Ronald Stephen Riddick

Scottsdale Art Auction, 31 March 2012, lot 49

Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)

Acquired by descent from the above by the present owner

Denver, State Historical Society of Colorado, Artist of America, September - November 1992, n.p., illustrated in color

Born in Santa Monica, California, Ronald Riddick’s artistic ethos is largely rooted in the historic cultures and traditions of the Old West. Elected to the Cowboy Artists of America in October 1997, Riddick’s characteristic brightly colored Western subjects have been awarded numerous medals at CAA exhibitions and elsewhere.

Executed in 1992, Riddick’s The Blessing Dance evokes all of the delicate detail typical of the artist’s oeuvre. This group of women and young girls, in delicately detailed hair ornaments and clothing, light the stark background and illustrate a “blessing dance,” a ceremonial dance invoked to promote prosperity and blessings.