versity in 1969. When the draft and Vietnam disrupted his life, he returned home to a hard fight with drink and post-war stress. Support from friends and family, and his omnivo- rous interest in art, helped him recover, but a viewer who is so inclined can see signs of the struggle in many of his large output of pastels, drawings and prints. Charles Froelick, who represents Bartow


through the Froelick Gallery, notes the wide range of influences on his work, but adds, “The content is very often guided by his per- sonal experiences.” Bartow draws heavily on the teeming


wildlife of his Pacific Coast home. A keen observer of the ravens, coyotes, eagles and


ospreys around his home and studio, he takes great interest in the animals’ movements and respects them as teachers of life and behav- ior. His drawings sometimes incorporate a human face in the animal’s head or body.


T


he animal mentors the Bear and the Raven have a strong presence in We Were Always Here, com- missioned for the Museum, as does his human community. The


Raven sits atop one of the two 20-foot poles carved from western red cedar, and the Bear sits on the other. Says Bartow, “the Bear and Raven, Healer and Rascal, sit atop the sculp- ture poles: one, slow and methodical, fiercely


SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 21


ABOVE LEFT: Assistant Jon Paden designed intricate mortise-and-tenon joints, like the ones on the Raven wings, which lock through the pole base.


LOWER LEFT: One sculptural pole is topped with a Raven figure, a trickster and creature of water.


LOWER MIDDLE: The second pole is topped with Bear, a protector with great love of her children.


ABOVE: Some tools, including elbow adzes, texture adzes and crooked knives, were given to Bartow, while others were custom-made to his body measurements.


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