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Ross Ward was not just a sign painter, muralist, carnival artist and a tinkerer. He also created works of fine art.
That will be the focus of the showing of Ward’s work at Johnsons of Madrid Galleries in Madrid. Diana Johnson, who runs the gallery, said she decided it was time to put up a showing of Ward’s work both to honor his memory and the work that his widow, Carla Ward, continues to do.
“I just figured he never quite got his due,” Johnson said. “Ross and Carla have been such a large part of the development of the Turquoise Trail.”
She said Ward’s work used to line the streets in Tijeras and influenced the feel of that road. It also promoted the Turquoise Trail, which runs from Cerrillos to Tijeras and includes Tinkertown Museum on Sandia Crest Road.
In fact, Ward is probably best known for creating the Tinkertown Museum. The museum is filled with tiny hand-carved people in all kinds of scenes, and it is a monument to the whimsical.
Crank up a coin-operated contraption and it will play out a scene where God and the Devil fight over some poor man’s soul, while in another corner of the museum, a tiny vendor is forever handing a child fluffy pink cotton candy.
But Johnson pointed out that what is displayed there is not a complete picture of the artist. What is kept from the family-oriented museum are Ward’s nudes and all the other work that just wouldn’t fit with the feel of the museum.
Carla Ward isn’t ready to part with or sell most of the work, Johnson said, but it is worth going out to see it.
“I was dumbfounded by the volume and quality of work. (It) wasn’t what people think about when they think of Tinkertown,” Johnson said. “Ross was so much more than people had a sense of, and I felt like, whether they could buy it or not, people needed to see it.”
Johnson’s of Madrid Galleries of Fine & Fiber Art will hold a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Sept. 1. Call 471-1054 for more information.
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal
