Artist Spotlight: Lillian Wilhelm Smith – Adventures in Arizona

In May of 1913, 31-year-old New York artist Lillian Wilhelm ventured west into the Navajo territory of northern Arizona in the company of novelist Zane Grey, her cousin by marriage. Grey had arranged for veteran backcountry explorer John Wetherill of Kayenta, Arizona to guide his party on a seventy-mile horseback expedition to the magnificent and remote Rainbow Natural Bridge. Grey invited Wilhelm to accompany him and create authentic illustrations for his upcoming romance novel—the sequel to his popular Riders of the Purple Sage.

Presenter Harvey Leake, whose family were close friends of Lillian Wilhelm Smith, will highlight Lillian’s life as one of the earliest Women oil painters who traversed the Arizona landscape to paint the beauty of Arizona.

Program Date:

3:00 – 4:30p.m.

FREE for Museum Members
FREE with Museum Admission
$8 for program attendance only (does not include further admittance to the museum/galleries)