JOHN D. COGAN Farmington, New Mexico
John D. Cogan has participated in the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art since 2009, winning Best of Show in 2015 and the People’s Choice Award in 2021. In 2012, his painting Out of the Depths won the Jack Dudley Memorial Purchase Award and is now in Grand Canyon National Park’s collection. John has spent time on both the North and South Rims as Artist in Residence. He has won numerous awards, and his paintings are part of the permanent collections of Citizens Bank, Conoco Phillips, McGraw Hill, San Juan College, Eastern New Mexico University, Raymond James Financial, Xanterra Corporation, Zion National Park, and the Sultanate of Oman, among others. In 2019, John was designated an Associate Living Master™ at the Art Renewal Center, an honor that places him among the best representational artists of this century.
Along its eastern-most boundary, the rim of the Grand Canyon rises steeply from the shores of the river to the desert above. Sheer cliffs, known as the Desert Façade, tower above the river. These precipices form an almost impregnable wall, marked by pinnacles and peaks, spires and summits, steeple- and turret-like formations, which conjure up visions of ancient castles. Rising into the heavens just above the confluence of the Little Colorado and the Colorado Rivers, these magnificent temples catch the morning sun as rafters begin their morning run. Ahead is the rivers’ convergence, and from there southward and westward lies the heart of the Grand Canyon.
18
