Rick Bartow

Rick Bartow (1946-2016) was a Native American artist of Wiyot and Yurok (Native American groups indigenous toHumboldt County, California) heritage. He created works in sculpture, print, etching, monotype, ceramics, mixed media and painting. But in the Newport area he was best known for his music and his gentle kind soul. Rick was born in Newport, Oregon in December 1946 to Richard and Mable Bartow. And it was in Newport that Rick crossed over on April 2, 2016 after battling heart disease for many years. He was 69 years old. When Rick was five, his father died. His mother then married Andrew Mekemson, whom Bartow considered a beloved second father. He became interested in art at an early age, encouraged by his aunt Amy Bartow, who was studying art and art education at the University of Washington. His love for art continued through high school and extended to music when he took up the guitar and bongos. Rick attended Western Oregon University and graduated in 1969 with a degree in secondary art education. In 1969, he was drafted into the army and sent to Vietnam. He served in the Vietnam war from 1969 to 1971 as a teletype operator and as a musician in a military hospital, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star. His work can be found in several museum collections including the Peabody Essex Museum[5] in Salem, Massachusetts;Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, Indiana; the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC; the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, Oregon; the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona; the de Saisset Museum; and the Portland Art Museum. In 2003 his works were exhibited at the George Gustav Heye Center, a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. His carving The Cedar Mill Pole was displayed in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden at the White House in 1997; it had been designated one of the most highly regarded Native American public sculptures in the country. The pole was partially inspired by Bartow's work with the Maori artist John Bevan Ford. Presented as a gift to the Portland, Oregon metropolitan community from Oregon's Washington County and the Oregon College of Art and Craft, it was intended to help heal the controversy that surrounded an urban development project. The 26-foot-tall carving was created using one of the giant cedars that were removed for a road project. Bartow's monumental cedar sculptures "We Were Always Here" were commissioned by the Smithsonian National Museum, and sit on the Washington DC Mall, visually across from the Washington Monument, at the entrance to the National Museum of Indian Art. Dedicated on the autumn equinox in September 2012, the towering works represented the pinnacle of Bartow's accomplishments. In 2013 the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts selected Rick as its Community Legend Award recipient. A Celebration of Rick's life will be held Saturday, April 30th, 2:00pm at the Newport Performing Arts Center. Any other events taking place in Rick's honor will be noted on this website as the funeral home becomes aware of them. Bateman Funeral Home is handling final arrangements.

Tributes

Rick Bartow

December 31, 1946 - April 2, 2016