“I want to be notorious rather than famous. Fame has too much responsibility. People forget you are human.”
– Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia
DeGrazia Music Room at The Gallery of The Sun — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Ted DeGrazia earned two undergraduate degrees — one in music education, one in fine art and a master’s of fine arts. Known as Arizona’s most prolific artist, it is understandable that most people may not be aware of his shared dual passions for art and music. Both helped him pay his way through college, painting during the day and leading his big band at night at Tucson’s Fox Theater.
His love of music was passed on to his son, Domingo DeGrazia, who today has his own band, the Domingo DeGarzia Spanish Guitar Band. We first saw Domingo and his band perform at the annual festival, La Fiesta de Guadalupe at the Gallery of the Sun.
Domingo DeGarzia’s Spanish Guitar Band
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Slideshow — La Fiesta de Guadalupe at the Gallery of the Sun (December 18, 2016)
— Images by kenne
In June of 2019, the Arizona Highways had a special issue, “The Legacy of Arizona’s Prolific Artist,” Ted DeGrazia. And why not, it was Arizona Highways the discovered Ted DeGrazia and put him on stage. His work appeared in more the 60 issues of Arizona Highways. The June issue celebrates the 110th birthday of Arizona’s most prolific artist.
Even before moving to Tucson in 2010, I was aware of and love Ted DeGrazia’s work. We live only a few miles from DeGrazia’s Gallery In The Sun, the campus of which sets up against the Santa Catalina Mountains on Tucson’s northeast side.
Over the last decade, we have visited the Gallery In The Sun several times, this blog has eleven postings.
Ted DeGrazia Chapel Cross
(In May of 2017, fire damaged the chapel located at the Gallery in the Sun.)
— Photo-Artistry by kenne
“I built the mission for myself.
I’m not a churchgoing man but
I am a religious man and
perhaps religious only within me.
Religion to me is right or wrong.
You do right, and you’re a religious man.
It’s not Catholic it’s just an old chapel
for anybody who wants to go in there
whether Christian or non-Christian.”
Making use of mud and straw walls, artist Ted DeGrazia carefully designed every
detail of his Gallery In The Sun located in the Catalina Foothills, Tucson, Arizona.
“The mud wall is masculine —
physically and durable.
Domingo DeGrazia Spanish Guitar Band — Images by kenne
On December 18th, the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun hosted La Fiesta de Guadalupe. This annual festival honors Mexico’s patron saint, Our Lady of Guadalupe, with music, dancing, and performances including mariachi bands, folkloric dancers, the Yaqui Deer Dancers, and Domingo DeGrazia’s Spanish-guitar band. Domingo is the son of Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia Tucson’s most famous and no doubt most prolific artist.
On this Easter Sunday it was fitting that the Arizona Daily Star have a cover story on one of its best known artist, Ted DeGrazia. His version of the Stations of the Cross, “Way of the Cross”, now hangs as a seasonal, Lenten display at DeGrazia Gallery.
Every since moving to Tucson , Joy and I love going to the gallery. It is one of the places we take all out visitors.
“Religion is within yourself and you don’t have to go to church and you don’t have to be one of those people who goes every Sunday.” Ted DeGrazia
“I feel that if ‘The Way of the Cross’ happened, then it was felt by everybody on the face of the Earth. Here in Arizona we have saguaros, so I chose to use the symbol of the saguaro to place it here. And I’m sure it happened everywhere.” — Ted DeGrazia
DeGrazia Music Room at The Gallery of The Sun — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Ted DeGrazia Chapel Cross
DeGrazia Shadows — Digital Art by kenne
DeGrazia Pots — Computer Art by kenne
