The Show Must Go On!

Steve Getzwiller quietly left this world on August 23rd , 2023 at the age of 74. He left it a more beautiful place, though, having elevated the artistry of Navajo weaving and those who created them up to a whole other level.

He was born March 4th, 1949, to Marion and Kathryn “Kay” (Harrigan) Getzwiller in Benson, Arizona. He was the fourth generation of his family to grow up in the ranching life of southeastern Arizona. As a kid he often hung around the Amerind Foundation in Dragoon, a museum and research center for Native American arts and culture, and was inspired to study anthropology at the University of Arizona. When he was 18, he traded his childhood collection of .22 rifles for his first Navajo rug. After college, he started carving out his own path as a trader on the reservation, buying and selling pawn jewelry and weavings much like famous traders Hubbell or J.B. Moore did generations earlier. But again, he took it to another level. 

It was the beginning of his Nizhoni Ranch Gallery first in Benson and later in Sonoita. His truck was his office on four wheels, crisscrossing the Navajo Nation often without a paved road or map but going on instinct. For more than 50 years, he worked closely with weavers, not just by selling their pieces, but so much more. “There’s definitely mutual respect,” he once said, describing the collaborative
relationships he developed. “I’m their banker, employer, counselor, and friend. Their problems become my problems.” 

Steve and his wife Gail were family to them. Steve helped to bring back the churro sheep to the Navajo. He also wanted to preserve the past, and bring recognition to works of unknown weavers of the 19th and early 20th century. Steve Getzwiller’s book, “The Fine Art of Navajo Weaving” with photographs by Ray Manley, introduced the old along with contemporary weaving to countless others beyond the Southwest. 

Like his dad, a world champion rodeo star, Steve was pretty quiet about his life. As he once said, “The goal of my life’s work with the Navajo weavers has been to see how far I can push the envelope, how much I can help improve contemporary Navajo weaving and bring it to the highest level possible.” 

The family will continue Steve's legacy by offering the finest Navajo weavings available!

How Steve Getzwiller's Passion for Collecting Turned into The Nizhoni Ranch Gallery

The Beginning of the Getzwiller Collection! 

Nizhoni Ranch Gallery is built on tradition and a passion for the Native People of the Southwest. The unfolding into a world-renowned gallery took more than a few turns over the last 45+ years.

This quiet cowboy, whose ranching heritage goes back generations through Arizona and New Mexico territorial days and clear back to the Republic of Texas, is considered one of the premier collectors and dealers of Navajo weavings in the country.

In the beginning, Steve Getzwiller’s truck served as a mobile office during his monthly (sometimes bi-monthly) journeys to the Navajo reservation. As he turned off the highway onto little more than a dirt trail, bouncing across the deep ruts, his cowboy hat slid back and forth across the dashboard.

He knew just about every spot on the rez where he could get a cell phone signal. When he had one, he took the opportunity to check in with his wife, Gail, back home. For Steve, these visits weren't purely business.  “It’s more a family relationship than a business one,” he says. “It’s a collaborative partnership, and when you consider I’m working exclusively with the same weavers and their children (grand children now) for 10, 20, 30 years and more, that tells you something about the relationship.” Which is, truly, a deep one. 

Some of the ladies he works with are now in their 90s, (their ages range from 30s - 90s), and very few of the youngsters are taking up the craft.   “There’s definitely mutual respect,” he says. “I’m their banker, employer, counselor, friend. Their problems become my problems.”

Steve knows the region well. He grew up on a ranch just east of Tucson, Arizona, and spent a lot of time as a kid around the Amerind Foundation in Dragoon, a museum and research center for Native American arts and culture. Archaeologist Charles C. Di Peso, who directed the foundation for 30 years until his death in 1982, helped to spark Steve's imagination and inspired him to study anthropology at the University of Arizona. It was then that Steve began collecting Navajo Rugs at the first opportunity.

“I was able to afford my first Navajo rug when I was 18 by trading my childhood collection of 0.22 rifles,” Steve says. “After I got out of college, I just went out and started living it…traveling to the reservation and buying and selling pawn jewelry and Navajo weavings.” At that time, he made the eight-hour trek twice a month. “In the early days, when all the trading posts were there, there was a lot of distance between trading posts, brokering the sale of several of the trading post rugs,” he recalls. “The traders used to call me a ‘hogan hopper’ when I started working directly with weavers. Interestingly enough, I’m one of the last ones standing.”

