Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2021/ No. 166 i Western Art Collector

Welcome to the June issue of Western Art Collector. In May we talked about the art market opening to live shows and the excitement of the movement. Our predictions were right. For this issue, we are proud to preview 10 live events, each of which has impeccable artwork from some of the top artists in the market. We have all become adept at working together virtually these past 14 months, but we can’t wait to see art again in person. Given a choice, how would we collect Western art? Our 2021 survey results are in and we had an overwhelming response from you, our subscribers. This level of participation is what makes our art community vibrant and powerful. There are some noteworthy trends that we would like to share to…

Each episode will offer fresh perspectives on the American art market from many of the movers and shakers of the art world, including familiar faces that have been featured in the pages of our publications. We’re talking to top artists, gallery owners, museum curators, fair organizers and promoters, auction specialists and art dealers, as well as leading art experts in a variety of fields and genres. No stone will be left unturned as we dig into the fascinating and exciting world of American art. And, of course, expect to hear many voices from within the Western art market. These voices will be a complementary companion to your printed magazine and will add a new dimension to your collecting and your understanding of the West. By reading the magazines, and now…

With only the rarest of exceptions, many top awards are presented annually. Academy Awards, Emmys, Grammys, the Nobel Peace Prize, Kennedy Center Honors, the Pulitzer. If you exclude pandemic years, you can almost set a clock by these annual awards presentations. And then there’s the nation’s highest award for sculpture, the National Sculpture Society’s Special Medal of Honor. In 127 years as an organization, the society has presented the award—meant to honor people who have made significant contributions to the art of sculpture—just 45 times. And only 27 times to actual sculptors. The first was Daniel Chester French, who designed the colossal seated figure of Abraham Lincoln within the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The last one was Don Ostermiller in 2015. Well, say hello to No. 28—Oklahoma sculptor Paul…

Angela Babby (406) 672-2949, ababby@earthlink.net www.angelababby.com Brenda Murphy Arlington, TX, info@brendamurphystudio.com www.brendamurphystudio.com Carly Quinn Studio and Showroom, 730 S. Stone Avenue Tucson, AZ 85701, (520) 624-4117 www.carlyquinnfineart.com Cindy Sorley-Keichinger goldfarm@telusplanet.net, www.goldenkstudio.com Dawn Sutherland Flagstaff, AZ, (928) 593-0604 www.dawnsutherlandfineart.com Gladys Roldan-de-Moras 3760 E. Evans Road, San Antonio, TX 78259 (studio), (210) 422-5045 www.roldandemoras.com JaNeil Anderson Redrock, NM, (575) 542-9752 janeil.anderson56@gmail.com www.janeilanderson.com J.M. Brodrick www.jmbrodrick.com King Galleries 130 Lincoln Avenue #D, Santa Fe, NM 87501 (480) 440-3912, kgs@kinggalleries.com www.kinggalleries.com Leah Lucas leahmlucas@hotmail.com www.leahlucasfineart.com Legacy Gallery 7178 Main Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 945-1113, www.legacygallery.com Meyer Gallery 225 Canyon Road, Suite 15, Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 983-1434, meyersfnm@aol.com www.meyergalleries.com Mountain Trails Gallery 336 SR 179, Suite A201, Sedona, AZ 86336 (928) 282-3225, fineart@mountaintrailssedona.com www.mountaintrailssedona.com Naomi Brown (760) 885-8235, www.naomibrownart.com Sonja Caywood Dayton,…

In 1915, Charles M. Russell rolled a ball of wax between his fingers, kneading its sticky texture in his palms as he was thinking about what to make with it. He had done wolves, bears and bison—the staples of Western wildlife. He’d even sculpted little gnomes with wooden hats and moss for beards. But for this new piece, he grew even more playful. He mashed the wax and pulled it into a figure with narrow little legs, broad shoulders and a confident stance. The head was exaggerated and large, but it revealed a playful caricature. Russell, the master of paint and clay, found himself using cloth, plaster, metal and string, and then a layer of paint for color. By the end, it was 12 inches tall and a perfect likeness.…

Salish Chief Dan George (1899-1981) said, “One thing to remember is to talk to the animals. If you do, they will talk back to you. But if you don’t talk to the animals, they won’t talk back to you, then you won’t understand, and when you don’t understand you will fear, and when you fear you will destroy the animals, and if you destroy the animals, you will destroy yourself.” Edward Aldrich invites us to talk to the animals he paints—not because he portrays them as if they were lesser humans but because he paints them as they are. “I’ve been painting animal portraits since high school,” he explains. “I paint what I see. I don’t give them an expression. They’re so amazing on their own I just express what’s…

