Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2018/ No.127 i Western Art Collector

Western Art Week in Great Falls, Montana, has been drawing thousands of collectors and art aficionados to the city for more than 50 years. One of the longstanding events of the week is the Out West Art Show & Sale at the Best Western Plus Heritage Inn. Held this year from March 14 to 17, the hotel will transform into 110 exhibit rooms and 10 gallery showcases, allowing visitors the chance to meet the participating and learn about their artwork firsthand. Kicking off the show will be a gala reception on March 14 at 6 p.m. The launch of the 14 Squared, Small Works Art Auction, where the works of 50 juried artists will be available for purchase, will take place March 16 and 17, both days at 4:45 p.m.…

MARCH March 2-30 INSIGHT GALLERY Texas Masters Fredericksburg, TX – (830) 997-9920 www.insightgallery.com March 3-4 HEARD MUSEUM 60th Annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market Phoenix, AZ – (602) 252-8840 www.heard.org March 3-Jan. 2, 2019 WITTE MUSEUM Confluence and Culture: 300 Years of San Antonio San Antonio, TX – (210) 357-1900 www.wittemuseum.org March 3-Feb.3, 2019 EITELJORG MUSEUM The Reel West Indianapolis, IN – (317) 636-9378 www.eiteljorg.org March 3-April 15 OLD WEST MUSEUM Western Spirit Art Show Cheyenne, WY – (307) 778-7290 www.oldwestmuseum.org Ending March 4 DESERT CABALLEROS WESTERN MUSEUM How the West is One: Contemporary Western Art from The Tia Collection Wickenburg, AZ – (928) 684-2272 www.westernmuseum.org Ending March 4 MILLICENT ROGERS MUSEUM Annual Miniatures Show & Sale Taos, NM – (575) 758-2462 www.millicentrogers.org Ending March 4 DESERT CABALLEROS…

In 1984 Ginger Renner penned a fascinating article about Charles M. Russell and his relationship with women, both in his life and his art. It begins with a doozy of a Russell quote: “A woman can go farther on a lipstick than a man with a Winchester and a side of bacon.” “Pithy, perceptive—sometimes chauvinistic—statements such as these from the pen of the cowboy artist probably added weight to the generally accepted view of Charlie Russell as a ‘man’s man,’” Renner wrote in response. “The repetition of these slightly derogatory phrases led the public to believe that Russell was a man who had limited regard for women.” She continued: “The general assessment that placed Charles Marion Russell into the masculine milieu was further augmented by his published works of art.…

Home to the Rocky Mountains, Colorado Plateau and Great Plains, Colorado is a state of history, heritage and natural beauty. Awash with swaths of grassy plains, carved out by deep canyons and studded with snowy alpine peaks, the state offers a diverse range of scenery and wildlife. Perfect for working artists, who are drawn to the Centennial State through its natural grandeur and diverse landscapes, Colorado has become a haven for creators and art lovers alike. As a result, artists, galleries, auction houses and art societies all call the state home. Destinations include Steamboat Springs, home of the Steamboat Art Museum. The museum, which recently underwent a lengthy renovation, will host the Oil Painters of America’s 27th annual national exhibition beginning June 1. The museum also hosts regular exhibitions and…

For the past eight years, InSight Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas, has hosted its annual Texas Masters exhibition and sale featuring some of its represented artists associated with the state. The show is a treasure trove for collectors, who not only will be treated to traditional Texas imagery but also an array of subject matter and styles that captivate Western art enthusiasts. The ninth edition of the show, held March 2 to 30, includes approximately 30 paintings and sculptures. One of the most popular shows at the gallery each year, the exhibition will feature work from Roy Andersen, Mary Ross Buchholz, Nancy Bush, Jill Carver, Cheri Christensen, Douglas Clark, Teresa Elliott, Jim Eppler, Bruce Greene, George Hallmark, Kyle Ma, Phil Bob Borman and more. There also will be work by guest…

For the past 30 years, March in Montana has brought to market an array of fine art and accoutrements that are definitive of the traditional West. The items range from wildlife, sporting and Western paintings and sculpture to saddles and spurs to Native American textiles, which allows buyers of all categories to find something to fill their collections. This year’s 31st annual auction and dealer show, presented by Manitou Galleries and the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, will take place March 15 to 17 at the Elks Lodge #214 in Great Falls, Montana. Highlighting the more than 700-lot auction will be a selection of paintings and sculptures from the Doylestown, Pennsylvania, collection of Dr. Delwin and Karen Bokelman. Collected over the course of three decades, the majority of the items crossing…

Three prominent illustrators turned Western artists had top lots in Altermann Galleries & Auctioneers’ Scottsdale, Arizona, sale on January 18 and 19. The top lot of the two-day, 572-lot was James Bama’s Native American portrait A Mountain Shoshone, which was estimated at $60,000 to $90,000. The work, with its striking figure turned in profile and pictographs behind him, was greeted with a flurry of bids and eventually topped out at $282,000, more than double Bama’s previous auction record of $123,000. Before becoming a prominent Western artist, Bama had done illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post, Reader’s Digest and men’s adventure magazines such as Argosy. Kenneth Riley, who also did work for The Saturday Evening Post early in his career before moving to Tucson, Arizona, also had a record-breaking work in…

