Painted Canyon (Purgatoire River)
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Painted Canyon is a canyon area located east of Trinidad, Colorado, along the Purgatoire River in southeastern Colorado. The site is known for a series of large-scale paintings created on the canyon walls by artist Martin Bowden during the early to mid-20th century.
Regional newspaper coverage from the 1960s and early 1970s described the location as a "gallery" or "outdoor gallery" of paintings situated along the canyon walls.[1][2]
The Painted Canyon site consists of multiple rock faces bearing painted figures, including animals and western-themed imagery. Contemporary accounts described the works as large-scale or life-size paintings positioned along steep canyon walls.[3]
Some reports indicated that dozens of paintings were present and distributed across different sections of the canyon.[4]
Access to the site has historically been limited due to its remote location and terrain. Newspaper descriptions noted that reaching certain paintings required navigating narrow paths or climbing along canyon walls.[5]