Rick Bartow
| Rick Bartow | |
|---|---|
Cedar Mill Pole, 1997
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| Born |
Richard Elmer Bartow December 1946 Newport, Oregon |
| Died | April 2, 2016 (aged 69) Oregon |
| Nationality | Wiyot |
| Education | Western Oregon University |
| Known for | sculpture, painting, printmaking |
| Notable work |
We Were Always Here The Responsibility of Raising a Child |
Richard Elmer "Rick" Bartow (December 1946 – April 2, 2016) was a Native American artist and a member of the Mad River Band of Wiyot Indians, a small tribe indigenous to 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.
Richard Elmer Bartow was born in Newport, Oregon in December 1946 to Mabel and Richard Bartow. His father's family was of Wiyot heritage. 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. He became interested in art at an early age, encouraged by his aunt Amy Bartow, who was studying 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.
Bartow attended Western Oregon University and graduated in 1969 with a degree in secondary art education. In 1969, he was drafted into the army and sent to Vietnam. He served in the 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.
After a number of small shows in the Newport area, Rick Bartow was offered a solo exhibition in 1985 by Portland, Oregon gallerist William Jamison of Jamison/Thomas Gallery, who operated galleries in Portland 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, and a fruitful twenty-year professional relationship and friendship followed. Froelick continues to represent Bartow's estate.
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