The mythology of Teichert's pioneer ancestors and a tradition of prominent female characters permeates Minerva Teichert’s body of work, and reflects a pride in the self sufficient characters who carved her view of the West.
Long before Sheryl Sandberg, Minerva Teichert was championing strong women and leaning in.
]]>Recognized for her bold depictions of Mormon pioneers and an idyllic view of Western expansion, Minerva Teichert stands alongside early 20th century American modernists like Georgia O’Keeffe, Dorthea Tanning and Catherine C. Critcher.
Perhaps lesser known than her female contemporaries, Teichert (b. 1888) balanced busy family life on her Wyoming homestead with a budding art career, and took inspiration from the day to day excitement of ranch life.
Under the tutelage of Robert Henri at the New York Art Students League and John Vanderpoel at the Art Institute of Chicago, Teichert honed a painting style driven by composition and characterized by an impressionistic hand.
After her studies in the East, Teichert returned to the Rocky Mountains she loved, raised a family, and embarked on an illustrious career that would span the next 60 years.
The mythology of her pioneer ancestors and a tradition of prominent female characters permeates Minerva Teichert’s body of work, and reflects a pride in the self sufficient characters who carved her view of the West. Long before Sheryl Sandberg, Minerva Teichert was championing strong women and leaning in.
We are pleased to carry a small offering of Minerva Teichert fine art prints on paper. Special order prints will be ready in 4-6 weeks, sometimes sooner.
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In the wake of the Paradise tragedy, the holiday season is a bittersweet one for Northern Californians. While many of us plan get-togethers with family and friends and shop for thoughtful, but probably unnecessary holiday gifts, victims of the Butte County fire are struggling to stay warm and dry.
Yesterday, as the first big storm of the winter pummeled the Sierra, I sat in my car – inconvenienced, but comfortable - awaiting my turn at the chain inspection point. I was returning home after a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with my family, and listening to a local radio station’s Black Friday fire relief drive.
Instead of heading to a megastore to nab discounted toys and electronics, listeners were instead directing money to the North Valley Community Foundation. Stories of sacrifice and survival poured in as callers made donations big and small, and inspired me to join in the effort.
Descending through the foothills in the hammering rain, I thought of the many families still sleeping in tents and makeshift shelters in Butte County. Those whose holidays would not be about frivolity and indulgence, but of just getting by. Those who lost everything, including family and friends. The significance of my journey, delayed several hours by treacherous roads, paled in comparison. At the end of the day, I’d have Thanksgiving leftovers, a clean, dry bed and a roof over my head.
Though it may not be much, this holiday season we’re committed to give what we can. Today through the end of the year, 50% of every sale from High Desert will be donated to fire victims.
If you’d prefer to donate directly to the North Valley Community Foundation or another reputable organization, we think that’s pretty cool too.
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Animated ceremonial dancers feature as prominent subjects in Roybal’s works, with a favorite being Koshare clowns. Mischievous and spirited, Roybal represents the dancers in single portraits and group processionals. Often posed in profile, these figures stand out on a white ground with graphic composition.
]]>Born in 1922, José Desiderio Roybal (JD Roybal) was from San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico. Revered for its tradition of black on black pottery, San Ildefonso was home to potters like Maria Martinez and JD’s parents, Tonita and Juan Roybal. Following in the footsteps of his uncle, painter Awa Tsireh (Alfonso Roybal), JD Roybal, too, gravitated toward two dimensional works.
Animated ceremonial dancers feature as prominent subjects in Roybal’s works, with a favorite being Koshare clowns. Mischievous and spirited, Roybal represents the dancers in single portraits and group processionals. Often posed in profile, these figures stand out on a white ground with graphic composition.
Pueblo paintings by JD Roybal have been exhibited at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum, Millicent Rogers Museum and Arizona State Museum.
On his 1978 passing, Roybal left behind his wife Julia and their three children, Gary, Leon, and Bernice.
