Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2020/ No. 160 i Western Art Collector

Welcome to our December issue! This issue wraps up 2020, the year of the #newnorm in art buying, as well as everything else in the world. We look forward to 2021, and we’re hopeful of fully gaining back the momentum that we had coming into the year—we want to travel, go to events, visit museums and meet artists. We are here to tell you that art buying is on the rise. As we close 2020, collectors are still collecting and our galleries and auctions are selling artwork at record prices. People want art in their life and Western Art Collector is the bridge to this. As we close out 2020, we want to take a moment to thank you—our subscribers for your loyalty to the collecting of Western art and…

Earlier this summer, after some reflection on the diversity in Western art, Mark Maggiori started a painting showing two Black cowboys on horseback. Before it was completed, he began contemplating where the piece might end up and his thoughts immediately went to Texas. “I knew I wanted it in a museum, because there wasn’t a lot of history there as far as I could tell. Joe Beeler had done some Black cowboys, but they were never on horseback and never working. I felt strongly about the piece because it showed Black working cowboys,” he says. “My first call was to the Briscoe Western Art Museum because it’s based in Texas, which has a strong cowboy history. Texas also had a lot of slaves, which means a lot of its history…

Discover New Art Available For Sale The art of major deceased and contemporary Western artists is in demand, and if you’re serious about acquiring new works, you need to know when they become available. When you subscribe to Western Art Collector magazine you’ll be the first to know about new works because each month we’ll email you the link to the latest issue online. You’ll have instant access to the latest issue when it is published. You’ll see art coming available for sale before the shows even open. Coast-To-Coast Coverage See new art being created by major Western artists coast to coast. Many readers travel across the country to acquire pieces from galleries showing new work in this magazine. Covering The Major Art Destinations Our State of the Art sections…

Tim and Linda Cherry Readers of this magazine may be familiar with Tim Cherry’s polished and stylized metal works of Western wildlife that have appeared at many galleries and museum exhibitions all around the country. In recent years, though, Tim has joined his wife, Linda Cherry, in the studio and the duo has been designing jewelry under the name TLC Fine Art Jewelry. “TLC Fine Art Jewelry is a joyful expression of art, animals and nature,” Tim says of the designs. “It’s wearable art that speaks to your inner-animal.” The project is very much a union of Tim and Linda’s interests and passions, including Tim’s style that is influenced by the “art nouveau culture with uniquely orchestrated compositions and avant-garde patinas.” Linda puts her mark on the work by complementing…

This summer, the American Alliance of Museums warned that as many as one third of all American museums were in danger of closing permanently during the pandemic and the resulting economic downturn. For Seth Hopkins, executive director of the Booth Western Art Museum in Georgia, that was a troubling warning. “We’ve had people tell us that, in no uncertain terms, they wouldn’t be participating in much of anything until there was a reliable vaccine or the health concerns were significantly lessened. Obviously, if we can get through this, there will be a lot of pent-up interest in museums, art lectures, exhibitions and other museum programming,” he says. “The trick is making it through all this.” Hopkins, who’s expanded the Booth’s online programming during the pandemic and museum closures, says there’s…

We could all use a little peace and tranquility these days, and nothing gets you to that meditative state quite like the work of Troy Collins. Starting December 18, Mountain Trails Gallery will be displaying Collins colorful, serene paintings of trees. Collins has no shortage of inspiration, with his studio location in the mountains of Hamilton, Montana, surrounded by 20 acres of land. “People often ask me how I get my inspiration,” says Collins. “It’s not tough. I walk about my back door and I’m right in the middle of aspens and cottonwoods, and I look out my window at the Bitterroot River.” When Collins first started painting, it was all about aspen groves “because of their character and white bark,” Collins says. “Having lived in Montana for most of…

