Rick Bartow

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Rick Bartow
Born
Richard Elmer Bartow

December 16, 1946
Newport, Oregon
DiedApril 2, 2016(2016-04-02) (aged 69)
Oregon
NationalityWiyot Tribe, American
EducationWestern Oregon University
Known forsculpture, painting, printmaking
Notable workWe Were Always Here
The Responsibility of Raising a Child

Richard Elmer "Rick" Bartow (December 16, 1946 – April 2, 2016) was a

Humboldt County, California. He primarily created pastel, graphite, and mixed media drawings, wood sculpture, acrylic paintings, drypoint etchings, monotypes, and a small number of ceramic works.[1]

Early life

Richard Elmer Bartow was born in Newport, Oregon, on December 16, 1946, to Mabel and Richard Bartow. His father's family was of the Mad River band of Wiyot. In Oregon, the family developed close ties with the local Siletz Indian community. When Rick was five, his father died. His non-Indian mother then married Andrew Mekemson, whom Bartow considered to be a beloved second father. Bartow became interested in art at an early age, encouraged by his aunt Amy Bartow, who studied art and art education at the University of Washington. His love for art continued through high school and extended to music when he took up the guitar and bongos.[2]

Personal life

Bartow attended

Vietnam war from 1969 to 1971 as a teletype operator and as a musician in a military hospital, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star.[3][4][5]

Art career

Buck (2015), Smithsonian American Art Museum, on loan from the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

After several small shows in the Newport area, Rick Bartow was offered a solo exhibition in 1985 by William Jamison of Jamison/Thomas Gallery, who operated galleries in Portland, Oregon, and New York City. Bartow exhibited frequently at both locations and elsewhere, and his work began to garner national attention. Following Jamison's death in 1995 and his galleries' subsequent closures, Bartow signed on with Charles Froelick of Froelick Gallery in Portland,[2] and a fruitful 20-year professional relationship and friendship followed. Froelick continues to represent Bartow's estate.

Bartow's carving The Cedar Mill Pole was displayed in the

cedars that were removed for a road project.[8]

The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian commissioned Bartow's monumental cedar sculptures We Were Always Here, which sit on the northwest corner of the museum overlooking the National Mall. Dedicated on the autumnal equinox, September 21, 2012, the towering works represent a pinnacle of Bartow's accomplishments.[9] Of these sculptures, Bartow stated "The Welcoming Bear and Raven, Healer and Rascal sit atop the sculpture poles; one, slow and methodical, fiercely protective of her children, the other a playful, foible-filled teacher of great power. Both Bear and Raven are focused on water and salmon for serious reasons. The salmon reflect the health of the environment, in particular water, the source of all life. On each pole are repeated lower horizontal patterns that symbolize successive waves, generations following generations, an accumulation of wisdom and knowledge. The tree used for the sculptures is approximately 500 years old. The elders say that the power of the sun is stored within the tree. Essentially the tree embodies the fundamental elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, our sacred and precious natural resources."[10]

As for influences, Bartow cited

Francis Bacon, Odilon Redon and Horst Janssen, in addition to his Native American heritage and his work with the Māori. These artists also worked expressionistically with human and animal forms.[3]

Exhibitions

In April 2015, the

UC Davis in Davis, California.[5]

Bartow's work was part of Stretching the Canvas: Eight Decades of Native Painting (2019–2021), a survey at the National Museum of the American Indian George Gustav Heye Center.[11]

Collections

Bartow's work can be found in several museum collections including the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York; the Peabody Essex Museum[12] in Salem, Massachusetts; Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, Indiana; the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC; the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, Oregon; the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona; the de Saisset Museum[13] and the Portland Art Museum.[14] In 2003, his works were exhibited at the George Gustav Heye Center, a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City.[15]

In Bartow's hometown of Newport, there are public displays of his works, including a permanent display of From the Heart: Author Drawings at the Newport Public Library.

Valley Library (Corvallis, Oregon).[18]

Personal

Bartow was also a musician and singer with his band, Bartow and the Backseat Drivers. He played the guitar[1][3] including regular local performances in South Beach and Newport where he lived.[16]

Death

Rick Bartow died of congestive heart failure on April 2, 2016, at the age of 69.[19][4]

See also

Notes

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-57607-517-6
    .
  2. ^ a b *Dobkins, Rebecca J. (2002). Rick Bartow: My Eye. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
  3. ^ a b c "Tears and Rain". Oregon Historical Quarterly. Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  4. ^ a b Bob Hicks (April 4, 2016). "A death in the family: Rick Bartow". orartswatch.org. Oregon ArtsWatch. Retrieved April 24, 2018.Free access icon
  5. ^ a b "Rick Bartow: Things You Know But Cannot Explain | Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art". jsma.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  6. ^ "The Arts Subject of Public Conversation at the Museum of TTU". Texas Tech University. 2003-09-10. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  7. ^ "Washington County, Oregon Updates". Washington County (Oregon). 1997-11-24. Archived from the original on May 13, 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  8. The White House
    . Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  9. ^ Binkovitz, Leah. "A Pair of Monumental Sculptures Makes Its Way to American Indian Museum". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  10. ^ "National Museum of the American Indian Welcomes New Sculptures by Artist Rick Bartow". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  11. ^ "Stretching the Canvas: Eight Decades of Native Painting". National Museum of the American Indian. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  12. ^ Peabody Essex Museum Collection
  13. ^ "The de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University - Native California Artists". 2012-02-14. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  14. ^ "The Native American art collection". 2008-05-05. Archived from the original on 5 May 2008. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  15. National Public Radio
    . 2003-04-18. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  16. ^ a b "'Author Drawings' Come Home". Newport News Times. 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  17. ^ "Guin Library Art Collection: A guide to the amazing art collection at the Hatfield Marine Science Center's Guin Library". Oregon State University. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  18. ^ "OSU Northwest Art Collection". Oregon State University. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  19. ^ "Beloved and Nationally Renown Native American Artist Rick Bartow dies after long illness". News Lincoln County. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.

External links

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