Shop available works by JD Roybal here.
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If you missed your shot at one in Winnemucca, you’re in luck. We’re giving away one more - no hand eye coordination required. Simply sign up for our mailing list to enter the drawing. We’ll announce the winner July 1st via Instagram and email.
Unlike the pro rodeo circuit (PRCA), for most competitors, participating in ranch rodeos is not a full time endeavor. They are usually working cowboys and cowwomen who practice their craft on the job every day. While some events like bronc riding are featured at both types of rodeos, ranch rodeo events are often of a practical nature. A ranch rodeo team may have to rope a calf and perform routine tasks like doctoring, branding or loading in a trailer - timed competitions with real world applications.
Another big distinction between ranch rodeos and the PRCA is the amount of events open to women. Barrel racing is the sole women’s event in pro rodeo, while ranch rodeos invite women to get just as down and dirty as the men.
While we’re on the subject of down and dirty, there are a few extra Western (read: nuts) events at ranch rodeos. The wild horse race, for example, requires the rider to saddle and mount a bucking horse from the ground before riding across the arena. Another shin busting event, wild cow milking, is just what it sounds like. It’s a timed scramble to extract milk from a cow who ain’t exactly an ol’ Bessie.
With an entertaining mixture of the practical and the crazy, ranch rodeos lie close to the original concept. They’re rowdy and competitive, and bring small communities together from across the West.
We’re proud to sponsor an event with deep ties to Western heritage, and look forward to next year. Congrats to all of the competitors at this year’s Ladies Ranch Rodeo.
]]>At High Desert Dry Goods, we’re not your average ecommerce store. We are a digital trading post that pairs the convenience of online shopping with the spirit of the Old West. Our unique buy-sell-trade model hearkens back to a time when old pawn was simply pawn, and consumer goods were made with an emphasis on craftsmanship and quality.
Many of our vintage items were made in America, and have endured the test of time. We appreciate the lived in patina of these items, and rarely clean up tarnished silver jewelry or barn finds. Vintage objects are the physical embodiment of history, and we love items that tell a story.
In addition to preserving the great style and workmanship of generations passed, buying used represents an age old ethos of resource responsibility that has not been entirely forgotten. With the rebirth of the homesteading movement, the ethics of our generation have come full circle, and many of us identify with the modest, make-do attitudes of our ancestors. Extending the life of a vintage garment is far more powerful (and timeless) than diving into the latest fast fashion trend. When we do buy new, we are more thoughtful in our consumption, and seek out durable, heirloom quality goods.
We have a small offering of new items and fine art prints at High Desert, and seek to foster relationships with likeminded artisans in the future. If you are an artist or craftsman in search of a collaboration, or simply a shopper with an interesting item for sale or trade, we want to hear from you.
Shoot us an email (howdy@shophighdesert.com) if you’re a collector with a specific, hard to find item in mind. We’re always rounding up fresh inventory, and will keep our eyes peeled for special requests.
There’s a world of awesome stuff out there, and discovery is half the fun. As a modern trading post, we are harnessing technology to make the hunt more accessible than ever. Feel free to share tips on estate sales, auctions, and good old fashioned picks.
Thanks for stopping by the High Desert and sharing a piece of the American West.
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Acoma Pueblo is located 60 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and has been inhabited since 1150 AD. A clifftop portion of the community is known as Sky City, and many Acoma potters proudly sign with the name.
The finely painted pottery of Acoma differs in style from that of the Rio Grande pueblos, while closely resembling that of neighboring Laguna. Dazzling, bold patterns and fine line work are common on both black and white and polychrome pots.
A revival of the ancient Mimbres pottery designs began in the early 20th Century, when pottery sherds from the archaeological site were shared with local Acoma potters including the legendary Lucy Lewis.
