Blog

Expressing one’s thoughts and feelings about the world is easier than ever in our high-tech society. Social media platforms and other means of electronic communication make it possible for us to share so much information in so little time. But how much are we truly...

Inspired by the words and work of Chief Henry Red Cloud at a talk given with John Graybill, the great-grandson of Edward Curtis, at Western Spirit on March 31, Education Director Wade Weber heeded the call to action and pledged to volunteer his time over Memorial Day...

Q: How did you become interested in the American West, and how did you come to reside in Scottsdale? Even though I’m originally from New Jersey, I’ve always had an interest in the West. My wife Kathleen’s great-grandfather was an Army scout who handled confidential...

At 17, Edward Curtis brought his daughter Beth in as an assistant to Ella McBride in his Seattle studio. Beth inherited her father’s eye for composition but also had the acumen to handle the business side of the enterprise. In 1927, Beth accompanied her father on his...

Once outgoing Chairman of Western Spirit’s Board, Jim Bruner, handed the reins to Bill Ridenour and became Chairman Emeritus, the Annual Meeting moved to the Scottsdale Artists’ School and transformed into a splendid surprise—a reception honoring Sandy and Jim Bruner....

Gracious volunteers are the face of the museum and the voice of the art within… Volunteers are giving people by nature, and many of them are so gracious and selfless that they are fine doing their work without any real recognition.  Their true satisfaction comes from...

There are numerous contests and award shows. Phoenix has its share - this one created by Phoenix Magazine, a very well-respected publication, with a distribution of in excess of 75,000, across the city and an audited readership of over 350,000 – MONTHLY. We were...

Mystique and scandal where the ways of Lon Megargee—a name he stole, to make a new life for himself out West, as we learned from the laudable Dr. Betsy Fahlman. Speaking to a sold-out crowd of A Taste for Art a summer supper club series created in a partnership with...

“Once, in 1955,” David Sherf says, “I was riding with my grandfather on his tractor, discing old wheat, when we heard a ‘clunk.’ We got out and dug and pulled out a rusty pistol. My grandfather turned it over in his hand and said, ‘I lost that pistol in 1921.’” When...