Part of Steve’s success can be attributed to the fact that from the beginning he was not simply interested in the sale, but also in enabling the women to market their work to the world. He encouraged them to experiment and expand their designs while keeping many of the traditional patterns. His philosophy dovetailed with the Diné (Navajo) to preserve their own culture while incorporating the best of others into it.

“The goal of my life’s work with the Navajo weavers has been to see how far I can push the envelope, how much I can help improve contemporary Navajo weaving and bring it to the highest level possible,” Steve says.

By 1984, Steve wrote the book, “The Fine Art of Navajo Weaving” with the encouragement of Ray Manley. (photograph by Ray Manley: Steve and Ellen Smith at her loom) On the right, Steve sits with Master Weaver Ellen Smith (she is featured on the cover of the Fine Art of Navajo Weaving). Between Ray’s photographs, Steve’s connections and knowledge, and several trips to the Navajo Reservation, they co-published what turned out to be the best-selling book on Navajo Weaving.  

Some of the special Burntwater Rugs Steve commissioned were featured in "The Fine Art of Navajo Weaving". You can read more about the Burntwater style of rugs by clicking here and Arizona Highways Magazine.

For all he’s done to improve the quality of the Navajo Rug and their marketability, Getzwiller has been likened to turn of the 19th century traders with the Navajo, Juan Lorenzo Hubbell and J.B. Moore.

Today Steve encourages the use of the traditional Churro wool, which comes from a sheep species that was nearly wiped out twice by the federal government, but still managed to survive. (This fifth-generation cattleman even purchased his own flock, which is now in the care of a Navajo family.) He has also introduced silk and alpaca fibers to traditional weavers, creating a new market of “wearable art.”

Steve wanted to give the weavers the recognition they deserved. Starting with his Polaroid camera, he would take photographs of the weavers with their rugs. He has boxes of old photographs going back to the 1970's, containing stories to be told and memories of some very great Navajo weaving artists.

Steve also collects historic weavings many of them fine antiques from different periods.  “There’s no way of knowing who the early weavers were,” he says. “I can identify certain weavers by their weaving style and quality, but not who she was.  That was his inspiration to establish the Navajo Churro Registry.  It records each piece along with the artist who created it. “In a hundred years there will be no doubt who the weaver was and exactly which rugs they have created." 

Steve Getzwiller, Ray Tracy (wearing a Navajo Silk Poncho from the Navajo Churro Collection), and Bill Malone, famous Hubbell Trading Post Trader (now in Gallup).  They were all in Santa Fe for Indian Market. They are standing in front of a display of the Navajo Churro Collection Rugs.

 Ray Tracy is a famous Navajo Jeweler/Designer, Actor & Model.  If you ever get a chance to visit with Steve in person, he will be glad to tell you a few tall tales about Ray and Bill. 

In 2000, the Nizhoni Ranch Gallery opened in Sonoita, Arizona. This new venue allowed Steve and Gail to offer Navajo rugs to the public in a new way; clients could come and see the weavings in a ranch house setting, up close and personal!  

In 2016, the Nizhoni Ranch Gallery started presenting exhibitions of Navajo Weavings at the gallery in Sonoita.  Collectors and those who appreciate authentic Navajo weavings of the highest quality come from all over the world  to view these weavings in person.  At exhibition opening celebrations,  Master weaver, Elsie Bia comes to the gallery with her loom to show the incredible art of Navajo weaving.  

Continuing Traditions

Now that the Churro Sheep are back, weaving continues to be an important part of the Navajo's life!

For Steve and Gail, hardly a day goes by without them sending a deposit on a rug to a weaver or receiving a photo of a rug on the loom under construction. Every day, the Nizhoni Ranch Gallery office is also busy communicating with clients across the globe and assisting gallery visitors. 

Steve and Gail are determined to continue helping the Navajo weaving tradition stay alive. It is important to keep all of the Navajo Traditions alive, including the Navajo language, customs, ceremonies, art, etc. They value and respect the Navajo in all ways as one of the nation’s first indigenous people.

As the Getzwiller collection was being built, Gail was home with the kids and running the cattle ranch when Steve went on buying trips. In the 1970's and early 80's, there were no paved roads on the Navajo Reservation, no hotels, no GPS and no cell phones.  Sometimes days went by without communication between Gail at the Getzwiller ranch and Steve on the reservation.  Many stories can be told about that!

Due to this, Gail was on her own, fixing everything from fences to broken water pipes, as Steve went from one place to another camping in the back of an old suburban each night on the Navajo Nation.

