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April 2003
MUNOZ NEWS

NEW ART CARD RELEASES

Rie Munoz has released ten new art card images, including "The Embrace", "Bush Transportation", "Blue Moon Cafe" and "Scary Sea". Remember, all our cards also can be matted and shrink-wrapped for $15 and framed for $45. Order these new art cards now!

We will phase out ten of the older images like "Spring Flowers," "Fish Grader," "Ice Fishing," "Creation of Man," "Inaugural Voyage Tenakee," and "Fourth of July, Starr Hill." These images will be available until our inventory runs out.


25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

March 31 will mark the 25-year anniversary of Rie Munoz Ltd. Corporation. On March 31, 1978, Rie Munoz Ltd. Corporation was formed in Juneau Alaska. Rie Munoz and her friend and business partner Adele Hamey were running the show. Rie was involved with the day-to-day operations, hiring, firing, rent leases, trade shows, advertising and so on. It's amazing that she had time to produce the fantastic paintings she did during that era.
In 1980 I set up a frame shop in the North Portland area and did the framing for the corporation as well as for the local north Portland folks. In 1985 I moved the frame shop to Juneau and merged it with ongoing operations in Juneau. Rie decided it was time to get out of the business end totally and concentrate on painting.
During the 1980s Rie Munoz Ltd. was publishing and distributing artwork for nine Alaskan artists. Towards the end of the 80s we took on a line of 40 Canadian artists as well. At the height of this chaos we had 21 employees. Sales were great but profit was minimal. I decided that it was better to concentrate on the family end of this business and dropped all other artists except Munoz and one other classic Alaskan artist, Dale DeArmond.

Rie's success did not happen quickly but her popularity steadily rose.

There were a number of releases that stand out in Munoz's long list of published images. The first was "Baby Girls Legend" retailing for $25/$12.50 wholesale. That piece sold out in six months which was a record for one of Munoz's prints at that time. Shortly thereafter Rie released "The Embrace" which sold for $35 retail/$17.50 wholesale. This piece sold out in three weeks and we knew Rie was entering into a new wave of popularity.
During that same time Munoz painted "Woman Bear Legend" and "Halibut $1" each retailing for $60/ $30 wholesale. With prices like these the secondary market came to life and is still going strong. Recently an "Embrace" sold for $1,800 retail, "Woman Bear Legend" sells for $2,500 or more.

The originals were also undervalued, and still are. In 1985, the original of "Groceries Nome" sold for $800, the same price the print sold for recently. The original to "Baby Girls Legend" was priced at only $600. Rie saw the price and decided to keep it herself. Munoz had a one-day sellout of 70 paintings at the Frye Art Museum in 1992. People were running as the doors opened to claim their favorite watercolor painting.
After that successful opening, we built the Rie Munoz Gallery in Juneau, which is where our headquarters are located today. It was our fifth—and final
gallery location since 1978. The 3,500 sq. ft. building displays original paintings, stained glass, tapestries, silk-screens old and new, sketches, and memorabilia. If you ever plan a trip up to Juneau, either by cruise ship or airplane, please let us know and come by for a visit. SEE YOU THERE!



NEW PIN AVAILABLE

There is a new Rie Munoz cloisonné pin available through Rie Munoz Ltd. Entitled "Eskimo Mother", this image is from the stone lithograph Rie created in 1982 (plate #147 of the Portrait of Alaska book). It retails for $12!




2003 RELEASE SCHEDULE

April 1, 2003
Ten New Art Cards
 
   

Thank you for your interest in the artwork of Rie Muñoz!

Sincerely,


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2101 N. Jordan Ave.
Juneau, Ak 99801
800-247-3151 
907-789-7411
Rie Muñoz has published
over 500 different
images in her career
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