Jeremy Winborg and Jerry Jordan don’t share many aspects of their work: their painting styles are different, as are their color palettes, their tightness of detail and the overall tone of their work. But they share a love of the Southwest, and that unites them and their work in unique ways. “Obviously we share similar subject matter; Indigenous people,” Winborg says. “I think it’s more than that though. I’m often told that my work makes you happy when you view it. I’m sure that Jerry’s work has that same effect for the viewer. I know that it makes me happy.” The two artists will be sharing a new show on June 4 at Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Winborg will be presenting his large figurative work, including a…

Patrick Saunders is an award-winning artist who travels the country in an Airstream creating fine art. His mobile lifestyle offers him the opportunity to explore diverse subject matter throughout the United States, and his paintings are a documentation of modern America. “I never want for inspiration,” he says. “There’s something new and exciting with each town, city or state.” Throughout his 30-year career as an artist and teacher, Saunders has earned awards from the International Academy of the Visual Arts, the Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, the Portrait Society of America, and, in 2020, he received a gold medal from the Oil Painters of America. His plein air work has also won numerous awards at nationally recognized events, including Plein Air Easton, the Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational and…

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Oklahoma City, OK (405) 839-7872 www.nationalcowboymuseum.org What event (gallery show, museum exhibit, etc.) in the next few months are you looking forward to, and why? Of course, I am looking forward to the 49th annual Prix de West. It is my primary focus throughout the year. With artwork arriving daily, I am currently in the middle of all things Prix de West. Watching the show evolve and come together each year is an adventure, and becoming friends with the artists and their families is an experience I never imagined. We are looking forward to welcoming the artists and collectors back to the Museum for an exciting in-house event this year. What are you reading? Recently I started reading Eva Mirabal; Three Generations of Tradition and…

Episode 1: Tim Blueflint Ramel We’re talking shop with flutemaker and jeweler Tim Blueflint Ramel (Bad River Chippewa/Comanche) at the 63rd annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market in Phoenix, Arizona. And Tim plays his flute! Episode 2: Victoria Adams In-depth interview with top jeweler Victoria Adams (Southern Cheyenne/Arapaho) at the 63rd annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market in Phoenix, Arizona. She takes us through her history and tells us about her exceptional work. Episode 3: Birdie Real Bird We’re speaking with artist Birdie Real Bird (Crow) at the 63rd annual Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market in Phoenix, Arizona. She wowed judges at this year’s show with a beaded parade saddle. Episode 4: Darryl Dean Begay & Rebecca Begay We’re talking jewelry with husband-and-wife dream…

Beau Compton (719) 661-4959, beaucompton@hotmail.com Facebook: Beau Compton Silver Carly Quinn www.carlyquinnfineart.com Diana Ferguson Jewelry (262) 374-2984 www.dianafergusonjewelrystudio.com FourElements BeadWorks (505) 467-8549 www.fourelementsbeadworks.com Instagram: @fourelementsbeadworks Landry McMeans orders.landry@gmail.com www.landrymcmeans.com Instagram: @landrymcmeans Leland Hensley (254) 717-7335, www.lelandhensley.com Little Bird Painting www.littlebirdpainting.com Instagram: @littlebirdpainting Scott Hardy (403) 660-9843, scott@scotthardy.com www.scotthardy.com Instagram: @scotthardysilversmith Facebook: ScottHardySilver/Goldsmith Wilson Capron www.wilsoncapron.com Instagram: @wilsoncapron Twitter: @WilsonCapron…

Ray Roberts and Navajo Blankets will be on view at Manitou Galleries on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico, June 11 through July 3. “A lot of my inspiration and compulsion is very intuitive,” he says. His paintings combine the things he loves—the light and color of the high desert, the beauty of the Navajo people and their traditions and the intricate designs of their woven blankets. He and his wife, Peggi, were illustrators before they both turned to fine art in 1992. He admires the great illustrators of the past, “their shapes, the color and the geometry. They were pure design.” That experience led him to appreciate the designs of Navajo weaving, which influence the strong composition of his paintings. He had taken an anthropology course when he…

Painter Greg Overton has a reverence and a respect for Native American culture and people that allow him to create works that are wholly authentic and imbued with emotion. He tells all stories, from the most famous figures like Geronimo and Sitting Bull, to the lesser-known tales that are just as real and poignant. “If you’re painting Native American subject matter, you have to care about the issues they’re facing and have respect for their culture,” says Overton, who last year raised $18,000 in Covid relief funds on the Navajo Nation. “A lot of my friends growing up were Navajo. I go to different reservations and I’m just really into the culture and have been my whole life. It’s taught me a lot about humanity. To me the Native American…

