Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2023/No. 195 i Western Art Collector

Welcome to the November issue of Western Art Collector! As you read through this issue you can sense the leaves falling, the temperatures lowering and the holidays soon upon us. Like the fall season, Western Art Collector begins our own season of tradition with gallery openings, shows, exhibitions and special sections that are loved annually. Let’s get started with Maxwell Alexander Gallery’s annual Black Friday sale starting at 9 a.m., November 24. This is a collector show not to be miss with more than 52 Western artists represented. It is one of the most anticipated shows of the season. Check out our preview on Page 74. Settlers West Gallery’s Great American West show feels like an annual homecoming for collectors and artists. You will see more than 50 Western artists’…

THROUGH JANUARY 13, 2024 JACK AND SHANAZ LANGSON INSTITUTE AND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA ART Bohemian of the Arroyo Seco: Idah Meacham Strobridge Irvine, CA – (949) 476-0003 imca.uci.edu THROUGH JANUARY 20, 2024 COUSE-SHARP HISTORIC SITE Plein Air Painters of America: Out West www.pleinairpaintersofamerica.com www.couse-sharp.org THROUGH JANUARY 28, 2024 HARWOOD MUSEUM OF ART Harwood Museum of Art Centennial Celebration Taos, NM – (575) 758-9826 www.harwoodmuseum.org THROUGH JANUARY 31, 2024 CHIMAYO TRADING DEL NORTE Walt Gonske Ranchos de Taos – (575) 758-0504 www.chimayotrading.com THROUGH FEBRUARY 4, 2024 OJAI VALLEY MUSEUM Ojai Mystique Ojai, CA – (805) 640-1390 www.ojaivalleymuseum.org THROUGH FEBRUARY 18, 2024 MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART DENVER Cowboy Denver, CO – (303) 236-1836 www.mcadenver.org THROUGH FEBRUARY 25, 2024 WESTERN SPIRIT: SCOTTSDALE’S MUSEUM OF THE WEST Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo Scottsdale,…

Opening November 11 at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, is Dorothea Lange & Pirkle Jones: Death of a Valley, a photography exhibition that examines the final year of Northern California’s Berryessa Valley before it was permanently submerged beneath the lake created by the new Monticello Dam. The original photographs were part of a 1956 collaborative project for Life magazine by Dorothea Lange and Bay Area photographer Pirkle Jones. “Lange and Jones spent about a year photographing the Berryessa Valley. They began with scenic landscapes and portraits of people living, working, and finally, moving. Other scenes included the town’s last Memorial Day, the final round-up, and the last harvest. Heavy machinery and government workers are seen stripping the valley of buildings, landmarks and vegetation,” the museum notes. “In…

“I have been an artist much of my whole life,” says Ronnie Wells. “I realized I could draw at the early age of 5. Having an opportunity to grow up on a small rural farm was instrumental in becoming who I am today. I was constantly sketching the birds and animals around my childhood home.” Wells, who graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 1968 with a fine arts degree, remembers the words of his art teachers. “I remember one of my college professors stating, ‘one must learn to look at the world through the eyes of an artist’,” he says. After graduation, Wells became a medical illustrator at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston. “I needed a means to provide a living for my wife, Patricia, and our two young children.…

The theme for Ojai Valley Museum’s new exhibition, Ojai Mystique, currently on view, is a simple one: celebrating the beauty of the Ojai landscape. Co-curators, and Ojai-based, participating artists Dan Schultz and Jennifer Moses, also add that the exhibition is an homage to and a continuation of the historic legacy of painting in the Ojai Valley. The small coastal town, situated between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, has been known to attract many an artist with its natural scenery, including the main attraction of the region—the Topatopa Mountains. “The landscape of California’s Ojai Valley has been inspiring artists for more than a century,” continues Schultz, also a board member at the museum. “Some of the early California impressionist painters, including Edgar Payne and Elmer and Marion Wachtel, created paintings in…

