Rick Bartow, a small-town Oregon kid who became an iconic American artist

The iconic artist Rick Bartow, a small-town Oregon kid, went on to see his work featured in over 100 museums across the country, including an installation in the White House garden.    His work mirrored real life. It was raw, aggressive, dark and emotional. The beautiful and weird in his work came from, sometimes, a painful story.    He was drafted during the Vietnam War and came back with PTSD. He then struggled with addiction for nearly a decade. Art, he says, saved him.   “I realized the creator had given me something to do,” Bartow said. “And whether people understood that now didn’t matter. I have to do this, this is my job … here’s my gift, and I can use it today.”   In this week’s episode of The Evergreen, OPB Art Beat producer Eric Slade tells us about the life and work of Rick Bartow.  Catch the exhibition Rick Bartow: Storyteller at the Portland Art Museum until May 23, 2026. And you can also watch Slade’s recent documentary on Bartow here.   For more Evergreen episodes and to share your voice with us, visit our showpage. Follow OPB on Instagram, and follow host Jenn Chávez too. You can sign up for OPB’s newsletters to get what you need in your inbox regularly.   Don’t forget to check out our many podcasts, which can be found on any of your favorite podcast apps: Hush  Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars Politics Now Think Out Loud And many more! Check out our full show list here.