Monument Valley, Arizona. Linoleum Block Print with the Ruess Family Embossed Stamp

Ruess, Everett

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"Monument Valley, Arizona." Linoleum block print of an Everett Ruess print, labeled in pencil below the image "Block Repair / Print: Tom Carlyle, 1985." One of the images used in the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance Everett Ruess project. Everett's brother, Waldo Ruess, collaborated with SUWA on a limited-edition printing using the thirty woodblocks that he had found in a garden shed in 1985. The prints were produced as a fundraiser for the organization. The prints were limited to fifty hand-numbered copies, with the blindstamp of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and hand-signed by printers Thomas Carlyle and Stuart Steinhardt. This print is a special block repair print, hand-numbered. No. 10 of a limited edition of 15, with the Ruess Family embossed stamp. The image measures 7 1/4 x 4 1/4" [11 1/2 x 9" with border]. With a horizontal crease that extends along the bottom edge. Two small pieces of tape to the edges. This print, which depicts one of Ruess' most treasured places, was in the possession of Buckley Jeppson, who acquired the print in 1985 when he worked for publisher Gibbs Smith. Jeppson was very much involved in the rediscovery of Everett Ruess. He researched the timeline, hunted down and visited the family in California, searched a previous residence of the family for materials, visited on horseback the last-known site of Everett in the Escalante desert, and eventually edited the book "Everett Ruess: A Vagabond for Beauty," published by Gibbs M. Smith in 1983. When Everett Ruess came to Monument Valley in 1931, general public knowledge about this area was limited. With regards to Monument Valley, Ruess writes in a letter to his friend, "I am going to pack up my burro and take a jaunt through Monument Valley to a row of cliffs I know of, explore every box canyon, and discover some prehistoric cliff dwellings. Don't laugh. Maybe you thought they were all discovered, but such is not the case. In the territory I shall cover, a few cliff dwellings have been found but not investigated. Most of the country is untouched. Only the Navajos have been there, and they are superstitious. In the event that I find nothing, I shall do some painting and have some interesting camps." See W. L. Rusho, The Mystery of Everett Ruess (First Revised Edition, 2010). The mystery surrounding renowned vagabond, artist and writer, Everett Ruess (1914-1934) continues to the present day. Ruess vanished into the Escalante wilderness in November of 1934 and hasn't been heard of since. No trace of him has ever been found. His last letter written to his brother Waldo indicated that ".As to when I shall revisit civilization, it will not be soon, I think. I have not yet tired of the wilderness" From Gibbs Smith's entry in "Utah History Encyclopedia" edited by Allan Kent Powell- "Ruess traveled on foot, leading a pack burro, in northern Arizona and southern Utah in the early 1930s. He wrote impassioned letters to his parents, brother, and friends about his adventures and about the natural beauty of the canyonlands and Colorado Plateau region. He particularly admired Monument Valley and the Escalante area, and created wood-block prints. "He resided in California during the winter months, and was friends with photographers Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, and painter Maynard Dixon. All saw great potential in this young man and encouraged him in his artistic endeavors. "In the autumn of 1934, Ruess set out from Escalante in southern Utah, intending to go south into Arizona to spend the winter. In February 1935 his burro was found in Davis Gulch. His probable last camp was found in Cottonwood Canyon. Ruess himself has never been found. He is celebrated by many for his spirit and writings, such as his words: 'There is a splendid freedom in solitude, and after all, it is for solitude that I go to the mountains and deserts, not for companionship. In solitude I can bare my soul to the mountains unabashed. I can work or think, act or recline at. Seller Inventory # 64591

Bibliographic Details

Title: Monument Valley, Arizona. Linoleum Block ...
Binding: Print
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
Edition: 1st Edition