and the art it inspired. Below are links to Gary's Blue Coyote Gallery, and a link to purchase Shadows on the Mesa.

In 1912, Albert visited Paris and gained an invitation to visit a salon at Gertrude Stein's home. There he met Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Through another Paris contact, Paul Guillaume, he became aware of the works of Amedeo Modigliani, Geiorgio de Chirico, and Chaim Soutine. With his excellent eye, and the effects of the world-wide depression, Barnes was able to acquire great art at bargain prices. After decades in relative obscurity, this incredible collection will soon be available in Philadelphia -- masters whom you know well, but works you have not yet seen.

Albert Barnes was a gifted chemist who made a fortune in the pharmaceutical industry. He also possessed a keen interest in art, and throughout his life, he invested his fortune in art and establishing the Barnes Foundation in his name as an educational institution primarily focused on the needs of the underprivileged, and charged with managing his art collection for the ages. As a collector, he actively sought out the best of the impressionists, post-impressionists, and modernist masters.

While in his late 30's, Albert Barnes approached his old high school buddy William Glackens who was an active member of New York's Ashcan School. Barne's asked Glackens to go to Paris with $20,000 and buy paintings for him. Glackens returned with 20 paintings, which became the core of the Barnes collection.

Over time, his collection grew to include 69 paintings by Cézannes, 60 by Matisse, 44 by Picasso and a huge block of 181 works by Renoir. Other artists represented in his collection include Rousseau, Modigliani, Soutine, Seurat, Degas, and Van Gogh. One would have to be an astronomer to handle the assumed worth of this collection, and it has been estimated by some experts to be in the range of 20 to 30 billion dollars.

But Albert Barnes wasn't in art for the investment or prestige. He wanted his art to be for the benefit of students. He was less than accommodating to the discipline of "art history" which he said "stifles both self expression and appreciation of art." He set up his foundation to enable visitors to have a direct interaction with the art, even labeling his approach as "hands on." He wanted art to be approachable and appreciated by the masses.

Back in 1923, Barnes showed off his collection to a less than appreciative audience who, at the time, thought the paintings were too avant-garde. Being at the receiving end of criticisms from the traditional and cemented mind sets of the establishment, Albert Barnes held that establishment in low esteem, especially their henchmen, the art critics.

Barnes had his collection housed in an estate in Lower Marion in a building designed by Paul-Phillippe Cret, a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He had the paintings hung showing relationships between paintings and objects, for example paintings were placed near furniture and well crafted medieval, Renaissance and Early American hinges (explained in the video). The paintings were hung without curatorial comment, so viewers could assess the art on its own merit.

He also limited access to the collection, requiring visitors to make appointments by letter, and on occasion refusing appointment requests. In two famous snubs, on separate occasions Barnes refused requests by authors James A. Michener and T.S. Eliot. Later on, a creatively stealth James Michener viewed the collection masquerading as a steelworker.

Another limitation of the collection were its limited hours of access. Only in 1961 were the collection's viewing opportunities increased to two days per week. By the 1990's, the Foundation had difficulty financing the building maintenance and staff, and relented in allowing 80 paintings to make a three-year long tour. The tour did well, attracting crowds in numerous locales.

Needless to say, the sequestration of this marvelous collection drew wide criticism and controversy. After a court challenge, the collection has moved to its newly constructed location in Philadelphia on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with greatly enhanced access. We believe Albert Barnes' fear that the art won't be accepted and appreciated by the masses is, in 2012, ill founded. In fact, the reasons for visiting Philadelphia have just been greatly increased. We believe the availability of the collection goes a long way towards achieving its founder's dream, that these paintings endure to enlighten, educate, and inspire new generations of people to the joy and wonderment of this great art.

Claude Monet, The Studio Boat, 1876

CalforniaWatercolor.com is FEATURING "This Enchanted Land, American Regionalism 1930 - Today" at the Fallbrook Art Center (103 South Main at Alvarado, Fallbrook, CA). The exhibition opens May 19th and runs through July 1st. It is an opportunity to gaze upon works by a long list of California Style Watercolor masters.

Pioneers painters like Millard Sheets. Milford Zornes and Phil Dike helped establish this new method, using large sheets of paper, wet into wet backgrounds, free ranging broad bright brush stokes and use of the paper color as a color value in the painting.

This exciting method of painting proved to be an excellent way of telling a story in paint. It has proved a great medium to evoke memories and emotion, and express a wide range of social comment. Perhaps that is what attracted such able artists to engage in it. They could do more than create pleasing pictures - they could use their art to express thought, emotion, and social commentary.

Take the opportunity to view this show featuring well over 100 California Style Watercolors. You may preview the show with a pretty comprehensive slide show on the CaliforniaWatercolor.com website.

Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery's
Watercolorist Jean Warren (NWS)

"The creative process blends structure with a flurry of passion and intuition."

"I use abstraction or fractured images to express the rhythms or movement that are inherent in the scene."

Stop in and enjoy Jean's paintings.

Jean's page on our website