With the Getzwillers still collecting, there are plenty more stories to come. Check out our blog from time to time for news about what is going on around the Nizhoni Ranch. We will try to let you in on some of the stories on the back roads of the Navajo Nation and more. 

History of the Getzwiller Exclusive Navajo Churro Collection

In the 1990s the quality and uniqueness of Navajo weavings was on the decline.  Steve met with an old friend, Ray Dewey, in Santa Fe and they discussed how the quality of Navajo weavings could be improved.  The answer was improve the quality of the wool and dyes.

For hundreds of years Churro sheep have been the center of Navajo life.  Navajo churro wool was the first weaving wool of the Navajo Nation because of its low lanolin content, long staple and translucent qualities.  Unfortunately the churro sheep were nearly exterminated by outside forces.  

In the Getzwiller Historic Textile (GHT) collection exists beautiful pieces that are 100 years old, woven with Churro wool.  Which confirms churro wool is the best and only becomes better with time.  This conclusion planted the seed with Steve to bring Navajo churro wool back to the loom.  

Steve was able to find the source of the Navajo Churro Registry where the genetics were being perfected for a better fleece.

Next, Steve found dye artists to dye the wool by hand for what would later be called the 'Navajo Churro Collection'.  Though it seems like a simple thing, this took several years to put together. The final step was finding the best weavers on the Nation who were willing to use the Churro wool. The weavers were thrilled with the wool and loved the new colors (Indigo, Cochineal and the highest quality dyes from Switzerland). With that, the Navajo Churro Collection was born.

The result of this project is history making in itself. For one thing the Navajo Churro Sheep are no longer on the endangered species list. Some of the very best master weavers of the Navajo nation are able to work on projects in the Navajo Churro Collection that they otherwise would not be able to do. They are given the very best wool which is hand dyed and custom spun ready for them to weave on their loom; the Nizhoni Ranch Gallery supports them through the weaving process even if it takes years for them to complete. A registry is kept of each weaving documenting the weaver, a photo of her, and the weaving. It is very important that in 100 years from now, the weavers will be recognized for their work.

The Navajo Churro Collection Weaving project is playing a part in preserving the Navajo weaving art in the Navajo culture. The Navajo Churro Collection celebrates the Navajo weavers and the art of the loom. The Nizhoni Ranch Gallery exclusively offers these weavings to the world, which represent some of the finest Navajo weavings ever made. Steve and Gail will continue their work and hope that one of the benefits of this project will be for young Navajos to take up this very difficult and beautiful art form, as it is a legacy well worth preserving.

Today “The Navajo Churro Collection” is a premier collection of contemporary Navajo Weavings, which are exclusively commissioned by Steve, from the Churro wool he provides to some of the most capable Navajo-weaving artists of today.  The fleece of this registered line of Churro sheep is of the highest quality available.  All of the wool is completely hand washed and custom spun.  The dyes utilized consist of natural vegetal dyes and the finest Swiss aniline dyes.  All colors are dyed by hand in small batches to achieve the highest grade of variegated reach hues.  The natural wool colors are also custom spun to create rich and variegated grays, browns, and tans.

Navajo Churro Master Weavers, (L to R) Elsie Bia, Gloria Hardy and Cara Yazzie

Exhibits and Shows

Time changes life for everyone, and that’s especially true for the Navajo. During the last part of 19th century, trading posts opened up and traditional life for the Navajo began to evolve rapidly; especially when it came to Navajo weavers. It was with the changes to wool, newly available dyes, and the transition from wearing blankets to floor rugs; that gave way to this “transitional” period and thus, Transitional Rugs were born.  

Continue Reading, see Images and video of the In Transition Exhibit Gallery Show

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The Heard Museum exhibit COLOR RIOT !, How color Changed Navajo Textiles (April - September 2019)

We are proud to participate in this exhibit!  Some of our most visually interesting weavings are featured in this excellent show - 14 to be exact.  We hope everyone interested in Navajo weavings has an opportunity to see this exciting event!

Continue Reading and see Images of the Show

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MASTER WEAVINGS OF THE NAVAJO CHURRO COLLECTION (March 2019-August 2019 Sonoita AZ NRG)

Steve and Gail's love of Navajo weaving started as a passion for collecting, that morphed into a business and then into a gallery.  In the 1990's they started the Navajo Churro Collection - providing the weavers with Navajo Churro Wool that was custom spun and hand dyed with the finest natural and aniline dyes available.  The real artistry comes from the weavers magically putting the wefts into a spacial design - that is at times beyond belief.    

