The Spirit of the Southwest: The Life and Legacy of Bert Geer Phillips To understand the soul of American Southwestern art, one must look to the pioneering vision of Bert Geer Phillips. Born in 1868 in Hudson, New York, Phillips was a child shaped by the romanticized legends of the American frontier. His early years were steeped in the adventurous tales of Kit Carson and the rugged exploits found in James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales, stories that planted the seeds of a lifelong fascination with the untamed West. This early passion for the frontier was matched by an innate artisti…