Charles William Bolsius (June 23, 1907 – March 23, 1983) was a Dutch-born American painter. He was born in 's-Hertogenbosch , the Netherlands, the youngest in an upper-middle-class bourgeoisie family. His father ran the regional Gas Works and Bolsius formally studied art in The Hague before emigrating to the United States and moving to New Mexico in the early 1930s. He quickly assimilated into the art communities of Albuquerque and Santa Fe showing with the significant artist of the period. Bolsius had artistically matured within Dutch - German Expressionism . His woodblock handprints, using subject matter from the American West, capitalized on flat, bold, stark patterns and rough-hewn effects that were hallmarks of the expressionist woodblock tradition. His heavy light-filled moody paintings with cloudy brooding skies combined expressionistic influences with expansive western landscapes and the optimism of American impressionism. His work was critically recognized and exhibited at major museums and galleries throughout New Mexico and Arizona.
50-510: Las Saetas is one of the great examples of Pueblo Revival architecture in the American Southwest. Rebuilt in 1935 from the ruins of the 1873 Post Traders Store the design-build project was led by Dutch-born artist Charles Bolsius , with Nan and Pete Bolsius. The project included hand-carved doors, exposed beams, carved corbels, adobe fireplaces, hand-hammered tin, and a heightened sense of romanticism. The property and its transformation over
100-556: A Spanish colonial revival wood carving skill that was rooted in the New Mexico WPA furniture movement. He began professionally producing doors and furniture in the 1940s which continued through the 1970s. His final building project was the burnt adobe, late Territorial Revival The LeaChar House in the Tanque Verde, Arizona area east of Tucson. The final project included classic hand carved woodwork and doors. The screened Arizona Room
150-582: A 150-year-span reflect the changing culture and economic milieu of Southern Arizona and the American West. Las Saetas was originally built as the Fort Lowell Post Traders Store in 1870 from unstabilized mud adobe in a territorial style. The building served as a store, saloon, and gambling hall. After the closure and decommissioning of the Fort, the property had successive owners and uses including
200-592: A baseball game that year and are believed to have used the area fairly regularly for campouts, target practice etc. until about 1921, when Camp Lawton opened on Mount Lemmon. Within a few years, the Boy Scouts of Tucson became part of the Catalina Council of the Boy Scouts of America. As the years passed, the old fort traded hands a few times, at one point being under the control of the Arizona State Museum of
250-548: A farm headquarters and tuberculous sanatorium - health ranch before falling to ruin. The rambling property was purchased by the Bolsius Family in 1934. Nan and Pete Bolsius and Artist Charles Bolsius reimagined the property as a Pueblo Revival hacienda and hand reconfigured and reconstructed the building. Las Saetas is located in the Fort Lowell Historic District in east-central Tucson, Arizona . Las Saetas,
300-479: A handful of architectural projects. He worked with architectural designer Veronica Hughart , who incorporated his doors and woodwork into her projects. Following is a list of some of Bolsius's most important works, which are located in Tucson unless otherwise noted. Fort Lowell art colony Fort Lowell was a United States Army post active from 1873 to 1891 on the outskirts of Tucson , Arizona . Fort Lowell
350-407: A major renovation of the property which included additions and alterations. The major changes included the enclosure of the portál into an entrada and galleria, the addition of a master bathroom on the northeast corner of the house, the addition of the dining room, which more substantially connected the west wing to the main house, the enlargement of the west wing rooms to the north, and the addition of
400-559: A steel tank manufacturing business on the site. In 2006, Jim Campbell, a local developer, purchased the property (known as the Adkins Parcel) and then traded the property to the City of Tucson. The City and County had been attempting to purchase the Adkins Parcel for over 30 years. In 2009, the city in association with Pima County created a Master Plan for the creation and development of what
450-495: A three-bay carport behind the connecting wall and original gate open towards the gatehouse. On the interior, they removed the living room fireplace and banco and added lofts to two rooms. The changes maintained the pueblo revival character. In June 2022, Josie and Douglas G. Smith, founders of Korakia and Sparrows Lodge in Palm Springs , purchased the property, where they undertook numerous deleterious alterations. The Smiths removed