The start of the new year saw several notable exhibitions of Western art in the state of Colorado. The 25th annual Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale in Denver opened during its signature Red Carpet Reception on January 3 at the National Western Stock Show. On January 4, Denver saw the Petrie Institute of Western American Art’s 12th annual Western American art symposium, which this year had the theme Beyond America’s Heartland: Regionalism and the Art of the American West. The Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale displayed the works of contemporary artists from North America and Europe who capture the “Western Spirit.” Around 1,000 guests attended the event, which supports the National Western Scholarship Trust, a contribution that annually provides financial support to 100 college students studying agribusiness, veterinary…

In the mid-1970s Richard Prince was an aspiring artist working in Time magazine’s tear sheet department, where he would frequently come across advertisements featuring photographs of products and models. Prince eventually took the advertisements and photographed them, often only altering the framing of the original images. His most famous series, Untitled (cowboy), featured images from Marlboro cigarette ads and showed cowboys chasing down horses and cattle in highcountry pastures. Prince’s artistic methods, sometimes called “rephotographing,” touched off a firestorm of controversy that centered on the nature of art, the conventional meanings and limits of photography, and art ownership. The artist is once again revisiting Untitled (cowboy) for new work created in 2015 and 2016, work that will be the focus of a new exhibition, Richard Prince: Untitled (cowboy) now open…

A landscape by Josh Elliott that was painted for the 2014 Prix de West exhibition was recently purchased by the Whitney Western Art Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. The piece, Morning Blue, is helping to fulfill the museum’s collecting goals, according to curator Karen McWhorter, who seeks to acquire the best of contemporary art as well as historical masterworks for the museum’s permanent collection. “Morning Blue is a signature work by Josh Elliott created during a particularly strong period for the artist,” says McWhorter. “In my estimation, Elliott’s best work stands apart in its quiet elegance, technical merit, and the artist’s unique talent for depicting Western light and atmosphere. Elliott is known for his pareddown Western landscapes, which some might liken to Rockwell…

In 2006, the Desert Caballeros Western Museum embraced the idea of an annual exhibition of contemporary female artists working in the male-dominated genre of Western art. The resulting event became Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West, and after 13 years, it remains a major national event for women Western artists. The show features around 60 of the best female Western artists working today, whittled down from more than 300 applicants, and this year’s participants include Carol Swinney, Deanne McKeown, Heather J Beary, Jennifer Cavan, Peggy Judy, Sheila Cottrell, Sonja Caywood, Sue Krzyston and Suzanne Baker, among many others. Barbara Meikle focuses on animal subject matter in her paintings Morning Sun and Kickin’ Up Her Heels. She says, “This year I wanted to push the envelope with color…

Julie Nighswonger’s art exemplifies life in the West in a way that captures all the beauty of her surroundings. In a style that she describes as impressionistic realism, Nighswonger magically captures moments that are all too often taken for granted. Originally from Minnesota, Nighswonger found her way to Wyoming in 1981. Working on a ranch in the Jackson Hole area is where she fell in love with the state. She was amazed at the natural beauty that surrounded her—the vast expanse of the Wyoming sky, the feel of the air and magical beauty of the mountains. “They touched my soul,” says the artist. Today, she and her husband reside in Torrington, Wyoming. Her work explores nature, animals and the West. “Certain things catch my eye,” Nighswonger says. “It’s the crisp…

“Is Charlie Russell still an important part of Great Falls today?” It’s a simple question, but one that came with an interesting response when it was asked to Duane Braaten, director of art and philanthropy at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. “Let me put it this way,” he says, “I went to C.M. Russell Elementary School and C.M. Russell High School.” Braaten continues, “Great Falls is incredibly proud of Charlie Russell and we all roll out the red carpet to welcome guests and artists who were inspired by his legacy to come to Montana and the place he called home,” he says. “He’s such a huge part of the Great Falls story, and the story of the West. We’re honored we get to celebrate him every year.”…

Visitors to the Briscoe Western Art Museum’s 17th annual Night of Artists can spend the weekend along the banks of the San Antonio River Walk, enjoying 280 works of Western art from 75 artists, including Kim Wiggins, Mary Ross Buchholz, Abigail Gutting, Greg Beecham, George Hallmark, Z.S. Liang and C. Michael Dudash. With a ticketed preview on Friday, March 23, and Saturday, March 24, and the art sale and reception taking place Saturday evening, the Night of Artists has also added some features to its 2018 lineup. During the exhibition preview and awards dinner on Friday, there will now also be a live auction featuring up to 30 pieces. “We’re trying to create more engagement with sponsors and key collectors,” explains Briscoe Museum president Michael Duchemin. “This will really get…

