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Originally from the
small town of Long Beach, Mississippi, Peggy Lanning began
her long-standing career as a renowned art gallery owner
by selling Native American jewelry from the trunk of her
car. Today, she is a successful female entrepreneur – the
owner of two prominent galleries in Sedona, Arizona,
surrounded by the breathtaking red rocks of this
distinctive arts colony.
After her youngest
child went off to kindergarten Lanning set up a jewelry
counter within a friend’s shop in southern Arizona,
within a few years opening her own space called
Turquoise Tortoise. When the northern Arizona arts
colony of Sedona planned an exclusive new gallery
center, Lanning secured herself a voice as the smallest
investor of thirty and moved the gallery to its current
location at Hozho in the heart of the Gallery District.
Turquoise Tortoise Gallery, founded in 1971,
continues its tradition of representing top Native
American artists – and now Southwest artists too.
When the work of
distinguished artist
Alfred
Rogoway came to Lanning’s attention she felt
determined to accommodate the many fine artists who
happened not to be Native American. Within the year
Lanning Gallery, founded
in 1986, had opened across the hall; its reputation as
the finest Classic and Contemporary gallery in Sedona is
irrefutable.
A
philosophy Peggy Lanning has always believed is, “You have
to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run.”
In 2007, Lanning received the Visionary Award from the
National Association of Women Business Owners' (NAWBO-Sedona)
Third Annual Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards. As a
founding member of the
Sedona Gallery Association and having sat on the
board of
Sedona's Chamber of Commerce and Focus Future for
Sedona, Lanning has helped determine the direction of this
one-of-a-kind arts colony.
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