Enthusiasts of California history may be familiar with Los Angeles’s past as an art colony, but there’s one name they probably don’t know—and should: Idah Meacham Strobridge. The UCI Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art has showcased Strobridge’s contributions to the early California artists’ movement in the exhibition Bohemian of the Arroyo Seco. Strobridge was raised in the remote Nevada desert and anticipated she would live out her life there, until tragedy struck. “She lost her husband and children and she needed to reinvent herself, so she started to teach herself bookbinding,” says Susan Anderson, who guest curated the exhibition. “She started writing and sending things out to newspapers and journals and actually getting published, and she got to a point where she realized she needed…

On September 22, at the conclusion of the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival, the Jackson Hole Art Auction realized nearly $4 million in sales across a variety of categories. With collectors, both locals and those traveling into Wyoming, on hand for the sale, the auction house saw impressive results with images of Native Americans and also wildlife. The top lot was Status Symbols, a Howard Terpning portrait of a Native American figure holding a spear and shield. The piece, estimated at $200,000 to $500,000, sold within estimates at $390,000. Terpning also had a second work among the top-10 lots, Blackfeet Regalia, which sold for $84,000, just below its $100,000 low estimate. Another artist who had two top lots was wildlife artist Tucker Smith, whose pieces Drift Fence (est. $70/100,000) sold…

What I’ve always loved about the art world is how it caters to whatever kind of art enthusiast you are. Casual admirers might not want to go super deep on technique, learn about an artist’s inspiration, or explore modern-day desert paintings within the context of post-Maynard Dixon Southwest landscapes. Some people just want to look at beautiful pictures. And that’s OK. Others want to plunge in and find out how deep it all goes. They want all the details, all the context, every nugget of information. I had a painting come across my desk as we were putting the finishing touches on this issue, and the image made me truly appreciate how layered a work of art can be. The piece is on our cover this month. It’s by Muscogee…

JANUARY 3, 2024 COORS WESTERN ART EXHIBIT & SALE Denver, CO – (303) 291-2567 JANUARY 26-27, 2024 BRIAN LEBEL’S CODY OLD WEST SHOW & AUCTION Las Vegas, NV – (877) 968-8880 JANUARY 2024 (DATES TBA) PIWAA SYMPOSIUM Denver, CO – (720) 865-5000 FEBRUARY 16-18, 2024 SOUTHEASTERN WILDLIFE EXPOSITION Charleston, SC – (843) 723-1748 FEBRUARY 2024 (DATES TBA) MASTERS OF THE AMERICAN WEST Los Angeles, CA – (323) 667-2000 MARCH 2024 (DATES TBA) THE RUSSELL Great Falls, MT – (406) 727-1939 MARCH 2024 (DATES TBA) DESERT CABALLEROS COWGIRL UP! Wickenburg, AZ – (928) 684-2272 MARCH 14-16, 2023 MARCH IN MONTANA Coeur d’Alene, ID – (208) 664-2091 MARCH 14-16, 2024 OUT WEST ART SHOW & SALE Great Falls, MT – (406) 590-1961 MARCH 22-23, 2024 BRISCOE WESTERN ART MUSEUM NIGHT OF ARTISTS…

Whitney Gardner paints a desert unknown to most, including visitors to Joshua Tree National Park. Dotted with odd-looking vegetation—ocotillo, jumping cholla, and the Dr. Seuss-looking trees that give the park its name, her boulder-strewn stretch of the Mojave quickly gives way to dry lakebeds and spare landscapes that double as training ground for U.S. Marines headed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Her nearest town is 29 Palms, the northeastern gateway to the national park. She lives in Wonder Valley, a small, unincorporated community of ranchettes and desert people doing desert things, another 20 minutes past town. Beyond there lies the kind of landscape that rattles the faint of heart, inspiring names like Skeleton Pass, Lost Horse Mine and Devil’s Playground. Keep diving east and you’re at the Colorado River. Cross it,…

The German romantic landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) wrote, “When a scene is shrouded in mist, it seems greater, nobler and heightens the viewers’ imaginative powers, increasing expectation—like a veiled girl. Generally the eye and the imagination are more readily drawn by nebulous distance than by what is perfectly plain for all to see.” The mysterious reality of monochromatic mist, rain and fog obscures, for some, the more comfortable reality of bright skies, clear forms and color. For others there is a more emotional, spiritual reality to the mist—a feeling of calm, a time for contemplation and a feeling of revelation when they lift. There is an unmeasurable vastness to the mist, even in small paintings by artists who are acutely aware. As a fly fisherman, Dave Hall is…

