Stillness, Light, and Distance

the center of the San Joaquin Valley, on January 24, 1875. He had asthma as a child and spent much of his time drawing. In 1891, when he was 16, Dixon sent two of his sketchbooks to Frederic Remington, an artist he admired. Remington encouraged him, replying, “You draw better at your age than I did at the same age. If you have the ‘sand’ to overcome difficulties, you could be an artist in time. No one’s opinion of what you can do is of any consequence— time and your character will develop that.” Dixon lived and worked for several years in San Francisco. However, according to biographer Donald J. Hagerty, Dixon “periodically roamed the West’s plains, mesas, and deserts on foot, horseback, buckboard—even by automobile—drawing, painting, and writing, pursuing a transcendent awareness of the region’s spirit.” When Dixon visited Arizona near the beginning of the 20th century, he proclaimed that “he had found his country” and developed his signature style of depicting western themes. Although the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed his studio and most of his early creations, over his lifetime Dixon created an abundant body of work including illustrations for novels, paintings in several genres, murals, and poetry. His paintings of western US landscapes