HANSON PUTHUFF (1875-1972)
Superstition mountain (1,910 m - 6,266 ft)
United State of America (Arizona)
In Enduring Ramparts - Superstition Mountains
The mountain
Superstition Mountain (1,910 m - 6,266 ft) is part of the Supertistions mountains range popularly called "The Superstitions", also called Wi:kchsawa in Yavapai langage and Sierra de la Espuma Spanish. It is located in Arizona, east of Phoenix. The mountain range is in the federally designated Superstition Wilderness Area, and includes a variety of natural features in addition to its namesake mountain.
- Weavers Needle, a prominent landmark and rock climbing destination set behind and to the east of Superstition Mountain, is a tall eroded volcanic remnant that plays a significant role in the legend of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine. According to this legend, a German immigrant named Jacob Waltz discovered a mother lode of gold in the Superstition Wilderness and revealed its location on his deathbed in Phoenix in 1891 to Julia Thomas, a boarding-house owner who had taken care of him for many years.
- Peralta Canyon, on the northeast side of Superstition Mountain, contains a popular trail that leads up to Fremont Saddle, which provides a very picturesque view of Weavers Needle. Some Apaches believe that the hole leading down into the lower world, or hell, is located in the Superstition Mountains. Winds blowing from the hole is supposed to be the cause of severe dust storms in the metropolitan region.
- Miner's Needle is another prominent formation in the wilderness and a popular hiking destination.
The Superstition Mountains have a desert climate, with high summer temperatures and a handful of perennial sources of water. Numerous hiking trails cross the mountains from multiple access points, including the Peralta Trailhead, the most popular. The Lost Dutchman State Park, located on the west side of Superstition Mountain, includes several short walking trails.
The Superstition Mountains are bounded roughly by U.S. Route 60 on the south, State Route 88 on the northwest, and State Route 188 on the northeast.
The painter
Hanson Duvall Puthuff was a landscape painter and muralist, born in Waverly, Missouri. Puthuff studied at the Art Institute of Chicago before moving to Colorado in 1889 to study at University of Denver Art School. He traveled to Los Angeles in 1903 and for 23 years worked as a commercial artist painting billboards while painting landscapes in his leisure. In 1926, he abandoned commercial art and devote full-time to fine art and exhibitions. He is nationally famous for his lyric interpretations of the Southern California deserts. Puthuff was one of the cofounders of the California Art Club and the Laguna Beach Art Association. He won awards in 1909 from the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition, a bronze medal at the Paris Salon in 1914, and two silver medals from the Panama-California Exposition in 1915. His works are exhibited in, among other places, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Laguna Art Museum, and Bowers Museum. Many of his works are also cataloged in the Smithsonian American Art Museum art inventory. Puthuff died in Corona del Mar on May 12, 1972. In 2007, the Pasadena Museum of California Art featured California Colors: Hanson Puthuff, the first solo museum exhibition of his work. In conjunction with the exhibit, the Museum republished the artist's autobiography.