Rose Johnson
British-born artist Rose Johnson (1960–2009) remains one of Bisbee’s most beloved creative icons, credited with helping transform the town from a gritty mining community into a vibrant arts enclave. Known for her whimsical, fantasy-based figurative style, her work is a defining feature of the town’s visual landscape.
After moving from Phoenix to Bisbee in 1998, Johnson famously remarked that her art underwent a dramatic transformation.
Her earlier work in Phoenix was often “heavy and gray,” a reflection of urban congestion and concrete. Upon settling in the Mule Mountains, she felt “lifted off the ground,” stating that her “fingers started to fly, and [her] colors came back”.
Johnson’s large-scale public murals are among the most photographed landmarks in Bisbee. Located near Castle Rock in Tombstone Canyon, this “Mexican-flavored” mural was commissioned by the city to replace a frequent site of illegal tagging with a message of communal peace.
Sprawling 60 feet across the Jonquil Motel, this lusciously colored dreamscape was inspired by the Federico García Lorca poem Romance Sonámbulo.
In addition to her Bisbee murals, her work remains on display at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and on several electric buses in the city of Tempe.
In late 2008, Johnson moved to Bali to marry, a lifelong dream that inspired her final series, Beautiful Bali. Tragically, her new chapter was cut short; on June 1, 2009, she died at age 48 from methanol poisoning after consuming a tainted batch of local rice wine (arak) in a public outbreak that claimed 25 lives.
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Gretchen Baer
In the technicolor blast-zone of the Mule Mountains, Gretchen Baer functions as a high-priestess of the saturated image.
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Rose Johnson
Rose Johnson (1960–2009) was an English-born painter and muralist who became a prominent and beloved figure in the Arizona arts scene, particularly in the creative enclave of Bisbee. Her large-scale, vibrant public murals remain a significant part of the town’s artistic landscape.
