Arizona #2 (Weaver's Needle, Superstition Mountain)

• In 1940 and 1942, Curry and fellow Kansan artist Ralph Goltry (1884-1971) camped and painted throughout the greater Phoenix and Scottsdale area, known as the Valley of the Sun. Arizona #2 was painted during one of these excursions.

• Weaver’s Needle is a natural extrusion of volcanic ash rising some 1,000 feet from the desert floor in the Superstition Mountain region east of Phoenix, Arizona. It is named after the early southwestern scout and trapper Powell (Paulino) Weaver (1797–1867). Central Arizona’s Weaver’s Mountain and Weaver’s Peak are also named after the explorer.

• Legend suggests that a great cache of gold is hidden somewhere in the shadow of Weaver’s Needle.

• Dutchman Jacob Waltz (1808-1891) was a prospector who claimed he had discovered gold somewhere in the Superstitions. He never said exactly where. For more than 100 years treasure hunters have searched for the site, known as Dutchman’s Lost Mine, many losing their lives.