13 Facts About Rick Bartow

Richard Elmer "Rick" Bartow was a Native American artist and a member of the Mad River band of the Wiyot Tribe, who are indigenous to Humboldt County, California.

Rick Bartow primarily created pastel, graphite, and mixed media drawings, wood sculpture, acrylic paintings, drypoint etchings, monotypes, and a small number of ceramic works.

Richard Elmer Bartow was born in Newport, Oregon, on December 16,1946, to Mabel and Richard Bartow.

Rick Bartow became interested in art at an early age, encouraged by his aunt Amy Rick Bartow, who studied art and art education at the University of Washington.

Rick Bartow attended Western Oregon University and graduated in 1969 with a degree in secondary art education.

Rick Bartow 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.

Rick Bartow exhibited frequently at both locations and elsewhere, and his work began to garner national attention.

Rick Bartow's 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.

Rick Bartow's work was part of Stretching the Canvas: Eight Decades of Native Painting, a survey at the National Museum of the American Indian George Gustav Heye Center.

The Hatfield Marine Science Center Guin Library has public displays of Rick Bartow's art, including Self Portrait with a Red nose, Boat, Fish along with Ship of Fools at the Valley Library.

Rick Bartow was a musician and singer with his band, Rick Bartow and the Backseat Drivers.

Rick Bartow played the guitar including regular local performances in South Beach and Newport where he lived.

Rick Bartow died of congestive heart failure on April 2,2016, at the age of 69.