Art Dealer Diaries Podcast

James Woodside painted a series of landscapes in Antartica upon receiving a grant from the National Science Foundation. Mark Sublette saw them in an issue of American Artist and knew he was destined to show this artist in his gallery. 15 years and countless paintings later, Woodside stops by Medicine Man Gallery to share his story with host Mark Sublette. In this episode you'll learn about th...

E. I. Couse's granddaughter Virginia Couse Leavitt discusses her recent release of E.I. Couse's biography, her life in Taos, and how she has made her life's mission to document E.I. Couse's art and life story. Virginia and her late husband Ernie's vision was to make the Couse house a museum, which is now open, the Couse-Sharp Historic Site.

Seth Hopkins Executive Director of the Booth Museum shares his life story of becoming a Museum curator and executive director for a major western museum.  Seth went from sportscasting, cable T.V. before falling into a career of art.  An amazing story of how art entered Seth life and changed how he saw his world.  Seth discusses his involvement with Andy Warhol and his interest in the West making h...

The creative force of nature, Jeff Bursey, discusses his interests in art and all things associated with his world.  Jeff discusses how he deals with synesthesia and the effects of having a multisensor stimulus firing in his everyday world.  In his twenties, Jeff goes on a wanderlust to meet artists, writers, and musicians.  Jeff tells of being working as an artist assistant for Fritz Sholder and...

One of the reasons I started a podcast was to try to capture voices that I thought would be lost in the future that relate to our profession. A distinct profession of collecting and preserving Western and Native American art. Unfortunately, because I interview a lot of older individuals, there is no doubt we will at some point lose a voice. This week we lost Bille Hougart. Bille was such an intere...

Andrew Smith discusses growing up in Santa Fe and how his interest in anthropology lead to being fascinated with imagery and the history of the Southwest photographs. Andrew explains how he goes about evaluating photographers and placing them in museum, libraries, and with die-hard collectors. The history of how the Edward S. Curtis collection ended up in Santa Fe and how Curtis's project 190...

Wes Cowan is an anthropologist, auctioneer, and appraiser of antiques. He is an owner of Cowan's Auctions, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cowan is a licensed auctioneer in Ohio and received a B.A. and M.A. in Archeologist from the University of Kentucky, and a Ph. D. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan.  Cowan has been a regular in the PBS series Antiques Roadshow and  History Detectiv...

Western Artist John Moyers, discusses his life growing up in New Mexico and how the Southwest influenced his early collecting and artwork. John Moyers is the son of William Moyers one the earliest Cowboy Artists of America and his wife is the famed Western artist Terri Kelli Moyers.  Moyers shares his method for painting and his artistic influence the famed Western Artist Robert Lougheed. John als...

Terri Kelly Moyers cannot recall a time when she didn't want to be anything other than an artist. She drew animals as a child, and consistently directed most of her time and energy toward pursuing that goal, with her studies at the Alberta College of Art. Terri spent her early years making her living as a pet portrait artist until she was able to break out of this mold and find her passion fo...

Tony Abeyta acclaimed Native American artist who grew up in Gallup New Mexico, his father a traditional Navajo, WWII code talker and artist Narcisco, Ha So Deh and his mother a Quaker ceramist were Tony's earliest influences.  Learn about Tony's earliest influences at Institute at the American Indian Arts in Santa Fe including his instructor Otellie Loloma, and artists T.C. Cannon, Fritz...

Landscape artist Stephen Datz discusses his life story of growing up in Colorado and his struggles to become an artist, the son of a philatelic dealer.  Stephen explains his path of becoming an artist first in plein air art before turning his art style into a more modern aesthetic.   A must-listen for any artist that wants to make art as a profession.  

Ted Trotta shares his experience working as a specialist in Antique Indian Art for PBS's Antique Roadshow.  Ted Trotta early life with the Vietnam war and his struggles and finding his way as a contentious objector. He explains how he started as an antique dealer before falling in love with Native American art. How Tony Berlant shared his knowledge of how to tell bayeta yarn in early Navajo b...