Continue Reading and see Images of the Gallery Show

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TIMELESS TREASURE OF TWO GREY HILLS (2017-2018 Sonoita AZ NRG)

Historically traders encouraged unique and signature designs for Navajo rugs in their particular area.  In the case of Toadlena and Two Grey Hills they worked to enhance marketability and cultivate regional styles.

This exhibit highlights differing phases of influence on the Navajo weaver.  Showcasing historic textiles we have collected over the years, as well as those commissioned from weavers we have worked with over the last 45 years.

Continue Reading and see Images Gallery of Show

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One Trader’s Legacy: Steve Getzwiller Collects the West (2017- ) Wickenburg AZ DCWM

Steve Getzwiller, cowboy, collector, and Indian trader-started his lifelong passion for collecting the west and Native American artifacts nearly 50 years ago, beginning as a teenager with his exposure to the Amerind Museum and mentor Charles C. Di Peso. A natural trader, he has become known for his work with weavers from the Navajo Nation. While Getzwiller has collaborated with multiple museums to present exhibitions of historic and contemporary Navajo Textiles, One Trader’s Legacy marks the first time that Getzwiller’s personal collection of rugs, paintings, pottery, baskets, Apache Material, saddles, guns and more will be on public view.

Continue Reading and see Images Gallery of Show

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NAVAJO TEXTILES AS MODERN ART (2017 Sonoita AZ NRG)
  Our goal for this exhibition is to present a wide variety of Navajo textiles which represent many facets of Modern Art, from minimalism to multi-dimensional design concepts. There is always the question of what came first? Whatever the theory - The Navajo Weaver is part of the mix and was generally far ahead of their time.  Read here the article Encore! Encore! Encore! by Susan Sorg about this great show.

Continue Reading and see Images Gallery of Show

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THE DAZZLED EYE EXHIBITION (2017 Tucson Desert Art Museum)

Featuring selections from world-renowned collectors Steve and Gail Getzwiller, The Dazzled Eye contrasts these works of woven art with American Op Art by exploring the popularity and history of Navajo Eyedazzlers and optical weavings. This exhibition will also show how these works by Navajo weavers epitomize Navajo aesthetics and a mindfulness of movement.

Continue Reading and see Images Gallery of Show

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PAINTING WITH WOOL EXHIBITION  (2016 Sonoita AZ NRG)

PAINTING WITH WOOL, is an historic event for Steve and Gail Getzwiller, as it is the second exhibit and sale at their own gallery. A large turn out made it a great success and the gracious presence of Elsie Bia, Master Weaver, again demonstrating at her loom, was the frosting on the cake.

Continue Reading and see Images Gallery of Show

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EXHIBIT: WOVEN HOLY PEOPLE (2016 Sonoita AZ: NRG)

Woven Holy People was an historic event for Steve and Gail Getzwiller, as it was the first exhibit and sale at their own gallery. It turned out to be a great success and so, more exhibits are planned.

Continue Reading and see Images Gallery of Show

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EXHIBIT: WOVEN NATION (2014 Tubac AZ)

Paying homage to the Navajo Nation's greatest weavers and the art from their historic past. This exhibit celebrates the Navajo Nation's Weaving Art, like no other! Historic Blankets Child's Blankets, and Serapes, early regional styles of the Navajo Nation showing the various Trading Post Regions of the Navajo Reservation.

Continue Reading and see Images Gallery of Show

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EXHIBIT: NAVAJO WEAVING IN THE PRESENT TENSE (2010 San Jose CA)

Navajo Weaving in the Present Tense: The Art of Lucy and Ellen Begay is the first retrospective exhibition by Navajo weavers Lucy Begay and her only daughter Ellen Begay. Drawn primarily from the private collection of Gary Beaudoin, the exhibit features eighteen, one-of-a-kind artworks woven by Lucy and Ellen over the past twenty years.

Continue Reading and see Images Gallery of Show

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Southwest Design Conference (2007 Santa Fe NM)

The Southwestern Design Conference  was a special event held in 2007 in Santa Fe New Mexico - a Showcase for the best Southwestern Interior Design Ideas. It was also an offshoot of the Western Design Conference in Cody Wyoming.

Continue Reading and see Images of the Show

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EXHIBIT: THE NEXT PHASE (2006 Wickenburg AZ)

This exhibit was truly history in the making! The Next Phase offered a revival of woven Navajo blankets "actually Navajo Blankets"!!! for the first time, in well over 100 years!!! The entire exhibit featured Navajo Blankets woven in the style of the Classic Blankets, an accomplishment never achieved before.

