‘Rick Bartow: Animal Kinship’ opens Sept. 20 at High Desert Museum, explores work of celebrated indigenous artist

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Rick Bartow: Animal Kinship, an exhibition from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation by one of Oregon’s most celebrated artists, will open on Friday, Sept. 20 at the High Desert Museum.

This is the third art exhibition in a yearlong series of collaboration with the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation exploring the complex relationships between humans, animals and the world we share. The first was Andy Warhol’s Endangered Species, followed by Near, Far, Gone, which closes September 8, 2024.

Artist Rick Bartow (Mad River Band of the Wiyot Tribe, 1948-2016) was born in Newport, Oregon, where his family’s roots run deep, and grew up with close ties to the Siletz community.

Though he traveled the world extensively in his lifetime, Bartow always returned to his family’s coastal home, and it was here that he eventually became one of the Northwest’s best-known and most celebrated artists.

Bartow was a self-taught artist who considered himself a mark maker above all else. He is also highly regarded as a colorist. His application of color, like many of his processes, was intuitive and helped illustrate moments of transformation — between animal and self, light and dark, and dream and spirit.

“Rick Bartow’s diverse experiences enabled him to incorporate traditional Native themes and images into contemporary works that connect us with both the past and present issues facing Native nations. Bartow, through paintings, prints, or sculptures, is a master of the art of expressing his voice and contributing to the legacy of Native art and culture,” said renowned art collector Jordan Schnitzer.

A total of 24 artworks, including two-dimensional and sculptural pieces, have been selected for the exhibition. The works span the final three decades of Bartow’s career. Drawing from Indigenous stories and his interest in nature, Bartow moves freely between human and animal representations in his depictions. Coyotes, bears and birds are recurring subjects in the exhibition.

Themes of resilience, transformation and identity emerge as Bartow processes the most difficult aspects of humanity — war, trauma, loss and addiction. Through these works visitors to Animal Kinship will consider how their human identities are both shared with and derived from the animals that inhabit the landscape we share with one another.

Bartow’s sculptural process employs both traditional methods and his intuitive approach. “There are instances when I begin with a sketch and end as I wish,” he said in 1989. “There are also times when the wood directs and cuts and a human face becomes an owl, or a coyote becomes some other character.”

Bartow’s creative process was open to influence from around the world. An avid traveler and voracious reader, he studied varied spiritual, artistic and cultural practices. He describes Bear with Humor (2004, mixed media and wood), like many of his works, as an amalgamation of influences and processes. At the very top, a carved bear head, clad in hammered lead, smiles. Scarecrow hands combine to suggest a great belly laugh. 

Although widely celebrated for his paintings and works on paper, Bartow’s sculptural work also garnered significant recognition. His carving The Cedar Mill Pole was displayed in 1997 in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden at the White House, and his 2012 sculpture We Were Always Here, a pair of 20-foot-tall carved poles, is on permanent display in front of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian overlooking the National Mall. 

“We’re proud to highlight the role of art in exploring the natural world with this very special exhibition of the works of the late Rick Bartow, one of Oregon’s most revered artists and one of the most important leaders in contemporary Native American art,” said Museum Executive Director Dana Whitelaw, Ph.D.

Rick Bartow: Animal Kinship, from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation,will be on view through February 9, 2025.

It’s made possible by Bend Magazine, the Ford Family Foundation, the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation and the Visit Central Oregon Future Fund with support from The Jackson Foundation, Oregon ArtsWatch and Travel Oregon.

About the High Desert Museum

The High Desert Museum opened in Bend, Oregon in 1982. It brings together wildlife, cultures, art, history and the natural world to convey the wonder of North America’s High Desert region. The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is a Smithsonian Affiliate, was the 2019 recipient of the Western Museums Association’s Charles Redd Award for Exhibition Excellence and was a 2021 recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. To learn more, visit highdesertmuseum.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

About the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation

The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation’s contemporary art collection is one of the most notable in North America. The Foundation has shared its art with millions across the U.S. and internationally through groundbreaking exhibitions, publications, and programs. Founded by ARTnews Top 200 Collector Jordan D. Schnitzer—whose passion for art began in his mother's contemporary art gallery in Portland, Oregon—the Foundation has organized over 180 exhibitions from its collection and additionally loaned thousands of artworks to over 120 museums at no cost to the institutions. Schnitzer began collecting contemporary prints and multiples in 1988 and today is North America’s largest print collector. His Foundation’s collection consists of more than 22,000 works of art including a wide variety of prints, sculptures, paintings, glass, and mixed media works. To learn more, visit JordanSchnitzer.org and follow us on Instagram.