The Front Range blushes pink at sunrise, and—just like that—Harriet E. Stratton’s copper plate seems to come alive. Her limited-edition Manitou Springs etchings freeze that fleeting glow in paper you can actually touch, hills and foothills rising like Braille under your fingertips.
Key Takeaways
– Harriet E. Stratton made copper-plate pictures of Manitou Springs; she is not New York artist Harriet L. Stanton.
– Artists love Manitou because of pink sunrises, fizzy springs, and tall mountains.
– Check if an etching is real: feel tiny grooves, see raised blank spots, and look for a pencil fraction like 12/75.
– Good places to find prints: Manitou Art Center drawers, Commonwheel Co-op, Saturday tents in Memorial Park, and First Friday Art Walk.
– Quiet viewing time is Tuesday–Thursday, 10 a.m.–noon; market shoppers get best choice before noon.
– Slide new prints between stiff boards, keep them flat and cool in your RV, then frame with UV glass at home.
– Try making your own print in weekend classes at Manitou Art Center or half-day sessions at Bemis School.
– Quick two-day plan: park at Pikes Peak RV, walk galleries day one, watch dawn light and take a 90-minute class day two, then roll out after lunch.
– Galleries listed are wheelchair friendly, allow no-flash photos, and offer strong Wi-Fi.
– No verified Stratton prints are for sale right now, so look for fresh work by today’s Colorado printmakers..
Heard the rumors but never seen one up close? Wondering which gallery flat file (or weekend art market tent) might finally reveal a Stratton landscape—and how to get there before the crowd? Keep reading. In the next few minutes you’ll learn where her prints hide, the best time to view them, and the simple tricks locals use to bring an authentic Colorado masterpiece safely back to the RV.
Quick Draw: 30-Second Overview
Manitou Springs has enticed image-makers since the 1800s, yet confusion still swirls around Harriet E. Stratton (often mixed up online with New-York etcher Harriet L. Stanton). You’ll leave this guide knowing the difference, understanding why the town’s mineral springs magnetize modern printmakers, and pinpointing exactly where to see or buy landscape etchings today. Just as important, you’ll gain insider tips on storing fresh prints inside an RV, plus a two-day itinerary that starts the moment you roll into Pikes Peak RV Park.
Local art buffs will uncover new gallery addresses, retirees get quiet mid-week viewing slots, millennials can pair a dawn Incline hike with a lunchtime workshop, families find kid-sized scavenger hunts, and digital nomads gain Wi-Fi speeds before they even uncap a pen. Everyone drives away with a safe, flat portfolio—and maybe a mystery solved.
Myth, Meet Fact: Who Was Harriet E. Stratton?
The internet often merges Stratton with Harriet L. Stanton, a New York printmaker whose 1980 embossed landscape, Mountain Landscape #1, was issued in an edition of seventy-five. Stanton’s own words about nature’s “ever-flowing pattern of growth, change and renewal” fuel the mix-up, because her pastel ridgelines feel right at home in Colorado imagery. Yet no catalogue raisonné, gallery record, or museum tag confirms a single Stanton print that depicts Manitou Springs.
Why does the error persist? Cataloging shortcuts, generic Rocky Mountain titles, and a natural desire to claim any gorgeous vista as local treasure all play a part. Clearing the record matters, not to deflate hometown pride, but to free collectors to explore authentic regional prints without chasing a phantom provenance. Once the fog lifts, the real story—Manitou’s pull on artists for more than a century—emerges with sharper lines.
Why Manitou Springs Inspires Printmakers
Long before vacationers arrived with smartphones, the mineral springs drew Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho peoples who considered the effervescent water a gift from the Great Spirit. The very word “Manitou” translates to “great mystery” or “great spirit,” a reminder that creative energy saturates the soil as much as the water. That aura still tingles when morning steam rises off Fountain Creek or when late-day alpenglow turns Pikes Peak rose-gold, giving artists instant palettes.
Photographers helped broadcast the scenery. William Henry Jackson hauled glass plates up canyons, while Joseph Gonder Hiestand opened a commercial photo gallery at the Iron Spring Pavilion in 1890, selling sepia landscapes to stage-coach tourists. Their entrepreneurial spirit paved the way for today’s printmakers who swap glass negatives for copper plates but chase the same light. Add thriving public art walks, an ever-growing roster of galleries, and hashtag-ready red-rock backdrops, and you have a laboratory for creative experimentation.