Continue Reading and see Images Gallery of Show

Cody Wyoming Western Design Conference (2006)

The road to fine wearable Navajo Shawls was a slow process. Steve Getzwiller in the 1990s began working with the Marianito family and coaxed them along the path to weave finer and finer blankets. He would bring historic textiles from before the turn of the century for them to examine. Kathy Marianito and her sister-in-laws would study them and figure out how the wool was warped and the weft was laid into the weaving to build a supple blanket.

Continue Reading and see Images of Fashion Show and Photoshoot

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EXHIBIT: TREASURES OF THE NAVAJO HORSEMEN (2003 Wickenburg AZ)

Steve and Gail Getzwiller were very enamored with Navajo Saddle Blankets and very anxious to share their collection at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum.Following the saddle blankets through the timeline of the Navajo people reveals where some rugs were woven, what time period, and sometimes the purpose of the weaving. Saddle blankets were the last blankets the Navajo wove for themselves. Early designs reflected the simple wearing blanket elements and later designs were traceable to regions of the reservation.

Continue Reading and See Images Gallery of Show

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EXHIBIT: 2001 - THE GETZWILLER COLLECTION OF CONTEMPORARY NAVAJO WEAVINGS 1975-2000

“The Navajo Churro Collection” was part of a major exhibition at the DESERT CABAKKEROS WESTERN MUSEUM in Wickenburg Arizona. The exhibition represented Steve’s accomplishments and contributions to Navajo Weaving from 1975-2000, featuring the best weaving examples resulting from the collaborative work between Steve and some of the finest Navajo weavers of our time.

Continue Reading and see Images Gallery of Show

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EXHIBIT: ART & HISTORY WOVEN TOGETHER (1999 Wickenburg AZ)

'The Steve and Gail Getzwiller Historic Navajo Textile Exhibition at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg Arizona' 1999. Art, Artists, Dyes, Design, Earth, Energy, History, Landscape, Life, Loom, Medline, Native People, Pride, Sacred, Sheep........ NAVAJO Art & History Woven Together.... ambled from one area to the next - weaving a story of Navajo History.

Continue Reading and see Images Gallery of Show

Native American Art - Timeless Textiles - December/January 2017

For ease of reading online……

TIMELESS TEXTILES

(Sonoita, AZ)

Over the past 40 years, Steve Getzwiller has compiled a broad collection of Navajo weavings that includes Two Grey Hills examples.  These are considered to be among the finest of Navajo textiles and are marked by their simple color palette, geometric designs and the artist’s mastery of carding and spinning.  Through April 2018, Getzwiller’s in Sonoita, Arizona, will display nearly 50 historic and several contemporary examples from his collection in the exhibition Timeless Treasures of Two Grey Hills.

The pieces on display will reflect the history and influences of the regional style throughout time.  Earliest examples include works by master weavers Daily Taugelchee and Bessie Manygoats, while newer textiles are by Helen Bia, Elsie Bia, Carrie Yazzie, Cara Gorman, James Sherman and more.

In his 2002 book Diné: A History of the Navajo, Peter Iverson, a leading Native American history scholar and regents professor of history at Arizona State University, explains. “[T]he Depression affected the course of Navajo weaving during the 1930’s.  Adverse economic times did not encourage the market.  Nevertheless, the Santa Fe Railway, the Fred Harvey Company and other boosters of Southwest tourism continues to bring new and return visitors to the [Two Grey Hills/Toadlena] region.  The founding of the Gallup International Ceremonial and the development of museums in Arizona and New Mexico furnished important venues for the display of high-quality work.”

He further writes that trading posts struggled during that time, especially with the passing of trader J. L. Hubbell in 1930.  Newcomers, such as Bill and Sallie Lippincott at Wide Ruins and Cozy McSparron of Chinle, however, continued to promote regional styles and even encouraged new aesthetics in the weavings, such as the use of vegetal dyes.

“Even under these difficult circumstances, Navajo weavers continued to create extraordinary work,” writes Iverson.  “Daisy Taugelchee of the Toadlena/Two Grey Hills area, arguably the greatest of all Navajo weavers, came into her own as a remarkable artist.  Other area weavers, such as Bessie Manygoats, contributed to the outpouring of weaving that established Toadlena/Two Grey Hills weaving as the premier Navajo regional style.”

