Speak/Sing Native™ Artist Archive
Rick Bartow (1946-2016)
Mad River Band of the Wiyot Tribe
Rick Bartow was a member of the Mad River Band of the Wiyot Tribe, whose homelands lie in Humboldt County, California. Born in Newport, he made his home in Oregon for much of his life. Rick sang and played guitar, performing at the National Museum of the American Indian among other places, but it is as a painter and sculptor that he made his mark as an artist.
“Rick Bartow was a Vietnam Veteran, a musician, songwriter, widower, an enrolled member of the Mad River Band of Wiyot Indians, and is considered one of the most important leaders in contemporary Native American art. His art was the subject of over 100 solo exhibitions at museums and galleries, including the retrospective Things You Know But Cannot Explain, organized by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, and accompanied with a fully illustrated monograph.
“He created sculptures, paintings, drawings, and prints over the course of his nearly 40-year career as an artist. He often depicted figures in transformation, humans becoming all kinds of animals and birds- crows, kestrels, hawks, dogs, coyotes, bears, bulls. His works show Indian leaders, references to dance and ceremony, artists and writers he admired, flowers, self-portraits. Froelick Gallery began representing him upon its inception in 1995 and continues to represent his estate. He lived in Newport, Oregon throughout his life.” Source: artist estate
Professional Information
Late artist Rick Bartow earned international acclaim yet remained true to Oregon roots – Oregonian April 2016
Drawing Themselves Straight – Eugene Weekly 6-27-2024. The son of Oregon’s late Indigenous artist Rick Bartow begins to walk in his father’s footsteps with a gallery show in Newport. Visual Arts by Bob Keefer
Rick Bartow: Transformative Encounters - 3/06/2025 - 3/29/2025 Stonington Gallery: Contemporary Masterworks of Northwest Artists, Seattle, Washington
“This March, Stonington Gallery is proud to present Rick Bartow: Transformative Encounters, featuring a number of his works which were informed by others—other artists, other works of art, other places. From music to literature, visual arts to Japanese theater, European masters to fellow artists and collaborators, Bartow was inspired by and incorporated these subjects into his works. He was an astute observer of life and through these portraits and interpretations, and utilizing his preferred mediums of drypoints, monotypes, and mixed media originals on paper, Bartow portrays these characters with humor, intrigue, and canny detail. In this exhibition, we explore the various artists and other influences that found their way directly into Bartow’s iconic imagery.”
Rick Bartow: Animal Kinship – From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation. High Desert Museum - September 20, 2024 – February 9, 2025
Say Hello to Rick Bartow – Oregon ArtsWatch by Ester Barkai, September 27, 2024. “The late Oregon artist's work is on view at the High Desert Museum in Bend and the Karin Clarke Gallery in Eugene this fall as well as at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.”
Rick Bartow: The Man Who Made Marks (LA Film Fest Premiere) 0:41 Official 2022
27th Red Nation International Film Festival - movie trailer
Scene from Making Marks |AmorisW1 2:37 Official 2010
A Moment with Rick Bartow: ABC 123 1:50 Official
A Moment with Rick Bartow: Things You Know But Cannot Explain 2:54 Official 2016
A Moment with Rick Bartow: Bear with Humor 3:23 Official 2016
A Moment with Rick Bartow: CS Indian 2:16 Official 2016
A Moment With Rick Bartow: Bear Coming 1:54 Official 2016
A Moment with Rick Bartow: From Nothing Coyote Creates Himself 1:55 Official 2017
The Line and Legacy of Rick Bartow 28:02 Official 2016
A Conversation with Rick Bartow (Jordan Schnitzer Museum) 53:27 Official 2015
Rick Bartow & The Backseat Drivers at National Museum of the American Indian 58:43 Live 2013
Rick Bartow: The Man Who Made Marks (LA Film Fest Premiere) 0:41 Official 2022
27th Red Nation International Film Festival - movie trailer
Scene from Making Marks |AmorisW1 2:37 Official 2010
A Moment with Rick Bartow: ABC 123 1:50 Official
A Moment with Rick Bartow: Things You Know But Cannot Explain 2:54 Official 2016
A Moment with Rick Bartow: Bear with Humor 3:23 Official 2016
A Moment with Rick Bartow: CS Indian 2:16 Official 2016
A Moment With Rick Bartow: Bear Coming 1:54 Official 2016
A Moment with Rick Bartow: From Nothing Coyote Creates Himself 1:55 Official 2017
The Line and Legacy of Rick Bartow 28:02 Official 2016
A Conversation with Rick Bartow (Jordan Schnitzer Museum) 53:27 Official 2015
Rick Bartow & The Backseat Drivers at National Museum of the American Indian 58:43 Live 2013
Rock, traditional
Artist, Painter, Sculptor, Musician
Guitar, Vocals
Video
- Rick Bartow
Arts Through Ancestry - Rick Bartow
Venue: High Desert Museum
Format: Official
Duration: 12:54
- Rick Bartow
A Moment with Rick Bartow: Things You Know But Cannot Explain - Rick Bartow
Venue: National Museum of the American Indian
Format: Official
Duration: 2:54
- Rick Bartow
A Moment with Rick Bartow: ABC 123 - Rick Bartow
Venue: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
Format: Official
Duration: 1:50
Tribal Information
Mad River Band of the Wiyot Tribe
also known as "Wiyot"
“Mission Statement: The mission of the Wiyot Tribe is to exercise our tribal rights and promote our common welfare, to establish the supreme law of the Tribe, to provide for and protect our sovereign right to exercise self-government pursuant to our own laws, to protect and develop our lands and resources, and to promote and safeguard our aboriginal rights as Wiyot people.” (source: Tribal website)