MT. CARMEL, UTAH, August 30, 2004 * Awards were given to five outstanding artists at Maynard Dixon Country 2004 last Saturday, August 28.

The two hundred and twenty five attendees at the annual art show and sale voted on secret ballots and selected five winning paintings from more than one hundred possible choices. The Milford Zornes award for best work on paper went to Denise LaRue Mahlke, for her pastel Last Light on the Chama. Taking the Edith Hamlin award for best oil was Kate Starling for her painting Arroyo. The popular choice award went to Jim Morgan for his painting  Mid Winter Evening.  Artists choice went to Ray Roberts for the painting Salt River Canyon. The Golden Thunderbird Award for best of show went to G. Russell Case for his painting Torrey Trail.

The Maynard Dixon home and studio in Mt. Carmel, Utah has been a destination retreat for artists since Maynard Dixon and his wife Edith Hamlin built their summer retreat there in 1939. After Dixon’s death in 1946, Hamlin buried Dixon‘s ashes on the hillside overlooking the property. Maynard Dixon Country celebrates the life of Maynard Dixon and gives contemporary artists an opportunity to sell their work during the five-day gathering.

Founded in 1999, the Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts is a non-profit organization furthering Maynard Dixon’s legacy by preserving his estate and educating the public about his immeasurable contributions to American art through educational tours of his home, internships for working artists, and artist retreats.  The Foundation will build the Maynard Dixon Museum of Art adjacent to the property on Utah’s historic Highway 89.