Idaho-based Western painter C. Michael Dudash is no stranger to deadlines. The former illustrator was accustomed to meeting tight deadlines and turning high-quality artwork around quickly. It’s a skill he’s taking advantage of with his busy schedule that includes the Prix de West in June, the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction in July, the Quest for the West in September and the Cowboy Artists of America annual show in November. They’re some of the biggest shows in the country, and Dudash is ready for them. His work for the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction is a large painting titled Traveling an Ancient Land, showing a trio of riders coming up out of a canyon. “Whenever I have traveled the vast Southwest Territory of the United States, I am always overwhelmed by the…

The art world has been more than patient with the virtual viewing, Zoom openings and online purchasing. They served their purpose as they kept us home and safe. And now that the country is opening back up, the Prix de West is returning and it will remind us what we’ve been missing for more than a year. The annual show at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City is not the first museum show to return to a full in-person event, though it certainly is one of the biggest and most glamourous. This year, beginning June 7, guests will once again stream into the Oklahoma museum’s galleries to catch a glimpse of artworks from many of the top Western artists. The celebration weekend, June 25 and 26,…

With 40 years under his belt in the Western art world, T. Allen Lawson will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the Brinton Museum titled Recollections and Reflections. “I am still completely amazed by the whole creative process,” Lawson says. “I consider myself a student after all these years, and I’m energized and frustrated by how much there is to learn still.” Part retrospective and part new work, the show will feature paintings that depict scenes from his native Wyoming, his adopted home in Maine and many places in between. In the 2020 painting The Yard — Feeding Time, viewers see a white barn from a distance, with sheep and farm equipment dotting the landscape. “My work would be called representational in that you can recognize what you’re looking…

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West recently announced the major gift of the Fran and Ed Elliott Southwest Women Art Collection, which consists of more than 300 works from 25 talented women artists. The gift is one of the largest donations of women artists’ works to an American institution. The collection was guided to the museum by museum trustee Betsy Fahlman and museum curator Tricia Loscher. “The Elliott Collection will add a unique luster to Western Spirit, making it a destination for scholars, researchers, artists, collectors and lovers of art whose curiosity will be kindled by the incredible artistry in these works,” the museum notes. “Remarkably, all of the 25 artists whose works grace the collection have a connection to the state of Arizona, having either resided, studied, or…

A show of new works by Sean Diediker at Blue Rain Gallery titled Quiet Places, takes place June 11 through July 3. While the hypnotic, meditative series may appear to be soundless, Diediker imbues what Blue Rain says is “bold, figural compositions that emphasize well-defined elements and dynamic form.” While contemplative, the works also contain a symphony of color, story and power. Diediker is well known for his painterly pieces of the human form and the Western landscape, but it extends much further. “The core of my work consists of taking an experience and constructing a painting around it,” he says, “and this allows me to create a collective ‘journal’ of the interchanges I share with those I meet on the road. This synergy binds me with my subjects and…

Women artists focusing on Western subject matter have forged their own paths, showing the spirit of the past and present in their work. In the new exhibition Women of the West: Inspirations from History, Strengthening Today, June 4 to 30 at Mountain Trails Gallery in Sedona, Arizona, an array of works honoring these artists will be on view. Included will be pieces from Vicki Catapano, Marcia Molnar, Betty Carr, Linda Glover Gooch, Susan Kliewer, Deborah Copenhaver Fellows and Lisa Danielle, to name a few. “Mountain Trails Gallery has been a destination for American Western fine art for more than 30 years, and many of our revered and collected artists over the years just happen to be women,” says Julie R. Williams, gallery director. “From ranching to rodeo competitions, from story-telling historical themes…

In June 2020, Brian Lebel did not hold his usual summer sale and show due to the pandemic. It was a painful decision, but one that he knew was necessary. “We want to see all our friends, but we want it to be safe,” he said at the time. A year later and there is a hopeful feeling in the air: New Mexico is opening back up slowly, vaccines are being administered to more and more people every day, and events are slowly returning to the market. “Everyone is champing at the bit to do something again, so we’re excited in what this summer may bring,” says Lebel, who owns and runs the Cody Old West Show & Sale. “And we have some really great material we want to offer…

Western Art Collector magazine has changed the way artists, galleries and collectors connect, and it has closed the gap that previously existed in the Western art market. Our SOLD! section is where we highlight these connections, as well as other sales occuring within the market. Within this monthly section you can read just some of the feedback pouring into our office from coast to coast about art sales, including some made directly from the pages of the magazine. You never know—your next art purchase could be in this issue. 1. Sold-Out Show for Gladys Roldan-de-Moras in San Antonio Gladys Roldan-de-Moras had an exceptional showing at the Night of Artists exhibition at the Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas. The artist, who supported her work for the event with…