Monument Valley by Everett Ruess

Block Prints by Everett Ruess

Everett Ruess, a young artist and writer who wandered the wilds of the southwest, mysteriously disappeared in the Escalante canyons in 1934 at the age of twenty. He has since become both a legend and symbol of the wilderness he revered. The love and respect Everett felt for the places he roamed were expressed in his poems and essays, as well as in the images he carved for his precious block prints. He would trade or sell these prints to the occasional tourist and passerby to help pay his way for himself and his burros. Thus the few extra dollars brought him to another vista, and eventually to another piece of art. His wanderlust and his art became inseparable. The prints in this collection span the last five years of Ruess’ short life, from the age of fifteen to twenty. They portray a variety of natural scenes and chronicle his travels along the California coast, high in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and among the deserts and canyons of Utah and Arizona. Five decades later these images still speak to us with vigor and force. They show the evolution of a maturing talent, fully capable of capturing nature in bold and simple terms.

Resources

2023-2024 Traveling schedule

Millcreek City Hall, Millcreek Community Foundation Gallery,1/2/24 - 2/1
Wasatch Academy, Mount Pleasant, 2/8 - 3/20

2022-2023 Traveling schedule

Moab Museum, Nov 11, 2022 - Feb 24, 2023
Escalante High School, Escalante Feb 28 - Mar 27

2021-2022 Traveling Schedule

Overlake Elementary, Tooele, Oct 19 - Nov 12

2020-2021 Traveling Schedule

Copper Canyon Elementary, Tooele, 9/29-10/28
Utah State Capitol Forth Floor Gallery, Salt Lake City, 1/13-3/15, 2021

2019-2020 Traveling Schedule

Anna Smith Elementary, Tooele, Sep 13 - Oct 11
Syracuse High School, Syracuse, Oct 11 - Nov 7
North Lake Elementary, Nov 7 - Dec 5
Willow Elementary, Grantsville, Jan 22 - Feb 20
Centerpoint Legacy Theatre, Centerville, Cancelled