Richard Elmer "Rick" Bartow (December 16, 1946 – April 2, 2016) was a Native American artist and a member of the Mad River band of the Wiyot Tribe, who are indigenous to Humboldt County, California.

He primarily created pastel, graphite, and mixed media drawings, wood sculpture, acrylic paintings, drypoint etchings, monotypes, and a small number of ceramic works.

Bartow's carving The Cedar Mill Pole was displayed in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden at the White House in 1997; it had been designated one of the most highly regarded Native American public sculptures in the country.

Essentially the tree embodies the fundamental elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, our sacred and precious natural resources.

"[10] As for influences, Bartow cited Marc Chagall, Francis Bacon, Odilon Redon and Horst Janssen, in addition to his Native American heritage and his work with the Māori.

[3] In April 2015, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon opened "Things You Know but Cannot Explain", a major retrospective exhibition of Rick Bartow's works in many media, spanning 35 years of his career as an artist.

[5] Bartow's work was part of Stretching the Canvas: Eight Decades of Native Painting (2019–2021), a survey at the National Museum of the American Indian George Gustav Heye Center.

[14] In 2003, his works were exhibited at the George Gustav Heye Center, a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City.