Gallery Events And News

Learn about the latest Medicine Man Gallery happenings; all about our artist, see our educational videos about native American art and fine art, watch podcasts with your favorite artists and check out art and history-related links we think you'll enjoy.

Essential West Magazine

Exploring Art, Literature, History, Museums, Lifestyle, and Cultures of the West

It amazes me that four letters - W-E-S-T - have the ability to evoke an instantaneous emotional image. Simply the act of reading these four letters has caused you to form a narrative of your west.

Can the West be distilled to its essence - a simple direction or region? I believe not; it is a deeper dive of consciousness. How America sees itself and the world defines us. Diverse cultures, strong individualism, open spaces, and raw natural beauty marinated in a roughshod history have formed this region’s unique milieu.

Our online magazine’s primary focus is to feature relevant topics in art, literature, history, museums, lifestyle, and culture; lofty goals for any publication. No single magazine can be the beckon of all things western; it is a diverse, evolving paradigm that cannot be pigeonholed. As the publisher, I hope to be the buffalo that grazes the wide expanse of western sensibility and relay to you a glimpse of how I perceive our Essential West.

- Mark Sublette

Featured Article

More Than Meets the Eye...
More Than Meets the Eye with Omaha's 'Pioneer Courage' Monument

Monuments matter. They are America’s most contentious artform. They are so because they are public, and broadcast values to the public. They speak for the cities erecting them, even if many of those citizens don’t agree. Monuments tell stories. They shape history. They’re propaganda. Monuments were essential to establishing the Lost Cause narrative across the South, transforming the...

SWAIA Virtual Indian Market Winners
SWAIA announces Virtual Market award winners

Read more Essential West here   Virtual Indian Market Diverse Arts Award and VIRTUAL GRAND AWARD Glenda McKay (Inglalik Athabascan), Harpoon Head with Sheath and Emergency Whistle     Virtual Indian Market Jewelry Award Farrell Pacheco (Santo Domingo Pueblo), The Daughters of Mother Earth     Virtual Indian Market Pottery Award Shirley M. Brauker (Little River Band of Ottowa), Missing Sisters     Virtual Indian Market Paintings/Drawings/Graphics/Photography Award Everton Tsosie (Navajo), The Last of the Pure     Virtual Indian Market Pueblo Wooden Carvings Award Ronald Honyumptewa (Hopi), The Message from a Butterfly     Virtual Indian Market Sculpture Award...

Author Hampton Sides at SAR...
Author Hampton Sides will bring his brand of narrative history to SAR’s Creative Thought Forum on August 28

By Michael Clawson Read more Essential West here   Hampton Sides has tackled a wide range of historical subjects in his best-selling books, from World War II prisoners of war and commandos fighting their way to the Korean coast to Arctic explorers and murder investigators on the trail of an assassin. History is his playground.   On August 28, Sides will bring his deep love of history to the School for Advanced Research’s virtual forum Celebrating Three Years of Creative Thought, an online event that will allow guests the chance to mingle with experts in a variety of fields as...

Dean Mitchell is Featured Artist...
Dean Mitchell is Featured Artist of Huntsville Museum 2015 Gala

The Huntsville Museum of Art Proudly Announces Dean Mitchell 24th Annual Gala Featured Artist Published online courtesy Huntsville Museum of Art, August 2014   “Mr. Mitchell’s works are subtly tuned character studies with an eye toward abstract form and charismatic light.” —Michael Kimmelman, The New York Times Dean L. Mitchell was born 1957, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and reared in Quincy, Florida.He is a graduate of the Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus, Ohio.Mitchell is well known for his figurative works, landscapes and still lifes. In addition to water- colors, he is accomplished in other mediums, including egg temperas, oils...

Ed Mell, Southwest Art
Ed Mell, Southwest Art

Ed Mell: Exploring the Southwest Through New Eyes By Lynn Pyne Davis ; reprinted courtesy of Southwest Art magazine Ed Mell, Butte, Pastel, 7" x 10" In an Ed Mell painting, cotton ball clouds and rocky mountains often undergo a metamorphosis, becoming simplified forms with knife-sharp edges.  A rose or cactus bloom may take on a colossal scale, with crystalline petals resembling shards of stained glass. Pink buttes may be rendered as deep coral rose, and blue-gray rain may appear as blue sapphires.  By deviating from reality, Mell succeeds in creating a feeling that is closer to the actual experience of witnessing nature...

Navajo Saddle Blankets: Canyon Road...
Navajo Saddle Blankets: Canyon Road Arts, Vol. 5

LEARN ABOUT THIS UNUSUAL FORM OF NAVAJO WEAVING Navajo Single Saddle Blanket c. 1915, 25.5″ x 35″ Saddle blankets occupy a curious niche in the history of Navajo weaving. They are the only type of textile that were simultaneously popular among Anglos, Hispanics and the Navajo themselves. Consequently saddle blankets have an aesthetic and technical history very different from that of the ubiquitous Navajo rug.   Navajo Double Saddle Blanketc. 1900 54″ x 31″ A BRIEF HISTORY OF NAVAJO WEAVING The Navajo learned weaving from their Pueblo neighbors about the same time they acquired horses and churro sheep from Spanish...

Ray Roberts: Canyon Road Arts...
Ray Roberts: Canyon Road Arts Vol.1

PLEIN AIR IMPRESSIONISTIC MASTERPIECES FROM A CALIFORNIA NATIVE SON Southwest Art once described Ray Roberts as a native son of California. This may be the most fitting description of Ray, both his life and his art have always gravitated toward California. He was born and raised along the coast of Southern California. His love for drawing as a child grew into a passion for art, and he continued his formal studies acquiring a degree at the Arts Center Design College in Pasadena. Ray Roberts, San Juan Creek,Oil on canvas 30″ x 40″ After his graduation, Ray began work as a freelance...