Maynard Dixon Property

The Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization furthering artist Maynard Dixon's legacy by preserving his Utah property and educating the public about his contributions to American art through educational tours of his home, internships for working artists, workshops and retreats for artists in addition to workshops and day camps for people with special needs. In 1938, Maynard Dixon and his wife, Edith Hamlin, left San Francisco for the Southwest, an area they both loved and had explored many times. In 1939, they built a log home along Utah's Highway 89 in the small Mormon community of Mt. Carmel, near Zion National Park. Attracted by the oasis of cottonwood trees, streams, magnificent vistas, colorful sandstone cliffs, and the area's celebrated cloud formations, they established their summer haven away from the Tucson heat May through October. Inspired by the area's landscape, the Dixons shared their lovely summer retreat with many artists and friends.

Maynard Dixon died in the fall of 1946 at their house in Tucson, Arizona. At his request, Edith Hamlin took Maynard's ashes to Utah and buried them beneath a boulder on the hillside behind their home overlooking the mountains of Mt. Carmel; while they spent the winter months in Arizona, it was the Mt. Carmel property Maynard Dixon's heart called home. A bronze memorial engraved with his famous Thunderbird symbol marks the area where his ashes were buried. In 1947, Hamlin completed the construction of the studio, which had been planned prior to Maynard's death.

Edith Hamlin sold the property to the American watercolorist, Milford Zornes and his wife, Patricia in 1963. The two carried on the Dixons' artistic tradition through many studio workshops and artist retreats.

The property was featured in the June, 2001 issue of Architectural Digest and the owners were honored by the Utah Heritage Foundation in 2001 for Excellence in Cultural Preservation. The property is also on the National Register of Historic Places. They were also featured in December-January 2015 Western Art and Architecture and in 2017 in the America Bungalow magazine.

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