The Southeastern Cowboy Gathering, hosted at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, is a feast for the eyes, ears and taste buds. Opening Thursday, March 8, and continuing through Saturday, March 10, the event uses the museum’s campus to its fullest, providing visitors unique culinary and artistic experiences. The weekend marks the opening of the exhibition Z. Z. Wei: Shadow Stories in the Booth’s temporary exhibition gallery. Wei serves as the Gathering’s featured artist, and director of curatorial services Lisa Wheeler describes his work as “richly complex, filled with humor, loneliness, peacefulness, grit and grace, tempting those who choose to look beyond the mundane to experience a unique and timeless look at life.” On Thursday, Wei will lead a gallery walk through the exhibition and give the Featured…

After several years in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas, Brian Lebel’s Old West Events is moving its annual summer sale to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Lebel’s 29th annual Cody Old West Show & Auction will land in Santa Fe June 23 and 24. The show, which will feature a two-day dealer show with dozens of vendors and a live auction, will bring a variety of Western materials, with an emphasis on cowboy art and artifacts, into Santa Fe. The city has long been associated with Native American art and culture, which will have a presence at the show, but the show will mostly focus on the American cowboy, a cultural figure that also has deep roots in the historic city. “The show will be held on the same weekend…

On January 9, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Autry Museum of the American West announced an unprecedented new partnership that will allow both museums to expand their programming content by sharing their respective collections. The two museums will also undertake joint programs and exhibitions, as well as publications. The announcement was made during a discussion about the evolving and collaborative approach for museums in the 21st century, presented by LACMA director and CEO Michael Govan and Autry Museum president and CEO W. Richard West Jr. The two Los Angeles-based museums will now be able to extensively explore the art of the American West, both past and present, in photography, paintings, sculpture and other holdings, including ceramics, weavings and more from cultures that include the American…

When he was 12 or 13 years old and living in Toledo, Ohio, Tom Decker’s brother handed him a copy of Will James’ autobiography. He began reading and became hooked on the West. “I’d take the bus and transfer to go to the public library downtown to get another Will James book,” he recalls. Today he owns a complete set of the writer’s 26 books and recently acquired some fine first editions. James (1892-1942) was born Joseph Ernest Nephtali Dufault, in Quebec. He, too, dreamed of the West and went to Saskatchewan where he learned to be a Western cowboy. “He lived the life he dreamed of,” Decker notes, “and he could draw and tell stories. He faked who he was and reinvented himself as Will James.” He began writing…

Santa Clara Pueblo painter Pablita Velarde was the daughter of one of the Pueblo’s great storytellers. She collected the stories in books accompanied by her drawings and paintings. In one story, Why Rivers Never Run Straight, she writes, “The evil spirit of drought had come and stayed too long! All of the people, the animals, the birds and the plants were in abject misery! As the days came and passed, the birds sang only sad songs; the plants drooped lower and lower; the animals walked slower and the people were haunted with despair! The earth’s rhythm was out of step!” Rain in the high desert of northern New Mexico is a vital phenomenon and one that arrives in many forms. The Pueblo people refer to narrow bands of rain that…

Two people are all that’s required to create auction excitement. It’s not always clear when, or even if, that excitement will ever happen at any given sale or with any given lot. But when it does, oh boy, stand back. Just 16 lots into the Brian Lebel’s Old West auction in Mesa, Arizona, on January 20, two bidders went toe to toe for a Roy Luttrell miniature Deadwood stagecoach. The 34-inchlong detailed replica was only expected to fetch $3,000 to $4,000, but blew right past those numbers in a thrilling set of bids that ended at $21,240, more than five times the high estimate, as well as setting an artist world auction record. And the best part: there were still two more Luttrell miniatures to follow. A miniature marshal’s wagon…

Not only is the Russell Skull Society of Artists’ annual sale inextricably linked to The Russell: An Exhibition and Sale to Benefit the C.M. Russell Museum, it even surrounds The Russell in a warm embrace for three straight days as collectors converge onto Great Falls, Montana. “The Skull Society literally surrounds the room where the auction is held. They really are intertwined completely,” says Duane Braaten, director of art and philanthropy at the C.M. Russell Museum. “Having the two events linked like that creates a buzz, from Thursday night right on through until the auction on Saturday. Artists and collectors are thrilled to be reunited, friends get to talk about the art and what they’ve purchased, and it’s just a rip-roarin’ time at an authentic Western event.” This year’s Russell…

Among the hallmarks of the American Southwest are the variations in terrain and wide ranging colors that can appear in the sky and across the landscape. The Colorado Plateau, in particular, has ever-changing light and noteworthy national parks such as the Grand Canyon. In the upcoming exhibition Confluence of Color: George Averbeck & Serena Supplee at the Museum of Northern Arizona, in Flagstaff, the artist’s inspirations from the region are on full view. “We are thrilled to showcase the work of Averbeck and Supplee,” says the museum’s curator of fine arts, Alan Petersen. “This exhibition will immerse visitors in a magical environment that illuminates the unique and inspiring landscapes of the Colorado Plateau and its influence on shaping the oeuvre of each artist.” In her watercolor and oil paintings, Supplee…