Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2020/ No. 156 i Western Art Collector

You learn a lot about people when you see how they cope with adversity. Do people rise to the occasion or submit to fear? These thoughts have been going through my mind since we started dealing with this pandemic in March. I have spent this time visiting (albeit virtually or by phone) with artists and galleries across the country. And what I’ve heard has really been inspiring. We all know what’s been happening. And I understand the stress and anxiety that this uncertainty can create and I also know how this is the complete antithesis to the mindset needed to create art. However, despite all this, I’ve seen artists enduring and continuing to create fearlessly. I’ve seen artists create whole new bodies of work in subject matters they’ve never shown…

In 2019, the Cowboy Artists of America took a huge gamble—and won big—by hosting their own show at a venue in Fort Worth, Texas. For the 2020 show, they are returning to Texas, but with a twist: This year’s sale and exhibition will take place on a historic ranch. “The Cowboy Artists of America have decided to do something a little different this year; we are going back to our roots, and headed to the country,” CAA president Teal Blake says. “This year marks the 55th anniversary and sale for the CAA and what better way to celebrate the event than to dust off the walls of an old barn and hang some art. John and Charlotte Kimberlins’ ranch lays on the banks of the Brazos River, just west of…

On July 31, Heritage Auctions will launch its Art of the West Month-long Online Auction on its website with more than 100 paintings and sculpture in the time-honored genre available. Collectors can peruse the site and bid on pieces until the sale’s final day on August 21. “We’ve found that our online auctions have been tremendously successful and our buyers are very much used to buying with the online platform,” says Alissa Ford, director of Western art at Heritage. “For me it was an easy decision to bring in great things and have people bid online.” The sale, as Ford explains, is made up of “big names, but affordable prices,” making it an auction that is desirable to collectors of all levels. Pieces by artists such as Glenna Goodacre, Cyrus…

The universe seemed to be aligning against the Scottsdale Art Auction. Due to the pandemic, the auction was rescheduled twice. The stock market was all over the place. Oil prices were way down. Even the weather wasn’t cooperating—it was 109 degrees the day before the sale. But you can’t keep Western art down, even amid blistering heat. On June 13, two months after it was originally scheduled to take place, the Scottsdale Art Auction sold nearly $10.5 million in art, with a sell-through rate of 91 percent. “The sale certainly came with challenges—we had to reschedule it twice and at one point didn’t know if we would be able to have bidders in the room—but we ended up in great shape,” says auction partner Brad Richardson. “We are pleased with…

Utah-based artist Jenna von Benedikt has long felt a connection to the natural world. In particular, the fauna of the places she has lived—stretching from her home country of England to the Rocky Mountains in America—has provided a wealth of resources and inspiration. And it’s not just the larger, familiar beasts, such as bison, that wind up on her canvases. Instead, von Benedikt has a particular fascination for hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other insects that often go unnoticed but have a large role to play in nature. “I think the big thing about my work is that it is building and keeping the connections with nature, and that’s what really prompts me,” she says, adding that connection is found in the animal, the colors and atmosphere. The pieces also show…

Gallery Wild welcomes six guest artists to exhibit paintings at their location in Jackson, Wyoming, for the Jackson Hole Art Invitational. Viewers will see masterpieces from featured artists Leslie Duke, Carrie Penley, Laura Adams, Jim Bortz and collaborative pieces by Regan Johnston and Christa Rijneveld. Luxuriously textured and colorful painting, Blooming Between Seasons by Duke, is just but one fine example of what can be expected at the show. “My work aims to amplify the beauty of seemingly simple subjects while exploring the emotional power of color,” Duke explains. “Each piece is meant to preserve a brief moment in time and leave the viewer with a greater sense of connection with the present moment.” Penley also works toward the collective good in her paintings, and hopes to capture beauty, depth…

Artist Johnson Yazzie, creates what he feels is in his heart and mind. He paints and sculpts what he’s envisioned or imagined before a formation is created. “My painting style is realistic, expressionist and abstract, all followed by layers of paint,” Yazzie explains. “I begin each canvas with heavy washes of dark colors, and slowly bring the figures forward out of that darkness. As the individuality of each subject establishes itself, the mood, the background colors and the details fall into place. I also use pastel chalks in the same manner.” Yazzie believes that doing what you love is the key to discovering oneself. “I am always growing, spiritually, artistically and mentally,” he says. “Authenticity is in the culture of the Indian artist. How authentic can art be if not…

Emmy-award winning costume designer Cathy Smith has worked on Hollywood projects for decades and was shocked to discover there was no museum solely dedicated to film and television costumes. So she started her own. Smith opened the Museum of Western Film & Costume within the Nambe Trading Post, which she owns, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The grand opening was March 1, but it promptly closed again on March 10 after the ongoing health crisis kicked into gear. But now with travel once again resuming for many, the museum is back open and ready to show off its collection. “Everything is from my personal collection. When we were starting to get everything together we went through a 28-foot trailer packed with costumes. We picked the cream of the crop,” Smith…