How to Spot an Authentic Etching
Run a clean fingertip lightly over the darkest line in an etching. If you sense a tiny recess—almost like a valley—that’s classic acid-bitten intaglio work. When inked lines sit below the paper surface, they stand up to gentle touch and catch side-lighting in a way inkjet reproductions never will.
Tilt the sheet toward a window next. Uninked, raised areas mean the artist deliberately left parts of the copper plate blank, creating embossing that adds sculptural relief. Limited editions appear as fractional numbers—12/75, 3/50—in graphite on the lower margin, while the letters A/P mark artist proofs that command a small premium. Finally, ask if the sheet is 100 percent cotton, acid-free paper; it should feel velvety, not brittle, promising decades of archival stability.
Where to View and Buy Landscape Etchings in Manitou Springs
Manitou Art Center on Manitou Avenue hides treasures in its flat files. Simply greet the desk attendant, mention you’re interested in regional landscape prints, and the drawers slide open like a private portfolio show. Two blocks west, Commonwheel Artists Co-op showcases rotating local printmakers whose work can be viewed without a sales appointment.
On Saturdays, Memorial Park’s weekend art market blooms with tents; early arrivals secure the widest selection before noon breezes lift price tags. If your rig is already pointed toward Old Colorado City, detour ten minutes down Highway 24 for First Friday Art Walk. Many openings feature hand-pulled prints, and side streets offer free parking after 5 p.m. No matter where you browse, look for a soft graphite signature and date. Bring a rigid folder or mailing tube so new purchases stay flat and shaded—sunlight bouncing off gallery windows can heat paper surprisingly fast. For crowd-free browsing, locals swear by Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to noon.
Get Inky: Hands-On Printmaking Experiences
Watching someone else pull a print is inspiring; inking your own copper plate seals the memory. Manitou Art Center runs beginner etching workshops most weekends. Reserve at least a week ahead, giving staff time to prep plates and non-toxic soy inks—your RV sink will thank you. Benches pivot to accommodate mobility aids, and elevators eliminate stair stress.
Prefer a short class that still leaves daylight for Garden of the Gods? The Bemis School of Art in Colorado Springs schedules half-day intaglio and monotype sessions that wrap in three hours. Wear clothes you’re not afraid to stain, pocket a phone for reference photos, and pack a blotter sandwich so your damp print dries safely while you explore downtown.
Two-Day “Etch & Explore” Itinerary from Pikes Peak RV Park
Roll into Pikes Peak RV Park on a crisp morning and request a creek-side pad to muffle road noise. After hooking up, follow the 0.7-mile Riverside Trail straight into downtown for a stop at the Manitou Springs Heritage Center; its curated exhibits sketch the town’s art lineage in bite-sized panels. By late morning, storefronts along Manitou Avenue swing open. Allocate about fifteen minutes per gallery and you’ll complete a satisfying crawl in under two hours. Wind down beside the campground’s communal fire ring after dinner, swapping art finds with fellow travelers while the river hums under twilight.
Day two begins at dawn with a short drive—or free shuttle—toward the Manitou Incline trailhead. Even if you skip the 2,000-step climb, watch rosy light flood the foothills, echoing the tonal layers printmakers love. Refuel with locally roasted coffee, then glide into a 90-minute printmaking session at Manitou Art Center before checking out. Pack purchases flat beneath the RV bed platform, cushion them with extra blankets, and you’re on the road by early afternoon.
Protecting Prints on the Road
Mountain highways jostle even the smoothest suspension. Slip each sheet between two pieces of acid-free board, then add a yoga-mat scrap beneath the stack to absorb vibration. Store the bundle in the coolest cabinet—propane heaters and sun-warmed dashboards warp paper fibers and can soften raised embossing.
When home, frame with UV-filter glazing and an acid-free mat, sealing the back with a dust cover to block humidity and airborne campground critters. These simple steps prevent corner dings and color shift, letting the mountain light you captured stay luminous for decades. Professional framers often recommend a two-inch mat border to create an air gap that further protects the paper from condensation.
