Toh-Atin Gallery is honored to offer a selection of Jd Challenger’s framed serigraphs and giclée prints. Through these works, his voice and vision continue—inviting reflection, learning, and respect for the histories he felt called to preserve.

One of the real joys of being in this business is meeting new artists, or at least artists you aren’t familiar with. That happened one day this last fall when Bilson Kee came into the gallery and worked with Linda Perala, one of our top associates.

We are deeply saddened to share that Jackson passed away yesterday after suffering a stroke on Tuesday.

Jackson loved this business—especially the artists he worked with and the clients who appreciated their work. He often said he couldn’t imagine retiring, because this life was such a part of who he was. A gifted storyteller, Jackson frequently shared glimpses of his own life and experiences with you through this newsletter. His humility, warmth, and approachable nature endeared him to so many over the years.

When you grow up in the Southwest, surrounded by Navajo and Pueblo artists, you tend to get a little laser-focused on them. Or I did. I used to work with some modern Plains artists, and they were incredible.

Oreland C. Joe (Southern Ute/Diné) is regarded as one of the finest sculptural artists in the world. He wanted to be an artist from his early childhood on and never let go of the dream. He traveled to Europe to study the Masters and dedicated himself to refining his work and expanding his horizons.

Helen Hardin's mother, Pablita Velarde, was a groundbreaking Santa Clara artist who experimented with mediums and broke away from the two-dimensional style popular among Native artists of the time.  She was one of the few female artists associated with the early Santa Fe Indian School of Art.

In the fall of 1942 and the spring of 1943, Jeff King, a Navajo Medicine Man, gave to Maude Oakes (1903-1990), an American ethnologist, writer, and artist, the legend and the sand paintings of Where the Two Came to Their Father,  a War Ceremonial that was and is, performed over young men who have volunteered or been drafted into the service. World War II was upon us.

Veloy Vigil was considered more of a Southwest artist than a Native American one, despite his mother descending from Pueblo Indians. His father was Hispanic.

The "Flat" style of painting, used by many Southwest Native American artists, was typical of early ledger art —paintings drawn by American Indians on ledger paper. It was also found on the teepees of Plains Indian tribes and, with a slight stretch of the imagination, can even be traced to the early rock art of the first inhabitants of the Southwest.

During the Great Depression, which started 95 years ago, President Roosevelt initiated a new federal program called the Works Project Administration, which provided Federally funded jobs. This included the Federal Art Project.

We are proud to announce a new collection in the Gallery, curated by Aline Randle, who loved Durango and spent summers here.

Today, it is common for Pueblo and Navajo artists to paint or carve religious figures, but in the 1930s, it was forbidden.