by Steven Carlson, Curator
Welcome to another EFFIEgram tracing the art and life of Arizona’s earliest Impressionist desert landscape painter - Effie Anderson Smith (1869-1955).
In this Issue - Effie’s Debut on YouTube - the Latest Effie Painting Discovery - and - our Fall ‘Effie Art Experience’ Exhibits in Douglas.
But first…
Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West is in the midst of an exhibit entitled Women of the Southwest: A Legacy of Painting. This long promised exhibit, which had been partially on view since 2022 in a limited ‘preview’ display - and then opened fully on July 2nd, 2024 to remain on view only until August 24th - includes one late period painting by Effie Anderson Smith. By all accounts the exhibit of several women artists from Arizona’s Territorial and early Statehood period is impressive - and for us it’s exciting that a piece of Effie’s artistic legacy is finally on public view in a major Phoenix area art exhibit for the first time there in over 70 years!!!
In 1952, Effie signed her name to what may have been the final landscape painting of her artistic life. At least, it’s the last painting we know of by her that has turned up and is clearly signed and dated. It’s also entirely possible she painted more canvases before her death in 1955, but so far this is the last - and only painting - from Effie’s final Prescott years (1951-55) to emerge.
In 1953 the Douglas Daily Dispatch told its readers that Effie (Mrs. A.Y. Smith) was no longer painting due to her eyesight, but was active in the library of the Arizona Pioneers’ Home, seeking new books and recordings from anyone who would donate them, for the home’s residents. She may have continued to paint in Prescott for her own pleasure, or to share with other inmates (as the residents were then known) but apparently Effie was no longer accepting commissions or planning more exhibits.
The Pioneers’ Home, which sits high above Prescott on a hill, has wonderful views. On a clear day you can see the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff. Effie began her residence at the Arizona Pioneers’ Home just after Thanksgiving in 1951, though she still retained a relationship with the Miller-Sterling Gallery in Phoenix, where she had exhibited her art for sale since the 1920s. You won’t be able to see this at the Western Spirit exhibit in Scottsdale, but the Miller-Sterling label is on the back of this painting. It’s amazing that the backing paper is still intact after all these years.
One normally might expect that a label like this just means it was framed there. But we know it means more. If I owned this painting myself I would save that label but remove the acidic backing paper (which is browning and will crumble over time) and see if that would reveal Effie had inscribed a title on the back - as she so often did. But for now, the mystery remains.
Miller-Sterling Company in Phoenix was in existence as early as 1910, displaying paintings by regional artists, prints, and offering picture framing services. They expanded into art supplies and art shows. Effie’s first solo Miller-Sterling exhibit that can be documented opened April 4th, 1928 with a glowing review in the Arizona Republic on April 8th especially praising her Grand Canyon paintings and comparing them favorably to those of Thomas Moran.
Effie also exhibited at Miller-Sterling in group shows with other artists, such as her participation in the November 1935 exhibit of Arizona artists (the 24th such Arizona focused show held at Miller-Sterling Gallery) in which Effie’s paintings were displayed alongside those of Maynard Dixon, Gustave Baumann, Jeannie Vennerstrom Cannon (whom Effie knew from Laguna Beach and Tucson), Jessie Benton Evans and other southwest art luminaries.
So it seems possible the painting by Effie now on display in Scottsdale may also have hung - for a time - at Miller-Sterling in 1952 and beyond, given Effie’s decades of association there. While Effie did not inscribe a title on this work that has survived (unless it’s under the backing paper) the painting has a strong resemblance to another similar vista she captured a decade earlier in 1942 as part of her series of scenes along the Coronado Trail - entitled “Looking Across the Coronado Trail from Stargo, near Morenci - Mogollom in Distance” which we were pleased to display in our 2019 Tucson Desert Art Museum retrospective, honoring Effie’s 150th birthday anniversary. In the impressionist tradition, it would not be unusual for Effie to return several times to the same scene to illuminate some new feeling she had there of the light, colors, mood or clouds in a different season or time of day.
Where has this painting been since the 1950s? I first learned of its existence in 2011 after connecting with Fran Elliott of Sedona, who with her husband Ed had been collecting paintings by well known and obscure Arizona and Southwest pioneer women artists for over 25 years.
As we got acquainted by e-mail and then phone I learned Fran had come across two of Effie’s paintings and added them to her collection, with the goal of presenting a major exhibit called Arizona’s Pioneering Women Artists in 2011 during the run up to - and during - the 2012 Arizona Statehood Centennial. Fran did exactly that, in a fabulous exhibit presentation focusing on an array of women artists of Arizona’s early years at Phoenix’s fabulous Herberger Theater Center’s Art Gallery. In the end, Effie’s art was not a part of that exhibit, but Fran held on to the two paintings by Effie in hopes of collecting more. Sadly, both Fran and her husband passed away a few years later, but on a positive note they left their amazing collection to Scottsdale’s Museum of the West - and so this intriguing example in Effie’s last impressionistic style - that Fran rescued from oblivion many years back - is now - finally - on exhibit for the first time in over 70 years as part of the Women of the Southwest exhibit.
If you are willing to brave the heat of the Arizona summer (there is FREE underground parking out of the sun, under the museum!) you will be rewarded by a stunning array of art by many meritorious Early Women Artists of the Southwest - most of whom Effie knew through the Woman’s Clubs across Arizona in her role as Art Chairman of the Southern District in the late-1920s - and with whom she exhibited in Phoenix, Tucson and beyond during the 19-teens, 20s and 30s.