500-657: Is documented in his iconic book On the Road . "The Boy Scouts had a long connection to Fort Lowell," explained columnist David Leighton, in the Arizona Daily Star newspaper on Feb. 5, 2017: A couple years later, the Fort Lowell Boy Scouts troop, which was formed from boys in the neighborhood that had grown up around the old Ft. Lowell ruins, called El Fuerte and a farming community, populated by Mormons, farther west that came to be named Binghamton. The two troops played
550-540: Is named. After the Army decommissioned the post in 1891, the civilian occupied military reservation land was sold and private farms were reestablished along the Rillito River . Mexican families from Sonora soon moved north to take advantage of the "free" repurposed fort housing and framing jobs. In the early 20th century the small village continued to grow west of the ruins of the old fort. This occupation has become known as
SECTION 10
#1732858605316600-668: Is run by the Tucson Presidio Trust which also runs the Presidio San Agustín del Tucsón . Exhibits focus on military life on the Arizona frontier. The Fort Lowell Historic District is the neighborhood located on or near Fort Lowell. It is set aside as a historic district . Fort Lowell is the historical setting of the 1957–1958 syndicated Western television series , Boots and Saddles , starring John Pickard , Patrick McVey , and Gardner McKay . A reconstructed Fort Lowell
650-404: Is the principal public view of the property. The facade is characterized by large irregular geometric massing of mud adobe walls rendered in lime plaster. The 1873 building was originally an exposed adobe structure with a flat roof and parapet . The simple territorial design featured a front portál (veranda/porch) with a wood shingle roof and mill-sawn posts that extended along the eastern half of
700-686: The Battle of Cedar Creek . Initially located on the east side of Sixth Avenue, between Twelfth and Fourteenth Streets, the post was moved for sanitary reasons to a location about 7 miles (11 km) east of town on March 31, 1873. The post's name was changed to Fort Lowell on April 5, 1879. The fort played a pivotal role during the Apache Wars , providing additional protection for the Tucson area. Far too large and well-manned to be attacked directly, Fort Lowell provided supplies and manpower for outlying military installations. During its eighteen years of operation,
750-599: The El Fuerte Period. The small community of adobe houses would continue grow in the first two decades of the 20th century to include the El Callejón Fort Lowell School, and two churches, San Pedro Chapel and the Fort Lowell Union Church. These three civic building created the nexus of the village center and formed an informal plaza. In the 1930s Nan, Pete and Charles Bolsius rebuilt
800-595: The National Register of Historic Places or the City of Tucson Fort Lowell Historic Zone due to the timing of the original designations, which occurred decades ago. Since those designations, additional structures have been identified as having historical, architectural, or cultural significance, but they remain outside the official protections because the review processes at the time did not encompass more recent historical developments. The omission of these buildings highlights
850-488: The Sandia Mountains in the village of San Antonito, Bernalillo County, New Mexico . During the early 1930s, he exhibited across the state and began receiving critical attention. Charles Bolsius was part of, and significantly influenced by the art colony of Albuquerque, where he established connections with notable painters, including Carl Redin , Carl von Hassler , and Dorothea Fricke Whitcraft . Bolsius absorbed
900-485: The University of Arizona . In 1945, with the assistance of prominent local rancher Carlos Ronstadt, the Boy Scouts bid and obtained 40 acres of the old ruins while preventing the land from falling into the hands of developers, who were rumored to have plans of constructing a subdivision where the ruins existed. A water system was put in place by the Boy Scouts and volunteers and three structures were acquired and donated to
950-583: The European theater he worked with Nan on the reconstruction of the Fort Lowell Commissary naming the project El Cuartel Viejo The Old Barracks . After the completion of that project, he designed and built his own home, the Charles Bolsius House over a three decade period. Bolsius was a member of many Tucson art organizations. The architectural projects had created a vehicle to develop and hone