July 25 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction Reno, NV – (208) 772-9009 August 1-31 SWAIA Virtual Indian Market Online – (505) 983-5220 August 1-September 13 Prix de West Oklahoma City, OK – (405) 478-2250 September 9-20 Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival Jackson, WY – (307) 733-3316 September 9-October 11 Western Visions Show & Sale Jackson, WY – (307) 733-5771 September 10-12 The Russell Great Falls, MT – (406) 727-8787 September 11-October 11 Quest for the West Indianapolis, IN – (317) 636-8119 September 18-19 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Cody, WY – (888) 598-8119 November 6 Heritage Auctions’ American Art Auction Dallas, TX – (877) 437-4824 November 6-7 Cowboy Artists of America 55th Annual Sale & Exhibition Fort Worth, TX November 13 Small Works, Great Wonders Oklahoma City, OK – (405)…

“During the shutdown it was quite a challenge trying to predict what to paint._I guess the question for me was…what can I paint that will maybe help people feel hopeful and happy?” Artist Amy Lay asks herself the important questions, as she prepares for her show with Mountain Trails Gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The new body of work certainly holds a strong message for all. The forested, mountainous land of northeast Oregon is where Lay calls home, and it is continuously inspiring her artistic career. “I am very fortunate to live in a gorgeous and remote place which is full of wildlife and my nearest neighbor is out of visual range,” she explains. “I grew up here as well and now, having the chance to take my turn as…

Mountain Trails Gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, hosts an exhibition for Mark Gibson running August 7 through 15. The show will feature some new experimentation in Gibson’s artwork, as well as his signature luminescent teepee paintings._ “I started a bison series to get a bit more contemporary. It’ll have images [of bison that] fill the canvas up pretty well, and the backgrounds are a glazed off-white. Almost portrait stuff. It gives a different perspective from what I’ve usually done, and they are really fun to do,” says Gibson. His bison series consists of all large paintings, 36 by 36 inches or larger._ One of Gibson teepee paintings, the “old standbys” as he dubs them, is Fly By. The teepee in the center of the composition pulls the eye toward it…

The history of the horse and the animal’s relationship to humans is relatively well known. From transportation to essential labor, to recreation and competition, the ways in which we interact with horses is widespread, and some individuals share deeper connections with the equine creatures than others. Every year, the Phippen Museum in Prescott, Arizona, honors and celebrates these phenomenal beasts during its Hold Your Horses! Invitational Exhibition & Sale. “It’s exciting to bring together returning artists with new invitees to deliver a different and fresh exhibit each year. With 36 participating artists in our 2020 show, we are thrilled to invite in six new participants,” says Phippen Museum executive director Edd Kellerman. This year, the invitational exhibition runs from August 1 to September 20 in the museum’s grand Marley Gallery,…

On May 6, a life-size bison weighing nearly 3,000 pounds was installed at the Golden Spike National Historical Park in Promontory, Utah, at the site where the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad connected the first transcontinental rail line on May 10, 1869. The bronze work, created by Utah artist Michael Coleman, is titled Distant Thunder and is meant to represent the sound of the wild bison that once roamed the area, and the locomotives that united the coasts. The piece was commissioned by Naoma Tate and the Family of Hal Tate, who donated it the Golden Spike National Historical Park. It was unveiled at a low-key ceremony, due to the ongoing health restrictions just days prior to the 151st anniversary of the Golden Spike event, which was…

New Mexico jeweler Jennifer Jesse Smith says her career as an artist was started thanks to a Lakota medicine bag. “As a child growing up in the Black Hills of South Dakota, I was fortunate to be surrounded by Lakota culture and spirituality. My mother and Lakota grandmother made me a sacred Lakota beaded medicine bag, instructing me to wear it every day for protection,” she says. “My grandmother, Darlene YoungBear, was one of the last old-time traditional Lakota healers. My mother, Cathy Smith, was her apprentice and they taught me everything I value in life, living, healing and art. They blessed my little medicine bag with sage and put sacred things inside.” She adds that the bag was a “source of endless wonder, mystery and spiritual power. It validated…

On June 4 and 5, Hindman hosted its Arts of the American West auction to enthusiastic bidders across four online platforms, as well as to phone buyers and absentees. Having hosted a number of online sales in the company’s history, the shift to the remote auction was an easy transition and enabled the auction house to field the flurry of sales easily for this two-day event. In all, the auction achieved $1.7 million, with its first day, dedicated to Western paintings and sculpture, accounting for $1.3 million of that total. “Our Western art session garnered immense presale interest regardless of the current global circumstances. It was immensely gratifying to share the results with all our consignors. Collectors continue to enjoy our auctions, which incorporate a mix of historic and contemporary…