I had Ray Dewey on my podcast today. I had him on a couple of years ago (episode 259) and we went through his life story, from his childhood up until he closed his gallery in Santa Fe, which was one of the best Southwest art galleries of all time.

Well, he happened to be in Tucson today so I asked him if he'd do another podcast and he obliged. Ray loves Maynard Dixon just like I do so we always have plenty to talk about. In fact, he had a Maynard Dixon and Ed Mell show in 1985. Really the first Dixon/Mell show that was ever done like that. He was a great friend of Ed's and had represented Ed for years.

So in this podcast we talked about the people that have come in and out of Ray's life. There's a variety of interesting people and artists from R.C. Gorman to Allan Houser to Louise Nevelson to Charles Loloma. We also spoke about his relationship with Nat Owings, who was one of these great art dealers of Santa Fe and someone that we hope to have on the podcast sometime soon.

I can't not mention Ray's wife, Judy, who worked in the gallery for 20+ years running the backend of the business (just like my lovely wife Kathleen does for Medicine Man Gallery) which is so immensely important. We don't succeed without the Judys and Kathleens in our lives.

So, you know, if you really want to know the backstory of the Santa Fe art scene and the players that made it happen, then you have to listen to Ray Dewey on episode 343 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

When people that I'm interested in talking to come into my gallery, I want to grab them and take them to my studio and talk to them. Well, lucky for me, Robert Sommers walked into my store today. He's a long time friend, a very knowledgeable art dealer, and the owner of Blue Heron Gallery.

I had recorded a podcast with him seven years or so ago, but we'd always talked about doing another one, and this one was a completely different podcast than our first one. Robert's background is covered in that one, and sure we touch on his origin story a little in this one too, but I just kind of wanted to find out the path that he's been on since the first podcast and how he's seeing and interpreting the art world in 2025.

He's been doing this for 50 years so it was a good conversation - definitely less of an interview when compared to a typical episode of the podcast. We talked like two old friends do, rehashing our lives, what we've done professionally and how we've intersected through the years.

Robert is just such a unique, brilliant individual. He's a very talented writer, an awesome photographer, and a storied art dealer. He's just one of those people that you want to talk to and spend time with. I don't even know how long we talked, I just had an enjoyable conversation with somebody who's knowledgeable, loves what he does, and hopefully you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

I had Kathryn Haigh on the podcast today and she is the President and CEO of the Eiteljorg Museum, which is one of my favorite museums in North America. The reason being, for one thing, it's a beautiful building inspired by Ancestral Puebloan architecture. It was founded by Harrison Eiteljorg in 1989 and he put this magnificent collection of Western and Native Art together.

I'm happy to say the museum has continued Harrison's mission. It's a large museum on seven acres in Indianapolis, and they have an incredible Indian market every year in June. They also have an event called Quest for the West, which is a Western fine art show that takes place in September of every year. I've gone to those events and they're terrific.

And Katie's story, of course, is fascinating. She's a creative and intellectual person who grew up in Cincinnati, and was propelled into the museum world at an early age. She worked her way up the ranks at the Cincinnati Art Museum, followed by the Fine Arts Museum in Indianapolis, and now she runs the Eiteljorg. So she's quite experienced to say the least.

Needless to say, the Eiteljorg is definitely a bucket list museum. To get to speak with the person in charge of such an institution and to really understand how their operation works, and what they're trying to accomplish... It was excellent. There's just some really amazing things in the works over there.

So I found it fascinating. Just understanding the path of a museum director and what one does with that level of responsibility. I've spoken to many people in positions of leadership in the museum word but this interview was very unique. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. This is Kathryn Haigh on episode 341 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

I had Bob Melet on today. He's an old friend that I've known him for 30+ years. When people ask me what Bob does, I always say that I'm not 100% sure. I am sure however that he has this unique gift of looking at objects of all types, all cultures, and then using them in a fashion where individuals can get inspiration, primarily in the field of fine dress and clothing.

Clothing isn't the only space where Bob's professional interests lie. He also works in theater, traditional art, antiques, you name it. If you're a creative person, you could probably benefit from Bob's wonderful eye. It's one of the best you'll ever see. He absolutely knows how to assemble an aesthetic and what it looks like when things make sense together.

