HMB 9, Coote and Leonardo's Anatomy

Rick Bartow (American, 1946-2016) is known for large-scale, pastel and graphite drawings of birds and animals from Native American stories. An enrolled member of the Mad River Band of Wiyot Indians, Bartow is considered one of the most important leaders in contemporary Indigenous arts. This drawing, on handmade paper, is from the Shinpukuji Portfolio series, named after a temple Bartow visited in Japan, while participating in a residency. In this series, Bartow illustrated a range of small birds and coyotes, alongside his interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci's anatomical drawings. The two drawings acquired by the Morgan are also part of Bartow's HMB (Half Moon Bay) series, created in Half Moon Bay, California where Bartow spent time at the home of his romantic partner. This drawing features a coyote, an animal common in Native American traditions for its focus on transformation. Bartow believed that the coyote's wisdom offered both good and bad models for human behavior. Bartow's coyote is combined with a rendering of a skeleton based on Leonardo's anatomy series, underscoring Bartow's interest in human-animal transformation.