Shop available works from Acoma Pueblo potters
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“His watercolors [. . . ] show his intense love of that strange corner of the west where the Navajos live.” Arizona Highways Dec 1951
“He sees it in all its grandeur, in bold, vibrant colors. His people are romantic nomads, the fabric of whose lives is inextricably woven into vistas of sand and stone, canyon and cliff, sun and storm. If the artist’s mission is the quest of the beautiful, Andy Tsihnahjinnie succeeds as an artist,” pines a 1951 Arizona Highways feature.
While his world was not quite as idyllic as a fifties lifestyle magazine might suggest, Navajo artist Andy Tsinajinie filtered the Indian experience through the colorful lens of children’s illustrations and government supported murals.
A man of many talents (and many names - more on that later), Andy Tsinajinie honed his illustration style at the Santa Fe Indian School. Under the tutelage of Dorothy Dunn, Tsinajinie and contemporaries like Harrison Begay and Tonita Lujan developed a flat painting style modeled after ledger drawings and prehistoric petroglyphs. While Dunn’s preference for a two dimensional pictoral style was controversial, The Studio at the Santa Fe Indian School gave many budding Native artists their first taste of a structured classroom setting.
Tsinajinie was a spirited and defiant child with a tendency to run away from school, and subsequently, was sent to board at Fort Apache and Santa Fe. During WWII, he served in the Air Force, and later studied at Oakland College of Arts and Crafts. Andy Tsinajinie was a father to seven children and passed away in 2000.
Yazzie Bahe, or “Little Grey,” was Andy Tsinajinie’s Navajo (Diné) name. Throughout his art career, he employed various spellings of his last name including Van Tsinahjinnie, Van Tsinajinnie, Van Tsinajinie, Tsinajinnie, Tsinajinie, Tsinahjinnie.
See available works by Andy Tsinajinnie
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Fritz Scholder recalled the origins of his Indian Series in a 1982 PBS feature, "The subject was loaded, but here I was in Santa Fe. It was hard not to be seduced by the Indian."
Scholder, though one quarter Native American, never considered himself “an Indian.” He spent his childhood traveling with his father who worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and subsequently used his intimate knowledge of modern Native America to debunk cultural clichés.
In his signature contemporary style, Fritz Scholder took on romantic stereotypes to tackle tough issues like poverty, alcoholism and diabetes amongst Tribal communities. Incorporating a pop aesthetic and a wry sense of humor, Scholder’s figures embody the enigma of a culture caught up in legend and bound by mortality.
Scholder captures the irony perfectly in one of his most famous works, Super Indian No 2, an image of a ceremonial dancer enjoying a pink ice cream cone.
“He picked up [on] that Indian-as-mythical-being and Indian-as-ice-cream-cone-eater,” Scholder’s widow Ramona told NPR at his 2016 Smithsonian retrospective.
Scholder studied under Bay Area legend Wayne Theibaud at Sacramento City College in the 1950’s, and later went on to teach at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe.
He is best known for his 1960s-70s “Indian” works - brightly colored, politically charged, and often featuring American flags. He was a member of the Luiseno tribe and passed away in 2005.
Shop available works by Fritz Scholder
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Amado Peña is a Southwestern painter and printmaker whose boldly colored landscapes and cloaked figures evoke a mysterious and unforgiving desert environment. Peña takes inspiration from Old West locales like Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly and channels the struggles of daily life for Natives of the Southwest in his practice.
Like many in the region, Peña is a Mestizo and celebrates his Latino and Native American heritage through his work. His dynamic and illustrative landscapes are often accompanied by figures in profile, while well executed Navajo blankets and Pueblo pottery show off his skill as a draftsman. A signature combination of indigenous patterns and saturated colors make Peña’s work instantly recognizable and widely loved.
The Heard Museum in Phoenix and National Museum of American Art (Smithsonian Institution) in Washington, D.C. number among the collectors of his work.
Peña is a member of Arizona’s Pascua Yaqui Tribe and calls Texas home.
Shop available works by Amado Pena here
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