According to Getzwiller, the Two Grey Hills style was officially established in the 1920’s.  Many of these earliest examples can only be attributed to specific weavers, as the names of the artisans were not kept.  “So [the weavers] defined themselves by developing their own style,” says Getzwiller.  “That is how we’re able to attribute the textiles---by having an understanding of their particular style of design.”

For instance, the works of Taugelchee are known for her super fine weaving, while the pieces of Manygoats often contain a three-column, floral design.  “[Manygoats] was way ahead of her time in design, innovation wise,” says Getzwiller.  “That’s what made her work so appealing to dealers and the collectors in that time period.”

Primarily the pieces in the style are done with natural wools, but in the 1940’s and ‘50’s, traders such as Willard Leighton at the Two Grey Hills Trading Post inspired the use of color in the work.  Leighton, in particular, is noted for encouraging weavers to incorporate turquoise as an accent color in the piece.  For example, a textile attributed to Katherine Nathaniel from around the 1950’s features borders and squares done in the color.  There also was the addition of reds in some weavings of the area.

Timeless Treasures also includes work by Helena Taugelchee Nez Begay, who was a weaving instructor at the Toadlena Boarding School.  A circa 1945 photograph of her at the loom depicts a rug that Getzwiller owned for 15 years before Iverson discovered the image while researching his book.  The rug will be on display in the show.

Article courtesy Native American Art Magazine

Native American Art - Eye Dazzlers - February/March 2017

For ease of reading online……

EYE DAZZLERS

Native American Art - Transitions - December/January 2020

Floor Covering Weekly - Nizhoni Ranch Offers Handmade Woven Rugs - May 7, 2017

Nizhoni Ranch offers handmade woven rugs

Monday, May 7, 2018

This Ganado-Klagetoh weaving was created by Navajo Master Weaver Rita Clah.

By Caroline Alkire

[Sonoita, Ariz.] Woven rugs are wonderfully unique, and while they are (of course) great for spring and summer décor, these rugs are more than just a floor covering — they're art. 

No one understands this concept better than Steve and Gail Getzwiller, who, drawn to the beauty and complexity of woven rug design, began meeting with Native American weavers in the 1970's. Steve listened to their stories and soon started collecting Navajo rugs.

In the months following Steve was able to create a business out of his passion, and Gail started a website to grow it. In 2000, the Getzwillers opened up Nizhoni Ranch Gallery in southern Arizona. The ranch now sells handmade Navajo rugs.

"First and foremost, the differences between a rug made on a machine and one woven by hand cannot be overstated. Classic or contemporary, Navajo weavings will last through many years of use, as opposed to a machine-made rug," explained Steve. 

"Navajo Rugs are handmade with the spirit of the Mother Earth and the Navajo People,” explained Gail. “Navajo Rugs bring a peaceful spirit into your home."

Below, FCW has outlined a few of the rugs Nizhoni Ranch carries.

The Churro 1518, woven in the fashion of an Old Style Crystal, was created by Navajo Master Weaver Elsie Bia and is the second place 2017 Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial award winner.



"The Moki Blanket offers a unique narrow striped styling that generally alternates between dark blue and black or brown rhythmic banding," explained Gale. "One of the most historic Navajo weavings, they’ve been in use since the early 1700's."



Nizhoni Ranch Gallery, located in Sonoita, Ariz., features rugs, weavings and pottery handcrafted by Navajo Master Weavers.

Western Art Collector - A Beautiful Place - July 2010

For ease of reading online……

A BEAUTIFUL PLACE

Steve Getzwiller's Nizhoni Ranch Gallery showcases Southwest classics

July 2010:  Who could argue with the joy of living surrounded by beautiful things? Think about the satisfaction of filling a home with art you are passionate about, collecting each piece with care. While it’s a reality for some and a dream for others, it’s become a way of life, and a living for a man who shares his knowledge and enthusiasm with others from all over the world.

 Surrounded by mountains in the rolling grasslands of Sonoita, Arizona and about an hour southeast of Tucson, Steve Getzwiller welcomes you to his Nizhoni Ranch Gallery. When it comes to Navajo textiles, Getzwiller is recognized as one of the premier collectors and dealers in the country. For nearly 40 years, this native Arizonan has been at the forefront of contemporary Navajo weaving. He’s traveled from one end of the Navajo nation to the other, working with and encouraging scores of weavers to advance their art, taking it “to the next level,” as he calls it. That includes bringing back traditional dyes which have not been used for well over a century.