Artist Billy Schenck worked at Andy Warhol's Factory in 1966 after Kansas City Art Institute becoming a Pop artist.  Schenk the artist is also a world champion rodeo cowboy and discusses how he wears both hats of rodeo and western artist. Schenk discusses his time at Elaine Horwitz starting in 1976 along with Fritz Scholder and Louis Jimenez.

Paige Williams, New Yorker Magazine staff writer, discusses her new book "The Dinosaur Artist"  her in-depth 7-year odyssey uncovering the history and hidden world of the high-end fossil trade.  The book travels from the Land of Lakes, Florida to one of the most remote places on earth, the Gobi desert in Mongolia.  She follows the story from high-end auction house sales to the final cons...

Art collector and forensic psychologist Jon French, Ph. D. shares his love of fine art and ethnographic art. Jon takes on his life's journey hanging out with the manager of the Grateful Dead and writer Allen Ginsberg and the 1967 Summer of Love in San Francisco to become one of the top forensic psychologists in California. Jon worked with dangerous criminals helping to diagnose serious psychi...

Part 2 of Mark Winter's interview. Mark discusses how his life turned in a way he never expected when he started to collect Two Grey Hills rugs ultimately becoming the trader for the Toadlena Trading post near Newcomb New Mexico. Mark Winter explains how he learned about Two Grey Hill weavings and the different types of weavings produced during certain time frames in the 1940s and '50s,...

Mark Winter Native American Art Dealer tells his stories of how he fell into selling Native American art while making leather work in 1969.  His first love was Native American jewelry and explains how became a trader selling Indian jewelry to Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, and Sony and Cher before falling into Navajo rugs and blankets.   Mark begins his career in Pagosa Springs working with Jackson...

Victoria Roberts, Los Angeles native and New Mexico transplant, stops by to discuss her life and art including working for the musician Steven Stills and getting a music contract with Barry White. She has worked professionally in a variety of arts including animation, graphic art, wood and ceramic sculpture, and assemblage. In the early 70’s, Victoria learned the art of hand-painting animation cel...

World renown illustrator Dennis Ziemienski discusses his distinguished career as an illustrator and fine art painter. Growing up in San Francisco Ziemienski receives a degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the California College of the Arts. His knack for composition paired with his eye for color gave him a distinctive look and he was able to establish himself as an illustrator in San Franci...

Western born artist, Francis Livingston was one of the top ranks of American illustrators, including the book cover for "Dances with Wolves". Francis Livingston's paintings have been exhibited in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. Livingston was awarded both Gold and Silver Medals from the New York Society of Illustrators, San Francisco Society of Illustrators, and Society of...

Brian Lebel has been in the western art business since opening his Old West Antique gallery in Cody, Wyoming over 30 years ago. His childhood was spent on the east coast dealing antiques, then made his way to Cody, Wyoming to try life as a real cowboy. Brian founded the Cody Old West Show and would go on to acquire the High Noon Show in Mesa Arizona.  Brian has sold Roy Rogers' saddle for $16...

Native American Art dealer Charles King shares his life story of growing up in a pottery dealer's household and his love for Pueblo pottery.  Including discussions about Tony Da, Maria Martinez, and Richard Spivey – the Maria Martinez biographer.

John Krena shares his life story of going from working in the steel mills of West Virgina for six year,s to becoming a world-renowned dealer in Native American art.  John has been working as an Indian Art dealer in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania for almost 5 decaded. A must-hear podcast.

Jewelry designer and former psychologist Dana Busch shares her story of getting five degrees in the health care field including a Ph. D. in psychology and struggling with severe scoliosis, before returning to her true love of art and making custom jewelry.   

Native Californian Eric Bowman shares his love of art and his story of working as a comic illustrator, motorcycle illustrator, and  New York illustrator, before finally switching over to a full-time fine art painter.