Beauty Obsessed
A new exhibition featuring the Gilwaldman Collection opens at Arizona’s Western Spirit museum
A new exhibition featuring the Gil Waldman Collection opens at Arizona’s Western Spirit museum
What’s always enticed collector Gil Waldman about Western art is its diversity in style, subject matter and beauty.
“Western art isn’t just about cowboys and Indians, although that certainly is one aspect. It unquestionably can be as important as any other genre of American art, with complex themes and unique perspectives,” he says. “i particularly
delight in finding works by artists from the eastern U.S. and Europe who came west of the Mississippi to record their personal impressions, then returned home—albert Bierstadt, Robert Henri ,valentine Bromley—as well as those who made the West their home—the Taos Society of Artists, Charles Russell, Leon Gaspard. Each conveyed their perceptions in their
own distinctive style.”
Examples from Waldman’s stunning collection will be on view starting September 10 at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West in
Scottsdale,arizona.the exhibition, By Beauty Obsessed: Gilbert Waldman
Collects the West, is curated by the museum’s chief curator,tricia Loscher, and by the collector’s wife, Christy Vezolles.additionally,waldman is a founding trustee of the museum, which opened in 2015, and a resident in the Phoenix area for more than 30 years.“it’s both exciting and
rewarding to be able to share a part of my collection with fellow supporters of this remarkable museum,” he says. Works in the exhibition include examples from the Taos Society of Artists—including Joseph Henry Sharp, Walter Ufer, Eanger Irving Couse and others—as well as other artists who set up shop in Taos, Santa Fe and other Southwest destinations. wald man and vezolles exhibited parts of their collections in 2018 at the Gilcrease Museum. this show will feature different works and different themes. “Because Gil’s collection is so extensive, it’s relatively easy to create multiple exhibits, with entirely different themes and paintings. Laura Fry, curator of the Gilcrease exhibit focused specifically on modernist landscapes that illustrated the four seasons of the Sou th west ,”vezol les says .“tricia Loscher and I wanted a completely different show with a broader scope. We selected historical works that reflect the beauty of a range of Western settings that include not only a variety of distinct geographies, but also human figures, and the animals and dwellings with which they interact.”
And not only are the works representative of the West, but they are magnificent examples from the artists who made them. Couse’s Tumbling Water, for instance, features some of his most iconic elements: beautiful, natural scenery, a peaceful and tranquil mood, and a kneeling Native American figure. Robert Henri, known for his incredible portraits, is represented here with Indian Girl of New Mexico (a.k.a. Julianita), a work that shows exactly why his portraits are so cherished today. Other works include Sharp’s Moonlight & Firelight, Crow Reservation, MT, and two modernist landscapes by William Penhallow Henderson, Two Riders in the Canyon and Casa Romero, Camino del Monte Sol, 1916.
Many of the works were collected by Waldman in the 1980s with his first wife, Nancy. It was with her that he discovered the beauty of Western art, especially the works in Taos. Nancy died in 2011, but his interest in the region prevailed.
“It’s not by chance that there are so many paintings by the Taos Society of Artists in the Waldman collection,” Vezolles says. “He and his wife Nancy became members of the Philbrook and Gilcrease museums when they moved from Albany to Tulsa in the 1950s. Before long, they began summering in New Mexico, where they joined the local art museums, attended seminars on the Taos Society of Artists and began collecting in earnest in the 1980s, about the time they began spending winters in Scottsdale.the TSA paintings became the core foundation of the collection. Although Nancy passed away in 2011, Gil has enthusiastically continued to add to his collection.” Waldman adds :“in addition to the TSA paintings, I also have a number of works by other artists depicting the Taos Pueblo and Ranchos de
Taos Church,” he says. “the terrain, architecture and culture are so iconic and the light is unlike anywhere else.
That’s what has drawn artists (and me) to Northern New Mexico for well over a century. that, and the expressive quality of the vibrant color palette and loose brushstrokes, draws me to the artworks.”
In addition to works from the Southwest, the collection also features works from prominent landscape painters who frequented the West ,albert Bierstadt and
Thomas Moran. “both of the Albert Bierstadt paintings and the Thomas Moran are little gems and certainly special to me. It’s not necessary for a painting to be large in size to have big impact, and these are prime examples ,” wald man says, adding that choosing a favorite is never easy. “Frankly, it would be hard to choose a favorite painting, although the Robert Henri portrait of the young Julianita is certainly captivating, along with several of the Taos Society Artists. Joseph Fleck’s [Fiesta Array] is a very large and powerful image. Also, I am especially attracted to landscapes depicting autumn foliage or snow. I guess they remind me of Albany, Newyork, where I grew up and went to college. Some of my most beloved pieces are not in this show, such as an autumn scene by N.c. wyeth and a watercolor of Lake George by Georgia O’keeffe .they just didn’t fit within the context of this show of Western art, but are magnificent .when I mentioned to Tricia that I’d be pleased to have another show featuring some of them, her eyes lit up.”
Loscher, who worked closely with both Waldman and Vezolles for the exhibition, says the collection speaks volumes about the collector. “it is a mirror reflection looking into the soul of the collector,” she says .“the works he chose say as much about him as a human being as they do about the artist and the cultures they portray. Gil is a kind and generous person with a wonderful and beautiful spirit.the collection speaks to his passion and love of life.”