foreword

By Robert Stieve, Editor, Arizona Highways

Only a fool would dare to single out a superlative in the Grand Canyon. No one has ever seen all there is to see. So, to say that any one place surpasses all others would be naive and presumptuous. Yet, we all do it. For me, I was staring into the sacred Narrows of Deer Creek, thinking, “This is it. This is the most beautiful place in the Grand Canyon.”

I suppose that kind of thinking is innate. That somewhere inside we have an involuntary compulsion to rate everything around us in our quest for the holy grail. Or maybe it’s learned behavior from AAA and TripAdvisor. Wherever it comes from, that need is exaggerated in a place like the Grand Canyon, where the superlatives line up like retired numbers in the outfield at Yankee Stadium.

Widforss Point, Nankoweap, Cedar Ridge, the Confluence, Roaring Springs, Deer Creek . . . each one is the most beautiful place in the Grand Canyon. Until you get to the next place. That’s why it’s foolish to write about superlatives. Or maybe it’s foolish to write anything at all. My late friend and colleague Charles Bowden felt that way.

“There is a part of me that thinks that no one should write a word about the Grand Canyon,” he said, “or take a photograph or paint a picture. And I believe this . . . because the canyon is like great music, within the reach of everyone and beyond the comprehension of anyone.”

He was right, on an intellectual level, but we’re undeterred by the limitations in our pursuit of comprehension. And expression. We have to try. Because it’s what we do, whether we’re artists at the South Rim, photographers on the Unkar Delta, or poets at Point Sublime.

At Arizona Highways, we’ve been trying to comprehend that otherworldly landscape for almost a hundred years. There have been so many combinations of vowels and consonants, by so many brilliant writers. And so many photographs. Thousands and thousands of them, by legendary photographers such as Ansel Adams, Esther Henderson, and David Muench. Some of their best images of the canyon have ended up on our covers.

In all, we’ve published 99 covers showcasing the natural wonder. Some with snow. Some with waterfalls. Several others show the Colorado River. Only three of them were made by artists— Jimmy Swinnerton, Chris Gall, and Amery Bohling.

Mr. Swinnerton’s painting appeared on our January 1951 cover. The caption reads: “Jimmy Swinnerton faithfully portrays the grandeur and majesty of the western scene. His favorite subject has been the Grand Canyon, which he has been painting for 40 years.”

Sixty-six years later, in January 2017, Chris Gall illustrated a cover reminiscent of a vintage travel poster. The most recent masterpiece marked the centennial of Grand Canyon National Park.

As we were gathering pieces for that issue, in February 2019, I decided that I wanted something different on the cover. Something special. Something in the tradition of Louis Akin, Thomas Moran, and Gunnar Widforss. I kept thinking about Amery Bohling, an artist I’d learned about at the Celebration of Art—I was privileged to sit on the board of Grand Canyon Conservancy when the event was being conceptualized. I figured that Amery was a long shot, but I texted her anyway. It was 1:58 p.m.

“Hello Amery. I’m wondering if you’d be willing to talk about painting the cover for our February issue, which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Grand Canyon National Park.”

One minute later, she texted back. “Sure. Is now a good time?”

We talked, and just like that, we had a plan. A few months later, when I got my first glimpse of Amery’s painting on our cover, I was smitten. “This is the one of the most beautiful Grand Canyon covers we’ve ever done,” I thought—somewhere inside, we have an involuntary compulsion to rate everything around us.

To Chuck’s point, no words or photographs or paintings will ever be enough. To feel the deeper connection—to even attempt comprehension—you have stand at Widforss Point or Roaring Springs or Cedar Ridge. Of course, not everyone gets that opportunity. And that’s where we come in: the writers, the photographers, the artists. We make books and magazines. And we make fine art. Incredible fine art. Like the masterworks you’ll see at the 14th annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art.

Amery Bohling Approaching Windy Ridge 40x30, oil