SCOTTSDALE, AN ART DESTINATION TO CELEBRATE

The Celebration of Fine Art artists are following a long tradition of artists who found inspiration in the desert. History shows that artists have always been drawn to Scottsdale, attracted by the beauty of the Sonoran Desert and the luminous quality of the sunlit air. In 1932 the surrealist painter Philip Curtis arrived in Arizona with the W.P.A. Art Project. In addition to refining his distinctive spare style, Curtis started what ultimately became the Phoenix Art Museum.

Like Curtis, Frank Lloyd Wright found his muse in the Arizona desert. Wright arrived in the 1930s, and by the 1940s he had established Taliesin West as a winter camp and architectural studio. From his base in north Scottsdale, he created a new style of architecture that celebrated the desert. Today his legacy is on display at Taliesin West, a short drive from the Celebration of Fine Art.

The 1940s brought Italian architect Paolo Soleri to Arizona who came to study with Frank Lloyd Wright. He left after a year to open his own studio, Cosanti, in 1950. It is open to visitors who want to learn about Soleri’s goal of an alternative urban environment that consumes less unrenewable resources and revitalizes the human spirit.

The 1950s also saw two giants of Native American art, Charles Loloma and Lloyd Kiva New, set up shop in Scottsdale. Both Loloma and New shattered stereotypes for Indian artists by breaking into the world of high fashion. Although Charles Loloma maintained a home in Hotevilla on the Hopi Reservation, he also kept a home in Scottsdale.

By the 1960s and 1970s, the late Fritz Scholder’s abstract canvases of American Indians were dazzling critics and collectors. Scholder’s work is represented in the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Biblioteque National, Paris; Los Angeles County Museum; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian. Until his death, he lived and painted in Scottsdale.

Another acclaimed artist, Robert McCall, is also synonymous with Americana. But where Scholder looked back, McCall paints the future, the challenge of space and opportunities for humanity. His murals are found in major public spaces including the Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and Epcot Center. His wife, Louise McCall, is also a well-known artist. Her flowers are prized for their passion and energy.

Passion and energy drive the Scottsdale art scene. Thursday evenings the Scottsdale Arts District hosts Art Walks. Festivals, exhibitions and special art events take place throughout the year at the Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and the Heard Museum North. And every January, the big white tents rise over the desert bringing the one-of-a-kind Celebration of Fine Art to Scottsdale.

SCOTTSDALE: WHERE THE DESERT MEETS THE DEEP BLUE SKY

Located just 20 minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Scottsdale is renowned for its desert beauty, mild climate and near-constant sunshine. The Scottsdale area offers more four and five star resorts and hotels than any metropolitan area in the country and a host of cultural and nature-based attractions. Visitors can experience the Desert Botanical Garden, Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and the Heard Museum or take a morning hike or mountain bike ride on easy-to-challenging mountain trails. Golfers have a choice of nearly 200 great courses, including the TPC where the FBR Open is played every January while shoppers find nirvana with countless boutiques, inviting malls and internationally recognized brand stores. An art destination, Scottsdale boasts more than 100 galleries and an award-winning public art collection. For ten weeks during the winter season, the Celebration of Fine Art adds 100 more art studios to the city’s artful mix. Dining is unsurpassed with options including celebrity chefs who prepare their finest cuisine in elegant settings to cozy neighborhood bistros that feature great American and ethnic fare. More bliss awaits at Scottsdale’s famous spas where visitors are pampered with hands-on techniques that wrap, massage and soothe.

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Sponsored by the City of Scottsdale