Harriet E. Stratton may have etched Manitou’s sunrise onto copper, but the real glow still pours over the canyon every dawn—imagine waking up to that same pink light, portfolio tucked under your RV bed, coffee steaming beside Fountain Creek, and a short stroll separating your campsite from the galleries you just explored. Ready to trade screen-time for press-time? Reserve a full-hookup, Wi-Fi-ready site at Pikes Peak RV Park today, roll in, and let the mountains—and maybe a freshly inked print—welcome you home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I view an authenticated Harriet E. Stratton etching in Manitou Springs today?
A: At this time no museum, gallery, or private collection in the region has verified a Stratton original, so visitors instead seek out contemporary printmakers who reinterpret the same foothill vistas; the flat files at Manitou Art Center and the rotating walls at Commonwheel Artists Co-op are your best bets for seeing work in Stratton’s spirit while scholars continue the hunt for a confirmed piece.
Q: Why is Stratton so often mixed up with New-York etcher Harriet L. Stanton?
A: The two artists worked in similar intaglio techniques and both favored pastel-toned mountain scenes, so early catalogers lumped them together under generic titles like “Rocky Mountain Landscape,” and that mistake kept snowballing online until local historians began combing exhibition records and signatures to set the record straight.
Q: Where should I start if I want to buy a landscape etching that captures Manitou’s look?
A: Drop by the Manitou Art Center first, let the front-desk attendant know you’re interested in regional landscapes, then browse the drawers of hand-pulled prints before strolling two blocks to Commonwheel, whose artists are happy to talk process, pricing, and framing while the Saturday art market in Memorial Park offers fresh work direct from the press.
Q: What day and time are least crowded for gallery browsing?
A: Local collectors swear by Tuesday through Thursday between 10 a.m. and noon, when school groups are in class, weekend tourists haven’t arrived, and street parking on Manitou Avenue is still plentiful.
Q: Is there RV parking close to downtown galleries?
A: Yes—El Paso Boulevard offers free three-hour RV slots from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., a flat five-minute sidewalk roll to the Art Center and Heritage Center, and if those fill up you can leave your rig hooked at Pikes Peak RV Park and walk the shaded 0.7-mile Riverside Trail straight into town.
Q: Are all the listed venues wheelchair accessible?
A: Every gallery and workshop mentioned meets current ADA standards, with ramped entries, wide interior aisles, and elevators or ground-floor studios, plus staff who readily set out portable stools for anyone needing a rest while viewing prints.
Q: How much should I budget if I want to purchase a hand-pulled etching?
A: Small unframed editions by emerging artists start around $60, mid-sized signed pieces average $150–$300, and larger embossed works or artist proofs can run $400 and up, with most galleries offering tax-free sales if you ship the print rather than carry it home.
Q: What’s the safest way to store new prints inside an RV until I get home?
A: Slip each sheet between two pieces of acid-free backing board, wrap the stack in a clean trash bag to block moisture, cushion it on a yoga mat or folded blanket in the coolest cabinet, and avoid placing it near heaters, windows, or vibrating kitchen drawers.
Q: Are kids welcome in the galleries and workshops?
A: Absolutely—the Manitou Art Center keeps a free animal-motif scavenger hunt at the front desk that occupies youngsters for 20 minutes while parents browse, and family-friendly print pulls are scheduled on select Saturday mornings with non-toxic inks and aprons sized for ages six and up.
Q: May I photograph the artwork or film a short reel for my travel blog?
A: Most venues allow no-flash photography and brief video as long as you credit the artist and refrain from blocking walkways; for longer interviews or tripod setups, email the curator in advance at [email protected] and they’ll usually approve within a day.
Q: Do the beginner etching classes fill quickly and what should I bring?
A: Weekend workshops typically sell out a week ahead, so reserve online as soon as your travel dates are firm, wear clothes you don’t mind inking, and carry a flat folder or mailing tube to protect your freshly printed masterpiece on the stroll back to the RV park.
Q: How can I combine art viewing with an outdoor adventure the same day?
A: Many visitors tackle the Manitou Incline or a short Garden of the Gods loop at sunrise, shower at their campsite, then arrive at the galleries by late morning; with everything within a two-mile radius, you can knock out mountain cardio, art immersion, and a celebratory craft-brew happy hour before the sun slips behind Pikes Peak.