1000-599: The United States to stay with his Brother Adrian “Pete” Bolsius and his wife Nan Bolsius in Albuquerque. The 23-year old Bolsius arrived at the port of San Pedro, Los Angeles California, on October 28, 1930. Arriving in the western United States, Bolsius's art began to embrace the scale and environmental tonality of the American West. He began painting the environment of New Mexico , and lived in Santa Fe , Albuquerque and in
1050-457: The area, reviewing changes to properties within the zone to maintain historical accuracy. The zone includes numerous other building and cultural assets including vernacular Sonoran adobe architecture and homes designed by Charles Bolsius , and Veronica Hughart . Some of the houses and buildings include: Several important historic buildings within the Fort Lowell area were not included in either
SECTION 20
#17328586053161100-648: The area. The Army claimed a military reservation that encompassed approximately eighty square miles and extended east toward the Rincon Mountains . The Post of Tucson was established May 20, 1862, after the California Column drove Confederate forces from the area. The post was abandoned in July 1864 and reestablished in July 1865. On August 29, 1866, the post was renamed Camp Lowell in honor of General Charles Russell Lowell , who died from wounds sustained during
1150-641: The building was an open arched zaguán which served as a central entry hall / breezeway which connected to the large public rooms. West of this program were private living quarters and service, storage, and farm rooms. By the 1930s the building had been stuccoed in lime plaster. When the building was reconstructed in the mid-1930s, the Bolsius trio used the adobe shell which lent itself to the Pueblo Revival idiom. Having spent time in New Mexico they took inspiration from
1200-582: The buildings listed National Register of Historic Places , the City of Tucson established the Fort Lowell Historic Zone as a zoning overlay in 1981 to preserve the cultural and historical integrity of the Fort Lowell area. The zoning overlay provides protections for historically significant buildings, ruins, and landscapes, preventing inappropriate alterations and encouraging preservation efforts. The Fort Lowell Historic Zone Advisory Board, composed of local stakeholders and preservationists, oversees
1250-803: The crumbling adobe ruin of the Post Traders Store making it their home and studio. Through the 1940s a number of other artists moved into the Fort Lowell area establishing a burgeoning artist colony. Significant artists and intellectuals built homes and lived in the area including: René Cheruy and Germaine Cheruy , Win Ellis, modernist painter Jack Maul , sculptor and designer Giorgio Belloli, Charles Bode, architectural designer Veronica Hughart , anthropologists Edward H. Spicer and Rosamond Spicer , photographer Hazel Larson Archer and weaver Ruth Brown. The artist colony attracted writers and poets including beat generation Alan Harrington and Jack Kerouac whose visit
1300-526: The distinct styles and perspectives of these artists, shaping his own artistic vision. Carl Redin's landscape mastery, Carl von Hassler's contributions to Southwest art, and Dorothea Frike Whitcraft's innovative use of color collectively enriched Bolsius' creative approach. In the mid-1930s the Bolsius family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area before settling in Tucson , Arizona . On a sketching trip to
1350-588: The east and the post trader's private residence, store rooms, and corrals to the west. The two zones were separated by a large arched open breezeway that extended through the building from north to south. At the time of construction, the building looked north across the fertile desert floodplain, over the dense green bosque hugging the banks of the Rillito River to the expansive views of the Santa Catalina Mountain Range. The south facade of Las Saetas
1400-434: The facade and wrapped the building to the east. Elongated metal canales funneled water off the roof across the veranda . The facade had minimal ornamental detailing but included carved decorative cross beams on the veranda. The windows were trimmed in wood and included the territorial style triangular-shaped pedimented lintel , featuring either a plain fascia or one augmented by combinations of moldings. The primary entryway to
1450-718: The film Lilies of the Field ) and the dining room table at Rancho De La Osa in Sasabe, Arizona. Bolsius died in March 1983 in Tucson, Pima County, Arizona . Bolsius's major architectural work and examples of his carved doors are clustered in the Old Fort Lowell Historic District in Tucson, Arizona. The rebuilt Fort Lowell Commissary that he named El Cuartel Viejo was purchased by the City of Tucson with major restoration anticipated in 2024-2025. The buildings will be open to
