This arch was a true gateway to the west for me. First time I went to New Mexico for graduate school, my summer employer friend drove me to St. Louis and I flew from there to Albuquerque. I remember seeing the majestic arch then as well as looking at it every time I had driven through St. Louis to the east or to the west. Later on in Art History I did learn about it’s architect, Mr. Erro Sarinen, and his other elegant buildings, including TWA terminal at the JFK airport in New York, which is where I landed the very first time I came to the U.S. in 1970.

One time flying back from Iowa, the plane stopped in St. Louis. The way it landed there, it almost felt like we were going to go through the arch. It was the most spectacular and close up view of the arch I had ever seen. That inspired me to paint this painting.