In fact, I told Bob "you know, you're a dealer, but you're really not. You're a creative person whose creation has to do with how you see the world and letting people into your vision."

So he is just a truly interesting individual. I enjoyed this podcast immensely, and I think you will too. This is Bob Melet on Art Dealer Diaries Podcast episode 340.

This podcast is a little different because it was filmed on location at Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week 2025. Tony Abeyta is a famous painter, jeweler, and curator, and he assembled all of these modernist voices together for the exhibit "Modernism in the Desert." The artists include: Fritz Scholder, Charles Loloma, Michael Kabotie, Lloyd Kiva New, Paolo Soleri, Ed Mell, and more.

There's a group of individuals that all connect to the same time frame of about 1950 to 1970 and they have relationships with Arizona, whether they were born here or the worked here. Tony was kind enough to walk us through the exhibit and speak on the individual works.

You see, Tony is such a wealth of information when it comes to art. The exhibit he put together took a lot of time and effort and I'm not sure anything like this has ever been done before, and I don't know if it'll ever be done again.

One of the reasons I started the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast was to capture these important voices of artists, dealers, collectors, writers, and photographers. I wanted to preserve the stories of all of these individuals that have come into my life or that I've been aware of whose voices I felt needed to be captured. Jeff Aeling was one of those important voices and he just recently passed.

Jeff was a good friend, and I represented him for 25+ years. It's interesting when you look back at a career of an artist and an art dealer, all of the things that you go through, the good times, the bad times... But every time Jeff and I were talking to each other, whether it was business related or just personal - we would always have these intimate talks about creative writing, art, and cinema.

Jeff passed this past week, and I wanted to make sure that people had the opportunity to listen to this unique voice who changed the way I saw things.

Rest in peace, Jeff. Thank you for everything.

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Originally Published Dec 12, 2018:

Renowned landscape painter Jeff Aeling shares his circuitous road from musician to a theatrical stage production to finding his love of painting. Jeff discusses what skills are required to become an artist and the three types of landscape paintings. He also speaks on the time and influences required to make a successful painting and how to pick the right subject matter to stimulates your creativity.

THE RUSSELL AUCTION • March 20-22, 2025 • Featuring over 125 historic pieces, including more than 20 iconic works by Charles M. Russell. Visit cmrussell.org to learn more.

I had Duane Braaten on today and he's a very interesting guy. It just goes to show that when you grow up in an art community like Great Falls, MT it can affect you and it certainly affected Duane. I think in a way it may have affected him more than he even realizes.

You see, Duane goes to pharmacy school, but he discovers his love for the creative world, art, and art museums. What happens is he works as a security guard at the school art gallery. This alters his trajectory a great deal, and he winds up at the Charlie Russell Museum as a preparator, eventually becoming the Director of Art and Philanthropy and he's been there since 1996.

The big event we talk about in this podcast is the auction that the C.M. Russell Museum puts on annually called "The Russell." It's the main fundraiser for the C.M. Russell Museum, which is typically the third week in March.

If you haven't gone to that event, believe me when I say that it's a fantastic experience. It's really worth doing. You have all of this interesting art that you can purchase and see, both contemporary and historic. I think 25 Charles Russell works will be for sale, that again, all help the museum, which is an important institution.

So very interesting to talk to Duane about his life, about his career at the C.M. Russell Museum, and the annual auction that is happening March 20, 21, and 22 happening in Great Falls, Montana and online at the link below:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/auctioneer/1115/the-russell-a-western-art-experience/

Oreland Joe came by my gallery today. He's such an interesting individual. I've always admired his sculptures and his paintings. He’s also a silversmith and his son Bo Joe (who I interviewed on episodes 249 and 250), is a master silversmith himself.

He's gone through a lot of different things in his life and is still just pushing forward creatively. He’s currently working on a commission that's coming up in Durango, which is a massive mural for a hospital, as well as working on a film about a prolific ancestor, Yellow Nose, a warrior who captured the seventh cavalry flag on June 25th of 1876 at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

There's history thrown in with creativity and how he got to where he is today and what he's working on. So it's a really interesting, unique take on life, and he shares it with us. I am very happy he did and I’m even happier I get to share it with you.

This is Oreland Joe on episode 336 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.