Once again, today’s post brings me face to face with another one of James’ paintings that I have never seen in real time. I am fascinated with the synchronicity that leads to each week’s discoveries compounding into more clues to follow. Since August 18th, 2025, when the second phase of the James Yale Legacy Project took a left turn into the art of sleuthing, we have posted a wide variety of James’ artwork that speaks of his versatility, interests, and curiosity, as well as his mastery.
This week takes Melanie and me to Eureka Springs to finally see the painting The Lady of Blue Chalcedony in real-time and to experience James’s brush strokes that veer from his usual realism.
Today’s discovery includes my interview with Ken Foggo of Eurekan Art Studio & Shop (Eureka Springs, AR). I remember James telling me that Nancy Foggo, Ken’s wife, had fallen in love with the painting The Lady of Blue Chalcedony, and Ken ended up buying the painting for Nancy. This painting was one of several originals that Ken and Nancy represented in their art gallery.
Standing before this painting for the first time, I see the blue chalcedony connection to two other paintings that I am familiar with. Stories bubble up and hold my gaze as I look deeper into the millennia of the blue stone in this painting, knowing James’ belief that all natural things: places, plants, rocks, animals have a spirit, and we are all interconnected
— Charlotte Buchanan Yale