 With Getzwiller’s support, these Native American artists use Churro wool, silk and alpaca fibers, with combs and nimble fingers instead of a palette and brush, to create dazzling works of art. Not only does he collect and sell but also demonstrates how wonderful it is to live with Navajo textiles. His home and gallery is direct marketing in its purest form. “I’ve elected to market from a place with one stop sign and very successfully,” he says with a smile. “It makes a wonderful showplace,” he says, gesturing around the spacious and magnificent home. “The objective is to show people how they can live with fine Native American artwork within the context of their own homes.”

“We’ll start in the entryway, work our way through the gallery and look at all the different options to be considered. We’ll take weavings out onto the porch to view them in natural light, where this exclusive palette of color really becomes apparent; here someone can visualize how it would look hanging in their own space, and they love it!”

While he spent his first 30 years working with some of the finest galleries, and still does with a few, his business model now follows that of Lorenzo Hubbell.

 More than a hundred years ago, Hubbell’s trading post in Ganado was a destination for the Easterners traveling through “Indian Country” giving them not just a place to stay, but an experience, for which he would not accept payment. Getzwiller says Hubbell would tell his guests instead to “come into my rug room, and I will knock your eye out.” That quote was foremost in Getzwiller’s mind when he found the hilltop adobe house in Sonoita. “When I first saw it, with its guest house, I knew that it would be perfect for this approach to marketing.

 My key objective is to be able to pay the weavers more and offer the best value to the collector.” When you arrive at this territorial-style home, open an iron gate and walk across the courtyard where you may catch a glimpse of one of the resident roadrunners on a bubbling fountain. You enter Nizhoni Ranch Gallery through heavy oak doors and the space captures your attention immediately. “A lot of people have commented on the museum-like quality within,” says Getzwiller, and he’s right. It’s a home and a gallery, filled with comfortable and classic southwestern style.

“The furniture in the entryway is Arts & Crafts, but prairie style,” explains Getzwiller. On the walls are antique Navajo bridles and a hall tree with buffalo horns holding hats, along with custom-made spurs, completing the feeling you’re definitely in the presence of a true Westerner, descended from generations of pioneers and ranchers. Then, passing through the former library where shelves are now filled now with pottery, baskets, and weavings, you come to the expansive 20 x 40 foot gallery space, with an incredibly beautiful mesquite floor. A feature strip inlaid inches from the walls and running completely around the room is out of darker, crosscut mesquite from the San Pedro River area, the same area his grandfather homesteaded in 1903. Completing the look is the massive mesquite Arts & Crafts designed mantel with corbels and an inlay matching the floor. The furniture here is classic Arts & Crafts, as the lamps cast a warm glow throughout the room. “Lighting to me is as important as the art in a designed setting,” he says.

Historic southwestern basketry of the Apache and Pima tribes are displayed throughout.

“I’ve been collecting baskets for over 35 years,” he says, “and these are all pretty choice There are also just enough paintings to enhance the southwest flavor. Getzwiller is proud of his Edward S. Curtis orotones, photographs printed on glass and backed in gold, with Navajo and Apache-themed images. An Ace Powell painting hangs over the fireplace, and there are several by Jack Van Ryder. “He was a popular Tucson artist in the 1920’s and 30’s. These are all southwest themes, such as the Catalinas and Superstition mountains.” It’s hard to beat the spectacular vistas though, which you see out the huge picture window.

Indeed, the scene itself is like a painting, a comment Getzwiller has heard many times, viewed from leather chairs and sofas in this room where you just want to soak it all in. Then, you’re drawn outside through French doors on either side of the massive fireplace, to a porch which in true territorial style wraps around with entrances from many of the rooms. The word “porch” doesn’t do it justice, but the Spanish word “portal” gives it more a sense of the old Southwest feel, and an extension of the gallery. Everywhere at the Nizhoni Ranch Gallery are magnificent Navajo textiles. Rugs are not
just for the floor, but hang on walls, bold and stunning in their designs and richness of colors.

Smaller textiles are on tables, underneath lamps, pottery or baskets. Weavings are draped over backs of the classic Arts & Crafts chairs and used as lap blankets. It’s art which is not only tastefully arranged, but constantly changed as pieces are sold or collected. Each visit is different from the last, with new things to see and appreciate. The dining room features an Arts & Crafts Handell chandelier, while antique saddle blankets grace the backs of chairs surrounding the 13-foot table. Glass front cabinets filled with antique and contemporary Navajo weavings are throughout the gallery, with one in the dining room holding more recent acquisitions.The long table serves a dual purpose for Getzwiller showing clients photos of works still on the loom, the talented artists who make them, or simply looking up the history of a piece.

