One Woman's West: The Life of Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton - Softcover

She went West in 1909, and fell in love with it. She returned in 1910 and met the man she would later marry, fellow-Philadelphian Harold S. Colton, scientist son of a wealthy family. The two were married in Philadelphia in 1912. Colton taught at the University of Pennsylvania, keeping his summers free so that the couple could roam the West, which they did for many years, eventually falling in love with the town of Flagstaff, Arizona.

In 1926 they moved to Flagstaff and began a new life. Shortly after they were settled into their new home, they participated in the formation of the Museum of Northern Arizona. They took over the running of the museum and made its activities the center of their lives. The institution was dedicated to the study of science (Harold) and art (Mary-Russell).

Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton found inspiration for her best art in the beautiful country around Flagstaff, especially in her favorite place, the Painted Desert. She also embarked on a monumental program of bringing art to Flagstaff, and rescuing the faltering arts and crafts of the Native Americans who lived in the area, the Hopis and Navajos. She succeeded brilliantly, and the story of her accomplishments is both fascinating and heart-warming.

The authors were given access to previously restricted materials in the Colton family vault at the Museum of Northern Arizona (which became a world-class institution under the direction of the Coltons) and have illustrated their biography with dozens of photographs and quotations from letters and other documents, to provide a work that is meticulous in its scholarship, yet interesting and easy to read, a monument to this beautiful woman.