by Steven Carlson, Curator
Thanksgiving Weekend Exhibits have become a tradition for us with the Effie Anderson Smith Museum and Archive project. First in Effie’s home of 45 years in Pearce at the old Mercantile in 2011 during Heritage Days - and again in Pearce for Effie’s 150th Birthday Anniversary in 2019 at her last home there - still standing today.
And now at Thanksgiving 2024 we are bringing a large selection of Effie’s art to Douglas where Effie spent the last creative decade of her active life in the 1940s as an artist. There she loved painting the landscapes of Southern Cochise County and the Sulphur Springs Valley - and privately taught high school aged students and a circle of local women who were so inspired by her teachings of Impressionist and plein air technique that they later formed the Douglas Art Association in the 1950s.
As part of our Effie Experience Weekend the DAA is hosting a one day exhibit of 4 of Effie’s most accomplished women students - and Douglas Historical Society will open its doors to us so you can enjoy the largest permanent display of Effie’s art anywhere in their collection, along with the many other stunning displays on Douglas history - including my favorite - the collection of antique cameras and photographic equipment.
Join us in historic Douglas! The weather this year is going to be great!
See a curated selection of Effie’s most beautiful and accomplished Arizona desert landscapes and share a piece of early Arizona art history with your out of town guests and family. And please share this post with anyone else you may know who loves art!
If you are on your own this year, enjoying your Thanksgiving solitude - why not take a scenic drive through the iconic and historic mining boom towns of Tombstone and Bisbee to Douglas or via Arizona’s Wine Country through Willcox and Effie’s beloved Pearce on the Ghost Town Trail - or a fabulous drive through Wonderland of Rocks in Chiricahua National Monument and then come to Douglas for great art, local food, and everything else Douglas has to offer.
Find us this weekend on G Avenue just a few steps from the famously beautiful Hotel Gadsden with it’s amazing stained glass windows and lobby ceiling (home of Effie’s art studio in the 1940s). And visit us at Studio 917 Gallery where they are celebrating the Chiricahua National Monument’s 100th anniversary with art inspired by its natural beauty, as Effie was in her art - featuring the glories of the Chiricahua Mountains and Cave Creek Canyon there.
OK - Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. You are busy. We’ll keep this brief.
Amazing paintings, a Reception on SATURDAY with Walking Tour to other Art Venues and more await you in Douglas this weekend!
Come join us for a Thanksgiving Effie Experience!
Please Visit our Website for additional information at www.EffieAndersonSmith.org to enjoy Effie’s art and SUPPORT our exhibits and efforts to preserve Effie’s Arizona Art for future generations. Your gift in any amount helps and is tax deductible.