After a hit show in 2019, Tom Browning is returning to Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, with another Christmas-themed show titled Life With Santa, which opens November 19 and continues through Christmas. Browning, who first started painting Santa Claus in 1980, is considered one of the greatest painters of Santa in the country. His early works were so successful, he spun it off into its own series, Santa’s Time Off, from which individual pieces were widely reproduced and exhibited. The 2019 show featured many older works from Browning’s own collection, but 2020 will feature brand new works Santas. “Although a few of the paintings are from our personal archives, most of the pieces are new and will all be seen for the first time at Legacy,” he says. “Most of…

2020 will be remembered for many things, but in the Western world, 2020 will go down as the year Maynard Dixon became the star of Scottsdale, Arizona. Throughout the year, Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West presented its hit exhibition Maynard Dixon’s American West. Then, in the summer and just around the corner and down the street, the Scottsdale Art Auction offered more than a dozen Dixon works to bidders. Now, completing a trinity of Dixon showings in the Arizona city—Scottsdale’s appropriate nickname: the West’s Most Western Town—is Western Spirit’s A.P. Hays Family Maynard Dixon Collection. Hays, a prominent collector and supporter of the museum, has been a vocal advocate for Dixon and his work, and is excited to bring a selection of Dixon work to the museum’s visitors.…

CALVIN NICHOLLS PAPER SCULPTURE www.calvinnicholls.com For more information please contact calvin@calvinnicholls.com BILL NEBEKER Cowboy Artists of America www.billnebeker.com (928) 899-6458 • nebekerart@cableone.net ANDY SANCHEZ FURNITURE www.andysanchez.com 4 Archibeque Dr. Algodones, NM 87001 • (505) 385-1189 • Andy@andysanchez.com NEW WEST FINE ART / NEW WEST KNIFEWORKS www.NewWestFineArt.com 98 Center St, Jackson WY 83001 • (307) 730-9262 www.NewWestKnifeWorks.com Jackson Hole | Park City | Napa Valley • (877) 258-0100 KIM SHIRLEY / CORVIDAE www.corvidaedrawingsdesigns.com 860 N. Meridian, Kalispell, MT • corvidaedd@gmail.com BARBARA MILES MILES AND MILES TRADING www.milesnativearts.com (SF Bay Area) • miles@milesnativearts.com • 415-519-7797 PET PORTRAITS BY FIONA PURDY www.petportraitsbyfiona.com (602) 770-0529 • fiona@petportraitsbyfiona.com Gift Certificates Available…

Christopher Cardozo, one of the leading experts and dealers of materials related to photographer and ethnographer Edward S. Curtis, likes to keep his eyes and ears open when it comes to Curtisrelated materials that turn up online. So when an auction listing for an obscure plaster cast popped up eBay, Cardozo’s senses started tingling. “The owner didn’t know anything about it, and most people wouldn’t know either. I had seen a bronze of the plaster cast at one of Curtis’ grandchildren’s homes, and then another offered online years before,” Cardozo says. “It was a remarkable find.” The plaster cast was created by Alfred Lenz in 1906 and it was modeled after one of Curtis’ photographs, Vash Gon–Jicarilla, from 1904. After Curtis commissioned the artist for bronzes, Curtis gifted them to…

Jim Rey had his first mustang at the age of 6 growing up in Palo Alto, California, and spent a lot of his youth at his grandfather’s ranch in the Bay Area. Today, he lives on a ranch in Colorado where his horses come up to the porch of his studio to be in the shade. He knows his horses, but it’s hard to have them there for easy reference. In Fall Cattle Drive, a cowboy rides along a ridge, while the rest of the crew and the cattle move along below. The figures are small within the composition, allowing the vastness of the landscape to dominate. Rey says, “If it’s big country, it better look like big country.” The somber colors of fall and the approaching storm clouds are…