This room is home to the registries documenting the more than 1,200 weavings from the “Navajo Churro Collection” dating 1995 to present. One set of albums documents the first piece to the most recent. Another reflects each artist from their first to their most current creation. “The objective is when I am no longer able to pursue this, that this documentation is available to museums which will house this material.”

With antique blankets, Getzwiller has a tremendous respect and admiration for those unknown weavers so long ago. “Even though I have dealt in antique weavings for many years, it’s always bothered me that the women who created these beautiful works of art are unknown. Because I’ve handled so many of the older pieces, there are instances when I can actually identify a weaver’s hand by their style and technique. But, they’re anonymous because in those days, records were not kept.” He doesn’t want the same thing to happen to the weavers he’s come to know. “It’s important to me that the women I work with be recognized, so people will know who they are a hundred years from now. Weavings from the Navajo Churro Collection are already earmarked for museum collections, and have been referred to as the classics of the future.”

“Our gallery and home is a destination for collectors. I am able to give quality time to each person that visits the gallery. We have clients not only from all around the country, but all over the world. I give them an experience they aren’t going to get anywhere else. The setting is wonderful, but it’s the sum total of it all that makes it so special.”

He admits Nizhoni Ranch Gallery is awkwardly named from a marketing perspective. But, it’s not until you experience the gallery in its scenic setting, or relaxing on the portal, listening to the wind, the quail and an occasional cactus wren, when you understand its true meaning. You see, Nizhoni is Navajo for “beautiful place”…and what a perfect name for this gallery that’s also a home.

Written by: Susan Sorg
Photographs by: Jeff Newton

The Wickenburg Sun - Getzwiller entertains crowd at DCWM - November 2017

Getzwiller entertains crowd at DCWM

Forbes - Navajo Rug Gallery Weaves Ancient Art And New Technology Together With Bitcoin - March 2018

Navajo Rug Gallery Weaves Ancient Art And New Technology Together With Bitcoin

By Kate Harrison, March 7, 2018

Steve Getzwiller is a 7^th generation rancher who grew up just east of Tucson, Arizona. As a child, he spent a lot of time at the Amerind Foundation in Dragoon, a museum and research center for Native American arts and culture. Inspired by the director of the foundation, Archaeologist Charles C. Di Peso, Getzwiller went on to study anthropology at the University of Arizona, and became a potter and turquoise trader. But his real passion was Navajo Rugs, and as soon as he could afford to, he became collecting them and wholesaling rugs to top galleries around the U.S. to be able to afford more expensive ones for himself.

In 1995, Getzwiller launched an online website, and in 2000, he opened his own physical gallery, The Nizhoni Ranch Gallery, in Sonoita, AZ. Today, he does about $1 Million of business a year, half through the website and half through his physical store. Getzwiller's Navajo rugs are sold around the world to collectors, business people and rock stars.

The Personal Touch

Navajo weavers today are carrying on a 300-year-old tradition of weaving blankets and rugs. Their unique upright loom uses a traditional weaving technique that cannot be mechanized. The loom is warped with one continuous wool thread and the weft is woven through it, one thread at a time. “It is a very time consuming and meticulous process,” Getzwiller explains, “Small rugs can take a full week to weave, while larger Navajo rugs can take years to complete.”

Navajo weaver Cecelia Nez will work on a rug for years.

Nizhoni Ranch Gallery

By their intrinsic nature, these rugs cannot be commoditized. Their weaving is personal and the resulting rugs are works of custom art. Getzwiller emphasizes these qualities in every aspect of his business and they inform his marketing. Each rug comes with a weaver’s profile and background information on the traditional process used.

In the store, Getzwiller works to highlight various artists. On March 11, for example, the gallery will host Elsi Bia and her 11-year-old grand-daughter at The Timeless Treasures of Two Grey Hills opening. They will be demonstrating Navajo weaving at an upright loom. Another granddaughter, Natalie Tso, will be weaving her first rug. Getzwiller notes: “We try to keep these demos fresh and exciting, and not only present historic material, but also present and preserve the art of Navajo weaving today.”

As part of his commitment to the personal, he also emphasizes customer service. He focuses 100% on customer service, treating every sale as a personal relationship to be nurtured. “Even all our sales online have the personal touch, as each sale is completed with a conversation with the client and subsequent follow-up,” he explains.

Native American Art - Modernist Weavings - April/May 2017