WRITERS WORDS: “My best painting is the next one. I haven’t painted it yet. I am in competition only with myself, and that’s tough, because I believe that each thing I do must be better in some way than the last.” – Ted DeGrazia
JUNE 2023 MONTHLY MUSING
TED DEGRAZIA & A GALLERY IN THE SUN
Many famous artists have existed for centuries, and most people are aware of Michelangelo’s famous painting of the Sistine Chapel and Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Artist, Georgia O’keeffe, is well known for her floral work and Norman Rockwell is famous as a 20th century illustrator of American life. Most folks have heard of late bloomer, Anna Mary Robertson Moses (Grandma Moses) who, late in life became famous as an American folk artist. Are you aware of another unique and talented artist – Ettore (nicknamed Ted) DeGrazia?
I noticed the work of this artist while traveling back and forth to Arizona when visiting family. It was while I was waiting at the Phoenix, Arizona airport for a return flight home that I wandered into a display of his distinctive, Southwest art. I loved the display and carried home my first DeGrazia art piece on the plane.
Ted DeGrazia had a unique and long-term relationship with the western magazine, “Arizona Highways” and it is said, “Make no mistake about this truth: Arizona Highways discovered Ted DeGrazia and put him onstage.” (Arizona Highways-June 2019) Some additional history from this magazine issue about Ted: “Born in the Southern Arizona town of Morenci in 1909…Ted was the child of Italian immigrants. His father was a miner. And so, DeGrazia was exposed at a young age to the sensory extravagances associated with life in a mining town—the languages of the working men, the colors of the desert, the influences of Mexican and Native cultures in music, art, and everyday life.” It was said he was charming with a magnetic appeal. Of special note, Ted built a relationship with Raymond Carlson, Editor of Arizona Highways, lasting over forty years. Both Carlson and DeGrazia had a deeply rooted love of Arizona and the Southwest.
Despite his humble beginnings, Ted earned two undergraduate degrees in music and fine art and a Master degree in fine art. Although initially rejected by university leaders and art intelligentsia, Ted sought and gained approval of the newly emerging middle-class market of post-World War II America. Noteworthy: Ted’s best-known work, 1957’s “Los Ninos,” was selected for U NICEF’s 1960 holiday card, allowing DeGrazia fame to spread far beyond the Southwest. (The June 2019 issue of Arizona Highways has extensive coverage of Ted DeGrazia, his life and illustrations of his extensive art. www.arizonahighways.com
I muse…I was returning by car to Arizona with my sister from a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico. We stopped at the DeGrazia Gallery of the Sun in Tucson, Arizona. The Gallery is the permanent museum displaying Ted’s life and art and is comprised of six galleries of paintings on display. Each gallery displays a collection revealing subjects of deep interest to this artist. My favorite painting titled, “Free as the Wind, 1961” conveys the motion and speed of four running horses. I returned home with a beautiful copy, had it framed and hung it on my dining area wall. I enjoy and relate to the freedom of these depicted horses every time I pass by. (Gallery: www.degrazia.org)
Postscript: Ted DeGrazia’s words in the above “Writers Words” quotation could apply to writers. We are also in competition within ourselves and attempt to improve in some way from the last written attempt. This month of June is Father’s Day. Ted DeGrazia was the father of three children.
HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ALL DADS!