Scottsdale’s Museum of the West is as much a western history museum as it is about art or photography, so there’s a lot to see here - sculpture, photography, ranching artifacts and western equestrian gear, in addition to the paintings. Allow at least 2 hours for your visit. They have a great gift shop, too! Some excellent restaurants are nearby for lunch or dinner.
Note: Be prepared - Reliable sources tell me the admission fee to see the Women of the Southwest exhibit is higher than posted on the Museum’s website.
I also have it on good authority that this Women of the Southwest exhibit was originally planned (under a different title) for a much longer run than the meager 8-weeks it is being allotted at this time - but let’s draw some comfort from the knowledge that this stunning and fabulous Fran and Edward Elliott Southwest Women’s Art Collection is now among the permanent treasures of the Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West collection - and - can be drawn upon for future exhibits of all kinds in months and years to come. We hope it shall be so - and we hope we don’t have to wait another 12 years to see a large show of these paintings by our wonderful early Arizona and Southwest women artists, many of whom have been unjustly neglected for a century or more. They deserve to see the light of day (or the gallery lights) again soon - for a much longer span of time so that art lovers from all over the world who annually flock to Scottsdale can see and study the art of these important western women - during the cooler months of the season.
My thanks to our friend and longtime Effie project supporter Susan Bickel for making available some of the above photos of Effie’s 1952 painting and the present exhibit at Western Spirit in Scottsdale from her Museum visit.
Effie’s Debut on YouTube!
We’ve launched a new YouTube channel where videos showing highlights from our past exhibits as well as short (4 to 5 minute) talks on the life and art of Effie Anderson Smith will be posted. A few of these have also been on Instagram and Facebook but the YouTube channel will now be our priority. Just search for Effie Anderson Smith when on YouTube - there you will find 3 recently posted videos waiting for you.
An unknown Effie painting appears at Auction…
A surprise discovery occurred when recently we were searching for images of Effie’s paintings online. I stumbled upon a painting by Effie that I had not seen before and hadn’t known of it’s existence. It’s entitled “The Storm Cloud”.
I would consider this to be an ‘early mature’ work by Effie. Not yet her ‘fully mature’ style but many elements of her evolution toward her later mastery are present here.
We know that the sky and clouds often were key factors in Effie’s ‘early mature’ paintings like this one from 1926, but it’s rare to see a painting where one cloud becomes a prominent feature and even dominates. I say rare, because just recently I made mention of another painting with a large cumulus cloud which is featured in an Effie canvas from a few years later entitled “In the Land of the Mesa” which is in the collection of the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum - where in 2026 we hope to be presenting an extensive Effie Anderson Smith exhibit highlighting her connections to geology and the mining industry through her life at the mining camp at Pearce during Arizona’s Territorial era and early years of statehood.
Regarding Bradford’s Auction Gallery in Sun City - I should mention that over the years a number of other Effie paintings have shown up at estate sales in Sun City. This is the first time I’m aware of that one of Effie’s larger paintings has appeared at an Arizona auction house. Sun City being a hot spot for Effie painting ‘finds’ may be so because many people connected to Effie in her life in Southern Arizona, Cochise County and Tucson eventually retired and moved to Sun City beginning in the 1950s.
Also, Effie’s son - Lewis Anderson Smith (1898-1986) resided there for part of his retirement years. So, if you are in the Northwest Phoenix suburbs for an ‘antiquing day’ it’s a good idea to check out the estate sales and antique shops - even the thrift stores - and now - Bradford’s Auction Gallery - for a possible Effie find. If you spot a painting you suspect may be by Effie Anderson Smith, please be sure to let us know!
Our Fall Exhibit in Douglas …
The Effie Anderson Smith Museum and Archive is pleased to partner with Studio 917 Gallery in Douglas for an exhibit that will be An Effie Art Experience - the weekend of November 29th, 30th and December 1st. That Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend will be an opportunity to see Effie’s art in the boom town she chose to make home during the final decade of her active life as an artist. It was Effie’s most prolific decade (1941-51). If you enjoy a road trip - historic Douglas (just 25 miles southeast of Bisbee) awaits you - and that weekend our Effie Anderson Smith Museum team and our friends at Studio 917 will welcome you and assist you in finding your way around Douglas to several locations key in Effie’s personal, public, civic and artistic life.
We are planning to offer a guided walking tour to several locations within a 4 block radius of Studio 917.
Connecting our exhibits of Effie’s paintings at Studio 917 with those in other nearby locations also includes an optional walk through the glorious Hotel Gadsden where Effie lived seasonally for about 10 years in the 1940s - and you can see the location of her 3rd floor studio where Effie painted, taught and enjoyed views of the Mule Mountains to the west and Swisshelm Mountains to the northeast.
Once you’ve satisfied your artistic interests, you may be ready to dine. I’m happy to report that the dining room in the Gadsden has just reopened with a completely new menu. It now includes some Indian cuisine favorites as well as standard American fare.
And - need I mention that some of the best Mexican food anywhere in Arizona is yours to enjoy in Douglas? (Yes, we’ll have restaurant and lodging recommendations!).
More details on the Effie Art Experience Weekend (Nov 29 - Dec 1) with our friends at Studio 917 Gallery in Douglas - and the other Effie art focal points nearby - will be forthcoming in our September and October EFFIEgrams.
Please visit our Effie channels on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram as well as our website at EffieAndersonSmith.org.
Thank you for your interest in the Dean of Arizona Women Artists, Pioneer Painter Effie Anderson Smith (1869-1955).
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