Renowned artist Artus Van Briggle moved to the Colorado Springs area in 1899 to treat his Tuberculosis.
Pueblo author Kenneth Talmage Stacks relays the final five years of Van Briggle's life in “Artus Van Briggle at the Chico Basin Ranch.”
The Holmes family owned the Chico Basin Ranch and had lost a family member to the disease.
“When Colorado Springs had a lot of tuberculosis and hospitals,” said Talmage Stacks, “the Holmes family would let patients come out to the ranch to get a break from the tents and the sanatoriums.”
Van Briggle took up the offer – traveling to the ranch located east of I-25 between Colorado Springs and Pueblo when he was feeling well enough. During his visits, the Holmes family would also have other visitors, including members from the Ute Nation.
“Mr. Holmes would allow them to rest their horses and camp. Mrs. Holmes would make biscuits and hand them out,” said Talmage Stacks. “And Artis was very intrigued by their decorative work, whether it be beadwork or anything else like that. In a few of his early (Colorado) designs, he incorporated some of that imagery into his pottery.”
By that time, Van Briggle was already world-renowned, having studied in Paris after starting his career at the famed Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“He developed a glaze that the Ming Dynasty produced, and no one else could figure out how to do it. And he did,” said Talmage Stacks. “He was a huge figure in the Art Nouveau movement and was widely recognized worldwide.”
Talmadge Stacks worked with Oklahoma Author Kathy Honea on the companion volume, “The Van Briggle Legacy: The first 953 designs and beyond.”
It’s the first fully photographic reference guide of its kind for Van Briggle, according to Talmadge Stacks.
“It's basically a guide to the pieces that were designed during Artus and Ann’s ownership of Van Briggle Pottery. And according to collectors, it's the most important pieces ever made.”
Collectors of Van Briggle and the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum helped contribute to the massive collection of images.
“A lot of pieces that have never been seen are in (that) book,” said Talmage Stacks.
The self-published books are available here.
