My thought process in creating the first of four hand painted archways for the Broadmoor was to create continuity between the original artwork in the Main building, which was painted in 1918, and the newly constructed areas. Many of the artists were brought to Colorado by train from New York to work when the hotel was first built, most of whom had come to the United States from Italy.
The Dell Robbia-style arch over the elevator door in the Lobby of Main inspired my design. It incorporated the flavor of the Old West in a whimsical sort of way. There were two cherubs, the right wears an Indian headdress and was brandishing a tomahawk.
My plan was to change out the Indian headdress for a golf tam and the tomahawk for a golf club. After all, this was the Golf Clubhouse. When I discussed my plan with the architect he passed the word on and there was some concern that it would be too “cutsie”. My response was that it would be no more “cutsie” than the original and the plan was a “go”.
This arch was considerably larger than the area above the elevator in Main. The new arch was to be fifteen feet high and thirteen feet wide. The painting was done in my studio and consisted of six sections. Here are a few photos of the work in progress and the finished product.
The Broadmoor Resort has published a beautiful hard-cover book about the history of the Resort written by Elena Bertozzi-Villa. Under a photo of the arch I painted she writes, “The top of one of Mickey Baxter’s arches in the Golf Clubhouse lobby. Her work echoes the original paintings in the Main building while introducing elements from her own fertile imagination.” Thank you, Elena.
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