1500-520: The fort averaged thirteen officers and 239 enlisted men. Among the units present during this period were the 2nd , 4th , 5th and 6th Cavalry Regiments , as well as the 1st , 8th , and 12th Infantry Regiments . The orientation of the post was set according to magnetic north. It featured a large parade grounds, officers' quarters, quartermaster and commissary storehouses, corrals , quarters for enlisted men as well as for married non-commissioned officers . The most prominent building on post
1550-427: The heirloom cactus gardens, cut down protected saguaro cacti, and were cited by the City of Tucson for conducting construction work without the necessary permits. Ultimately, they sold the property at a financial loss in 2023 to Nancy and Thomas Allin who have made further modifications. Charles Bolsius Bolsius settled in Tucson in 1934. With his brother, Adrian "Pete" Bolsius, and sister-in-law Nan Bolsius
Las Saetas - Misplaced Pages Continue
1600-400: The public as a museum. However, high levels of lead paint were found and the buildings were not opened. On the north end of the former Adkins parcel stands a pile of large stones that, according to local lore, formed a wall of the guardhouse in which Geronimo was kept prior to his removal from Arizona. The Fort Lowell Museum is located in the reconstructed Commanding Officer's quarters and
1650-410: The public as part of the cultural multi-million dollar redevelopment and historic imperative program for Fort Lowell Park. Although Bolsius showed widely in New Mexico and Arizona in the 1930 and 1940s he did not pressure rigorous promotion or sale of his art. As a result, his paintings are all privately owned and currently not part of any public permanent collection. Bolsius designed and built only
1700-486: The redesign they retained the original south facade volume and basic detailing including the retention of the south-facing portion of original portál. A wall was added connecting the main house with the gatehouse punctuated by a decorative carved gate topped with an espadana and bell. The Bolsius used the house to host cultural events, programs, art exhibits and served as the locus of the Fort Lowell art colony . Las Saetas
1750-448: The romanticized architectural traditions of the southwest and infused a high artistic style into the project which elevated it into an extraordinary example of regional design. As part of the transformation, they continued the lime plaster stucco treatment which softened and rounded edges and installed beautifully hand-carved wood doors, hand-carved corbels, vigas, and lintels. They used the extant territorial windows painted blue and enclosed
1800-401: The rural outskirts of Tucson in the farming community of Old Fort Lowell , Bolsius discovered the melting adobe ruins of the 1873 Fort Post Traders Store. He brought his brother and sister-in-law back to the site and after a lengthy discussion, the tree decided to make an offer and embark on re-constructing the dilapidated rambling building. The project received local and national attention,
1850-564: The site. One of the structures was used as the Ft. Lowell Training Center and another structure as the Ranger Station. In 1953, the scouts obtained the funds to have a roof built over the remains of the post hospital that still exists today, constructed a rail fence around the hospital ruins which was later replaced by a chain link fence and put up a flagpole just to the south of the remains. While many successful scout events took place there, by 1957 it
1900-586: The trio purchased the adobe ruins of the Fort Lowell Post Traders Store, (seven miles northeast of downtown Tucson) rebuilding it over the next decade into one of the great examples of Pueblo Revival architecture in Arizona. Together they established the Fort Lowell Arts Colony. Bolsius is known for his paintings, woodblock prints, architectural design, and hand-carved Spanish colonial revival furniture and doors. Charles Bolsius
1950-498: The zaguán into a sala (living room). As part of the reconstruction, they used numerous conventions typical of Spanish colonial and pueblo revival architecture in the Southwest including adding alacena (cupboards built into an interior adobe wall), bancos (adobe benches built at the base of a wall), nichos (niche in interior adobe wall used for display of santos and artworks) and redesigned and installed fogon (comer fireplaces). As part of
