A Pendleton Blanket Reflects The Artist's Roots

Judd Thompson's painting was chosen to be the latest subject for the company's Artist Collection

Pendleton, the iconic 150-year-old Oregon woolen mills, has selected a painting by Montana artist Judd Thompson as the latest subject for a blanket in its prestigious Artist Collection.

Created from his painting “A Horse Called Paint,” a reflection of Thompson’s unique perspective growing up on the Crow Indian Reservation outside of Billings, Montana, the new blanket received its official launch at the Western Design Conference Exhibit + Sale in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, earlier this month in a special exhibit of Thompson’s work by Stapleton Gallery.

Artist Judd Thompson, who found early inspiration in the Pendleton blankets sold at his family’s store on the Crow Reservation, has come full circle, his art captured in a new blanket by the iconic woolen mills.

“This is not just a blanket design, it’s really textile art, being offered in a limited edition,” says Jeremiah Young, Stapleton Gallery owner and co-curator. “This is a lifetime honor – especially significant for a young artist.”

Growing up and working in his parents’ store and restaurant in Crow Agency, Montana, Judd Thompson wasn’t aware of how Pendleton blankets would influence his art. Yet the color and geometric forms that emerge from his paintings reflect the crafts and wares that punctuated his formative years. At 36, the artist uses his art to tell stories.

Through the family business, the Custer Battlefield Trading Post on the Crow Indian Reservation, Thompson, an adopted Crow, experienced an intimate side of Native culture that he portrays through his work, using diverse expressions in realism, landscapes and abstract designs that draw upon the patterns in beadwork and fabrics he grew up around.

Thompson’s Pendleton blanket image depicts a bold three-toned silhouette of a running horse in black, white and gray. “A Horse Called Paint” represents the importance of the majestic figure of the horse in the Crow Indian culture, he explains.

Rendered in black, white and gray virgin wool by Pendleton, the Judd Thompson painting “A Horse Called Paint” is the latest blanket in the historic woolen mill’s Artist Collection.

According to Amanda Coppa, Senior Merchandise Manager at Pendleton’s home office in Portland, Oregon, the company has been transforming works by select artists into blankets for decades, on average commissioning the work of two or three artists each year. “While Judd has many beautiful pieces, ‘A Horse Called Paint’ was selected for its simplicity in both color and design,” says Coppa. “Horses have always been a popular motif and we loved the motion that this design evokes. It will be a stunning piece of art, whether featured on a wall, draped over a sofa or on a favorite chair.”

The Pendleton woven wool blanket rendering of “A Horse Called Paint” is 64 x 72 inches and will retail for $269. The Pendleton Artist Collection featuring Thompson’s “A Horse Called Paint” will be available for sale beginning Sept. 25 on pendleton-usa.com. 

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