Friday, October 9, 2009

Palo Duro Canyon II


6" x 8" oil on panel
$75.00 + $10. s/h
contact me if interested

For this painting, I simply turned my easel around and looked up the canyon. Everywhere you looked was another gorgeous spot to paint. I could stay there for days, and hope to go back. The white rock at the very top of the canyon is the sandstone of the Ogallala, which is the major water aquifer for the area.


This is the Hudspeth House, the B & B where we stayed while in Canyon, Texas. It was built in 1908 by Mr. Turk. The Texas Panhandle didn't (and still doesn't) have much in the way of lumber, so it is believed that he bought a boarding house kit from the Sears and Roebuck catalog for about $2,500.00 which came w/ a 75 page manual. In 1910 Mary Hudspeth was invited to join the faculty at the newly founded West Texas State Normal College, now West Texas A&M U. She boarded w/ the Turk family, and bought the house from them in 1912 when they lost everything in a drought.

In the days before dorms, Miss Hudspeth housed and fed students and faculty. The most famous of those eating meals there was Georgia O'Keefe, who was head of the Art Department from 1916-1918.


Georgia O'Keefe rented a room in this newly built home owned by a physics professor at the college. This 5 bedroom, 1 bath house is one block from the Hudspeth House, 2 blocks from the campus and is presently for sale. (It needs work.)

2 comments:

Marian Fortunati said...

Gosh that must have been a fun trip with 10 friends to paint with!!

I know you all went to paint the canyon but did you know the interesting history of where you stayed before you went?

I love the way painting helps us see more of where we are!! Great colors!!

Pam Holnback said...

Marian, Yes, it was lots of fun. Until 3 weeks before we went I'd never heard of Palo Duro Canyon, and it's the 2nd largest canyon in the US! At the same time I learned that Canyon, Tx was where O"Keefe taught.