Two Grey Hills is a gallery of Native American art as storied as the pieces it carries.
Elfriede Jourdan immigrated to the United States from West Germany in 1950, bringing her son, Gary Mattheis, with her. To make their new home in America, she chose the majestic mountains of the Northwest, settling beneath the Grand Tetons in Jackson, Wyoming. Both mother and son worked at achieving the American dream and in 1954 Jourdan purchased a laundry service. Among the many things the two cleaned over the years were “what seemed to be all of the Navajo rugs in and around Jackson Hole.”
With each work of woven art they cleaned, their appreciation for Navajo textiles grew, leading them to start visiting the Navajo Reservation and surrounding Native communities where they likewise fell in love with the crafts of the silversmiths and fetish carvers. By 1976, the mother-and-son team had established a gallery of Indian art in Jackson.
Now run by Mattheis (he took over after his mother passed in 2012), Two Grey Hills Indian Arts & Jewelry is one of the longest-running businesses in the Jackson Hole valley and continues to specialize in the things Jourdan loved best: storied Navajo rugs and one-of-a-kind Navajo jewelry. In addition, you’ll find the works of Hopi and Zuni jewelers; Zapotec Indian weavings; pottery from the Santa Clara, Hopi, and Acoma Pueblo; Zuni fetishes; and Southwestern Indian woven baskets.
Here are a few of our favorite one-of-a-kind pieces currently up for grabs at Two Grey Hills.
Turquoise cuff by Kee Nez (Navajo)
Multistone inlay buckle by Jimmy Poyer (Navajo)
Ten-strand necklace by Desiree Yellowhorse (Navajo)
Seed pot by Marilyn Ray (Acoma Pueblo)
Sterling silver concho belt by Bruce Morgan (Navajo)
Chief Revival weaving by Ruby VanWinkle (Navajo)
