Whitehawk 2024

So, where were we? Santa Fe, that's right. 

There is always work to do after stuffing my face. 

I loaded in to the show Thursday morning but only after driving out to Quail Run to pick up all of Barry's stuff too. 

You see his van decided to exit its mortal coil at the least opportune of times and your humble host and faithful friend was left there to pick up the sordid mess.

How does the saying go? 

A friend in need is a pain in the ass? 

So true. 

Actually it wasn't that painful, he spent a fitful night on the couch dwelling on the most miserable of possible endings but it was only one night and he finally snapped back into shape and not much more was said about the entire matter.

That's what friends are for, right, making each other miserable? 

Seriously, it wasn't a great bother although it did entail a slight deviation on my route back through Phoenix, but it was okay because they were experiencing a sudden frost spell of 108° which is really child's play considering the eventual temperatures I will be facing in the eternal hereafter. Phoenix ain't nothin'.

Booth was small, show set up fast.

Early buyers came in midday Friday and I was steady right out of the chute. 

Sold art, jewelry, kachinas, silver, pottery, the whole gamut.

Some of the big dealers did not have great shows, unfortunately.

I did, being all over the place, a Swiss army knife if you will rather than a specialist.

Spread it out and see what bites.

And I was dealing and coming off my price if I could make money.

Turn the stuff and move forward. 

Helps to have stuff in all price ranges.

I bought a collection from the Ned Jacobs estate which included two pieces by the noted portrait artist Bettina Steinke (1913-1999.)

One of them was this pastel of Judy Naranjo, her favorite model, now the noted potter Jody Falwell.

This curator from Taos walked in, took one look at the pastel and said, "Hey, that's my mother in law."

There were tentative plans for her to come in and trade for the piece but they never materialized.

I bought two great Germantown weavings at the show, my only purchases.

This is the second one.

Very vibrant and beautiful. I love Germantowns.

I took that picture in Steve's booth, which looked beautiful and had higher end art. 

He also did really well.

Here is a picture of a great pot in Rick Merrill and Jeff Hammond's booth that just floored me.

You see, if I didn't know any better I would say that this pot was made around 1880 or so. 

In reality it was created somewhere between 1200 and 1500 a.d.

It was found near Bandolier, part of a group of pots originally sold many years ago by Chris Seltzer. 

The shape and stepped design iconography have basically not changed in seven hundred years. The tall flaring top had a cooling effect on the water transported in the pot. There are still San Juan pots thrown today with this general shape.

Very few cultures can stay so aesthetically consistent for a five hundred year run.

Terry DeWald had a great booth, as always. People don't get any better than Terry.

Great to see so many friends, Bert Levy, J.H., Ron Winters, a host of people. 

My old buddy Stan Schnier came by. 

He was organizing the memorial for John Morris, our old friend and promoter, famous for his work at the Fillmore, Rainbow and Woodstock among other places.

I drove up to the memorial Saturday night with Terry and Jeanine. Very beautiful and well attended. Sad for me. I miss my friend.

A house finch landed on a post and sang to me for several minutes during the proceeding.

Joshua White of Joshua Light Shows spoke and talked about how John, a stage lighting wiz trained at Carengie, got him into the business in 1967 when Bill Graham came east and watched what they did at a show and was convinced to open the enormously successful Fillmore East.

I wasn't aware of how John had pioneered a lot of innovative concert lighting techniques that have become commonplace or that he consciously adopted Native American themes at Woodstock, having a lifelong love for all things Indian.

Luzann spoke and Walter spoke and Darren Vigil Gray spoke and John's kid brother spoke and talked about the old days in Gramercy Park, a place that I also grew up in in New York coincidentally. 

John and I never discussed our shared origin story, curiously. Well, I never had a key to the park.

Robert Parsons assembled a band and did a good job creating a musical accompaniment celebrating John's passing. They were great friends as well. John had his peeps. I was lucky enough to be one of them.

The always joyful Claire Hertel stopped by.

This is Julie Okeefe, an Osage woman and costume consultant for the recent movie, Killers of the flower moon. She is modeling a trade blanket from the Racine Woolen Mills circa 1900. This picture was taken in the booth of Barry Friedman, author of the definitive book on native trade blankets, Chasing Rainbows.

Mark Sublette stopped by with his son Charles and shot a short video on an early Maynard Dixon drawing I have that may or may not see the light of day.

Mark Hilbert came by, with Marty. Schenck said hello as did Tony Abeyta.

Wonderful to reconnect with Horsley and David McCullough and lots of other dealers and friends I missed since I was sick with cancer last year and couldn't make it.

Parsons organized a beautiful Navajo classic child's blanket exhibit, many from his own collection.

All in all, a really good show on my part and for may others. 

Congratulations to Kim and Rachel. 

Only negative is quite a few people got sick with Covid but it is surging again and that is something you have to face when you are trapped in a tight spot with a lot of other folks.

I didn't get it but did catch something.

Hope everybody heals fast. Let's do it again next year.