The mystique of the night is enthralling—skies of deep blues and twilight purples, the land illuminated only by the glow of the moon. While the color palette is somewhat limited in a nocturne, the challenge to create a piece filled with emotion and energy is what makes the subject so enjoyable, says California-based painter David Jonason. His oil Saguaro Moon, depicting the towering saguaros of Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona, at night, is part of a forthcoming show at Manitou Galleries’ Canyon Road location. The exhibition, Night Visions, zeroes in on nocturnal scenes, many depicting the Southwest. “It’s a very different challenge from painting the landscapes of New Mexico [in daylight],” says Jonason of creating night scenes. “The mountains, the mist. You can’t do that with nocturnes. Some people…

While living in New York City, artist Brenda Wolf had a dream of a grizzly bear. It was a transformative experience that led her to painting animals, and eventually, in 1997, moving to Great Falls, Montana, where she’s been ever since. “And I haven’t stopped yet, nor have I looked back,” she says. Wolf, who paints using her fingers due to the closer connection to the artwork, says she begins each painting starting with their eyes. Eventually a name jumps out at her “and we are off on our journey of self-discovery. My emotions are expressed through their faces, both subtle and strong,” she says. “The finished piece conveys a particular emotion for me. Each animal/painting is a direct link to my subconscious and in turn, allows me to have…

United in their love of the outdoors, and capturing what they see in paint, four artists are coming together for a unique new retrospective exhibition December 4 at Steamboat Art Museum in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The exhibition, titled Four Directions – Common Paths, will feature the work of Ralph Oberg, Matt Smith, Skip Whitcomb and Dan Young. “The Steamboat Art Museum is honored to present Four Directions – Common Paths: Oberg, Smith, Whitcomb, Young bringing together the work of these four preeminent plein air painters of the West,” says Betse Grassby, executive director at Steamboat Art Museum. “This exhibition demonstrates the wonderful synergistic impact of their 30-year relationships—a story of kinship, adventure and cross-pollination to become their best. We look forward to sharing this experience.” The artists, dubbed the “Four Amigos”…

Western lots will play a big role in both the online and live American art sales at Sotheby’s in New York City on December 11. The online sale, which opens December 3 and closes on December 11, will feature two important Western pieces from major names. The first is E. William Gollings’ Evening Camp, showing a Native American camp at night. The work depicts a figure and several horses, as well as a brilliant glowing light coming from the main teepee in the composition. Gollings’ 1919 oil is estimated at $40,000 to $60,000. Another work in the online sale is Oscar E. Berninghaus’ oil Two Indians On Horseback. The snowy painting, which actually shows three figures, is estimated at $20,000 to $30,000. One of the most anticipated lots in the…

December 3: Heritage Auctions' American Art Auction Dallas, TX − (877) 437-4824 November 27-December 11 SWAIA Virtual Winter Indian Market Santa Fe, NM – (505) 983-5220 December 1 Heritage Auctions’ Art of the West Auction Dallas, TX – (877) 437-4824 December 3 Heritage Auctions’ American Art Auction Dallas, TX – (877) 437-4824 January 21-24, 2021 Brian Lebel’s Mesa Old West Show & Auction Mesa, AZ – (480) 779-9378 February 12-14, 2021 Southeastern Wildlife Exposition Charleston, SC – (843) 723-1748 February 13-March 28, 2021 Masters of the American West Los Angeles, CA – (323) 667-2000 March 6-7, 2021 Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market Phoenix, AZ – (602) 252-8840 March 17-20, 2021 Out West Art Show & Sale Great Falls, MT – (406) 899-2958 March 18-20, 2021 March in Montana…

Mark Sublette is a man of many talents: doctor, gallery owner, author, podcast host, YouTube personality, art expert and historian. Now add another one—jewelry designer. Sublette has teamed up with third-generation jewelry artist Sam Patania to create his own line of Southwest-inspired jewelry. The works—now available at Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, and on his website—prominently feature silver and gold, as well as exceptional stones, including turquoise. The pieces are certainly inspired by Native American jewelry, but also call out to Sublette’s own history and interests, including a simple chevron design element that can be seen in many of the pieces, including in the Medicine Man Gallery logo. “For me it all came down to these strong Southwestern design elements,” says Sublette. “And also the materials. Everything is top…