2000-491: Was born in 's-Hertogenbosch , Holland, to Caroline Maria Wilhelmei Bijvoet (1864–1935) and Petrus Nieduas Josephus Mariannus Bolsius (1859–1934). His family moved to the village of Voorburg in 1922. In 1924, at the age of 17, Charles enrolled in art school. He spent five years at the Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten Den Haag ( Royal Academy of Art, The Hague ). Bolsius's sophisticated artistic sensibility
2050-454: Was constructed of the dismantled gate that had original been created for Las Saetas . His woodwork can be seen throughout the old Fort Lowell Historic District, Arizona State University Louise Lincoln Kerr House and Studio , in homes in Tucson's Catalina Foothills (including the front door of 2540 East Camino La Zorrela), the Church Doors of Sasabe, Arizona (which were lent out to
Las Saetas - Misplaced Pages Continue
2100-719: Was designated a contributing property to the Pima County Fort Lowell Historic District in 1976 and was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places under the Fort Lowell Multi-Cultural District in April 1978. The property is today included in the City of Tucson Fort Lowell Historic Preservation Zone, designated in 1981. In 1974, the house was purchased from Pete Bolsius by New Yorkers Peggy and Ben Sackheim. They undertook
2150-601: Was featured in the 1972 film Ulzana's Raid , starring Burt Lancaster . However, the reconstructed fort was actually built in an area just southwest of the Santa Rita Mountains , near Nogales , Arizona. Fort Lowell Park and the ruins within the property were listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 13, 1978. Other properties, which belong to the park or which in the past belonged to Fort Lowell, are individually listed in National Register of Historic Places and include Inclusive and more expansive of
2200-459: Was influenced by German and Dutch expressionists including Leo Gestel , Jan Toorop , Kees van Dongen , and Emil Nolde . His known early work was primarily dramatic land- and cityscapes. His artistic ability and style developed within the school of Dutch and German Expressionism in the late 1920s and these stylistic threads would continue to permeate through and influence his entire artistic career. At 23 years old Bolsius left Holland and headed to
2250-421: Was originally built by Post-Trader, Gen. John B. “Pie” Allen at the entrance to the new Camp Lowell , six and a half miles northeast of Tucson in 1873. The rambling large sun-dried mud adobe complex was constructed as the installation's Post-Trader's Store or Sutler's Store to supply general merchandise to the officers and enlisted men stationed at the camp. The building was demised into two uses: public rooms to
2300-535: Was published in journals, and newspapers and became a cultural hub. The project, named Las Saetas was recognized as an important example of Pueblo Revival architectural design and was photographed by numerous noted architectural photographers. Bolsius continued to produce and show his art through the 1930s and 1940s, exhibiting in Arizona , New Mexico , Utah , and San Francisco . Bolsius served in WWII . Returning home from
2350-472: Was realized that the Boy Scouts didn't have enough money to maintain the site and sold it to Pima County that year. The fort lay in ruins for many years and many of its adobe structures went into disrepair. Some of the portions of the fort were sold to the families in Tucson. Among the families which acquired in 1928, large portions where the fort was situated was the Adkins family. The Adkins family established
2400-448: Was the hospital , the adobe remnants of which still stand under a protective structure. A lane lined with cottonwood trees, aptly named Cottonwood Lane, graced the area in front of the officers' houses. Among the more well known officers to have served at Fort Lowell were the young Walter Reed , the Army physician famous for his yellow fever research, and Charles Bendire , the amateur ornithologist after whom Bendire's thrasher
2450-480: Was the successor to Camp Lowell, an earlier Army installation. The Army chose a location just south of the confluence of the Tanque Verde and Pantano creeks, at the point where they form the Rillito River , due to the year-round supply of water during that period. The Hohokam natives had chosen the site centuries earlier, presumably for the same reason. To this day, shards of Hohokam pottery can still be found in
2500-583: Was to become the Fort Lowell Park. The park features ball fields, tennis and racquetball courts, a large public swimming pool, and the Fort Lowell Museum dedicated to Fort Lowell's days as an active military installation. Fort Lowell also includes a large pond. The Adkins Parcel that Tucson purchased from Jim Campbell lies immediately west of Craycroft Road where the last of the original officers' quarters stand. Plans indicated that they would be open to
#315684