HURLSTONE FAIRCHILD (1893-1966)
Currently not in inventory.
Hurlstone Fairchild (1893-1966)
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Hurlstone Fairchild was born in Danville, Illinois in 1893. He may have shown interest in art as a child, but he did not pursue it until later in his life. He attended the Universities of Illinois and Michigan and as a mining engineer at the Missouri School of Mines in Rollo. He worked in this field after he graduated, which meant spending much of his time in the desert. His love for this scenery is what drew him into the idea of pursuing art.
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He settled in Arizona, and with no formal art training began capturing the beauty of the desert in paintings and drawings. Fairchild soon had work as an illustrator, writer and painter of Southwest subjects, especially the Grand Canyon. He began to exhibit at the Society of Independent Artists and in Arizona.
With Ruth Warner and Vera Patterson, he founded the Gallery of Southwestern Art in Tucson, Arizona. They were committed to Southwest oriented art.
In 1950, his book, Grand Canyon Sketches and Verse, was published, and work by him is in the Grand Canyon National Park Collection. He is credited with a significant contribution to the cultural life of the Southwest. He was a self-taught artist and was bestowed the honor of "Fellow" by the Royal Scottish Academy, one of few Americans so honored.
Biography adapted from these sources:
Covington Gallery, Tucson
Peter Falk, Editor, Who Was Who in American Art
Peggy and Harold Samuels, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West
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