Curator of Art National Museum of Wildlife Art Jackson Hole, WY (307) 733-5771 www.wildlifeart.org What event (gallery show, museum exhibit, etc.) in the next few months are you looking forward to, and why? I am looking forward to seeing any exhibit right now! Of course I am excited about our openings at NMWA. This fall we are featuring an exhibition about Sage Grouse that is comprised of photographs by Noppadol Paothong and next summer we will be opening Un/Natural Selections, which speaks to the different and complex ways contemporary artists represent wildlife. I am drawn to exhibits of contemporary or modern artworks, including artists Yoyio Kusama, Kay WalkingStick and Julie Buffalohead, who have had solo exhibitions this summer. What are you reading? I usually have several books going at one…

It’s true what they say, “Distance makes the heart grow fonder.” Nine months removed from the last art show I attended, and I miss them now more than ever. One of the last events was the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market in early March in Phoenix. We were still shaking hands back then, and hugging, and eating together, and living life together. That same weekend, Legacy Gallery hosted a phenomenal C. Michael Dudash show. Looking back on both events, I regret not staying longer. Mingling longer. Viewing the art with others longer. It’s been said in this magazine already, but it bears repeating here: When it’s safe to return to shows again, I don’t want to ever miss an opportunity to experience art with others again. Museums, fairs,…

Charles Dayton 400 Dayton Drive, Cokeville, WY 83114 (307) 220-8542, www.charlesdayton.com Claggett/Rey Gallery 216 Main Street, Edwards, CO 81632 (917) 476-9350, www.claggettrey.com Den Schofield 501 Peak Drive, Riverton, WY 82501 (307) 240-1673. denschofield@gmail.com www.denschofield.com Dino Mehaffie (714) 235-6191, www.dinomehaffie.com Medicine Man Gallery 6872 E. Sunrise Drive, #130, Tucson, AZ 85750, (520) 722-7798 www.medicinemangallery.com Ray Darnell (505) 250-2590, applewoodmtn@gmail.com www.maeroadartgallery.com RJD Gallery 2385 Main Street, Bridgehampton, NY 11932 (631) 725-1161. www.rjdgallery.com Sam Thiewes samthiewes@gmail.com, www.samthiewes.com Sorrel Sky Gallery 828 Main Avenue, Durango, CO 81301 (970) 247-3555 125 W. Palace Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 501-6555 www.sorrelsky.com Tom Browning 8703 E. Eagle Feather Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85266 (541) 213-2134, tombrowning@yahoo.com www.tombrowning.com…

The compelling paintings of Roseta Santiago arise from a vivid dream world. Her art is a gateway into the hearts of her subjects and a conduit for expressing the artist’s emotional contemplation of the world around her. Following a successful career in commercial design—which funded her move to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and allowed her to devote long, intense hours to developing her skills as a fine art painter—Santiago has risen to become one of America’s leading contemporary artists. Faces inspire Santiago and are often the foundation for a new painting. “I always know when I see a face whether or not I want to paint it,” she says. “It’s not necessarily classic ideas of beauty that draw me—often it is something arresting, unique, a suggested revelatory character that shines…

Each December, the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg, Arizona, honors important artists from the Grand Canyon State with a lifetime achievement award. The 2020 recipient is Bill Anton, the Prescott painter who has devoted his career to capturing working cowboys in the West. Anton will not only receive the prestigious award—he joins past recipients Ed Mell, John Coleman and other prominent artists—but he will also be honored with a retrospective exhibition, Bill Anton Paints the West, which opens December 19 and continues through February 28, 2021. The lifetime achievement award will be presented to him at the ticketed event heART of the West Gala, set for January 16, 2021. For the retrospective, Anton helped organize the loans for the museum, a process that he enjoyed. “First thing I noticed…