Bashas' Gallery of South Western Art

   In 1886, the Bashas family arrived in New York City from Lebanon. In 1910, they moved to Arizona and Najeeb started a dry goods store that has become over 165 grocery stores all over Arizona. It remains family owned and is now run by the grandson, Eddie Bashas Jr.
Eddie Sr had a real love of western art and became a great collector of original art - sculpture, oils, Hopi  kachina dolls, and a large collection of woven baskets by Native Americans. Next to the corporate headquarters in Chandler, is the art gallery that we visited on Thursday, March 23. With over 3000 items, it made for a fascinating visit as the sculptures and pictures told the story of the American West and the toll that migration took on the Natives - the Apache, Comanche, Hopi and Navajo.

Called "The Price of Passage" this painting by Joe Beeler, shows the Apaches herding the longhorns away for the wagon train that has traded them of safety as they travel across the plains.