Maynard Dixon would be proud. The master artist, who was considered one of the premier landscape painters of the American West during the early 20th century, died in 1946, but his legacy is alive and well, thanks to Paul and Susan Bingham, founders of the Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts.
Dixon’s home and studio in Mt. Carmel, Utah, had fallen into disrepair over the years, but a telephone call changed everything. In 1997, Milford Zornes called Paul Bingham and asked him a question: Would he be interested in buying it? Paul’s response was an immediate and enthusiastic, “Yes!” Zornes, who was 90 at the time, had purchased the property from Dixon’s widow, Edith, in 1963 but could no longer take care of it because he was going blind.
Photo by John Dodson
A month later, the Binghams, who were living in California at the time, visited the Dixon property, which encompasses 47 acres on the east side of Zion National Park and includes the artist’s home and studio as well as a bunkhouse and several outbuildings. They had been collecting Dixon’s work for several years and had become friends with Edith Dixon. In fact, they were so taken with Dixon’s art that Paul had quit his corporate job to become an art dealer.
“It was in pretty rough shape and needed someone to repair it,” Susan says of the property. “We thought we could do something with it but weren’t quite sure what that would be.”
In 1999, she and Paul formed the Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts and established it as a 501(c) nonprofit. They also renovated the property and purchased adjacent land, where they built a gallery that includes space in which they now live.
Photo by John Dodson
Today, Dixon’s home and studio is thriving as artists conduct workshops and create artworks there, students study there, and tourists visit the place where Dixon lived and created iconic paintings of the American West. “Our mission is the preservation of Maynard Dixon’s property, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places, and to promote artists who are working today,” Susan says.
The foundation offers workshops and artist retreats, internships for working artists and people with special needs, educational tours of the property, and art shows and events. Susan credits Paul with having a vision for Dixon’s property and making it a reality. “He loved history and preserving things,” she says. “He loved dealing in art and had tremendous vision. He was a risk taker. We’re keeping Maynard Dixon’s legacy alive.”
