Part II of III

In spite of the rough-and-tumble early existence of mining and the railroad, Gallup has mostly always been an artful community.  It took a few years, of course, to replace the male-dominated life with the gentler wants and needs of the distaff side who seemed to appear from everywhere and succeeded, as well as they could, in calming and taming the hardy, rough-hewn pioneers that dug and scraped and built this area with their sweat and muscles.

Even the construction of houses became an art form. Some women were not willing to accept four plain walls and a dirt floor, and the best of them insisted on a finer quality than men would have needed. As the town grew into a...

The Jewelry Store at the El Rancho Hotel is owned by the Ortega family and features handmade jewelry from Local Artists throughout the Region. The Primary goal of the Jewelry Store is to provide you with the finest handpicked jewelry from Navajo, Zuni, and Hopi Artists.

The late owner, Armand Ortega, had been in the jewelry business his entire life and is a 4th generation trader. As a child, he worked in a Trading Post in Holbrook Arizona and has always worked hand in hand with the Navajo community. Today, the Ortega family is one of the premier Traders in the region and he invites you to talk with their staff if you would like to learn more about Indian Jewelry.

We invite you to...

The world of art with its many branches is important to Gallup and the surrounding area. Articles have been published in the last several weeks, and even before, dealing with various galleries, events, and types of art that one can become almost overwhelmed with the structure – or non-structure – of the organizations attempting to publicize their particular passions.

Confusion exists in the minds of many, especially those not involved in this field, about the fuss that surrounds this subject. While this article will probably not clear up all the questions people have, an attempt will be made to clarify exactly what is going on with the many forms of art in this area.

There...