The Jo and Warren Buxton Collection of Native American and Western Arts And Crafts consists of more than 1,000 pieces of paintings, sculpture, and pottery. The collection is located in the library and the hallway of the Learning Resources Complex.

The collection was donated to the Maricopa Community College District with the stipulation that it be displayed in perpetuity at Paradise Valley Community College.

The Buxton collection contains quasi-religious arts from the American Southwest as well as from Spain, Mexico, Central and South America.

A small group of New Mexico Santos and other pieces of art reflecting a more religious nature are reflected in the collection. The Santos, crafted in Mexico and Guatemala, represent a cross-section of Spanish and Spanish-American handworks.

Some paintings mounted on tin-ware are also from New Mexico; these appear to be classic renditions of 15th century painting found in many Spanish haciendas in old Mexico.

The collection contains many works which could best be described as crafts, including tapestries, basketry, and metalwork. Other notable pieces in the collection include a Peyote rattle and fan and a hand-carved leather Spanish chair and side board.

The Buxton collection does not focus on any type of art or skill, but is representative of the feelings that art can provide, regardless of time or place. Some pieces in the collection might not be considered "art" by a strict definition; however, the Buxtons believed that the creation of crafts was an art form unto itself, including branding irons, hand carved pieces of wood for making block prints, painted eggs, and children's sketches.

The collection enhances the aesthetics of the Learning Resources Complex and is a valuable teaching tool for such courses as design and cultural anthropology.

 

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