UPCOMING SHOW Up to 24 works November 3-16, 2023 Meyer Gallery 225 Canyon Road Santa Fe, NM, 87501 (505) 983-1434 www.meyergalleries.com SHOW LOCATION: SANTA FE, NM Most of us have scrambled to pull out our phones and capture a crimson sunset or billowing thunderhead, only to find the camera can’t interpret what it’s really like to be there. Plein air painters can wait in anticipation but aren’t able to move fast enough to jot down a moment before it becomes the next. For P.A. Nisbet, synthesizing those mythic experiences in nature is what it’s all about. Known for his sweeping landscapes and finely rendered clouds, Nisbet is not a documentarian. What to leave in, what to take out. When to eliminate the superfluous and reconstruct more powerful ideas. How to…

UPCOMING SHOW Up to 48 works Through January 31, 2024 Chimayo Trading Del Norte #1 Saint Francis Church Plaza Ranchos de Taos, NM 87557 (575) 758-0504 www.chimayotrading.com SHOW LOCATION: RANCHO DE TAOS, NM In the winter of 1971, Walt Gonske was working as men’s fashion illustrator in New York City when he took a trip to visit his sister in Taos, New Mexico. Captivated by the brilliance of the light, the vistas and clean mountain air, he saved up enough money to return the following summer. “I came out on a prayer that I could make it as a fine artist selling landscapes,” says Gonske, who was encouraged to see so many galleries showing representational work, which wasn’t the case in New York. “I thought maybe I could go back…

The Old West is where Colorado artist Gregory Mayse finds his inspiration. His passion is using oil paint to put those inspirations on canvas. “I work to capture the emotions and character in the faces of my subjects. I want the viewer to appreciate the narrative and the character I put into each subject,” he says. “I am trying to pull them in and look a while longer at the details and other elements the go into each story-telling piece.” Usually Mayse is working on several pieces at one time in his studio. The music of great Western movie composer Ennio Morricone is often heard echoing through his Western-themed studio. He continues, “I am fortunate to have had a career as a photographer and now as a painter. I am…

Being an artist is not knowing everything, but continuously learning. It’s a sentiment subscribed to by painter Leah Lucas. “I am still growing as an artist. Each day, each painting pushes me further into a world that is constantly changing and asking more of me,” she says. “I see that my painting is never totally finished until it reaches the eye of the viewer, and it was certainly so with my experience to choose to paint Intention and Trust, a painting done from my heart. Dealing with the composition of the tender subject matter meant I truly had to delve into unknown territory and research. The ‘art of stepping away,’ as my mentor Richard Nichols likes to suggest, stood me well through the intense process.” Intention and Trust was presented…

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West will feature two masters, Andy Warhol and Billy Schenck, and their spin on the West in a traveling exhibition now on view. Western Pop: Andy Warhol & Billy Schenck is a dynamic exhibition celebrating these exemplary artists that first debuted at the Briscoe Western Art Museum in 2018. The show proudly came to Scottsdale in June 2023, and runs through November 26, breathing new life into an already immortalized era but with a fresh perspective. The exhibit is made up of two individual exhibitions: Andy Warhol: Cowboys & Indians and Billy Schenck: Myth of the West. In Western Spirit’s announcement, the museum’s chief curator, Tricia Loscher, says, “We are thrilled to unveil these two contemporary Western art exhibitions together and offer our visitors…

It’s undeniable that groups of people throughout art history, such as women and people of color, were often kept from opportunities or erased from the history books altogether. This is especially true of queer communities, despite their clear contributions to the art world, and even more so, to the world of Western art. Opening on November 11, the New Mexico Museum of Art presents Out West: Gay and Lesbian Artists in the Southwest 1900-1969—an honest and compelling exhibition consisting of 30 artworks. While many might not think of the Southwest as the most inclusive region of the United States, the New Mexico Museum of Art notes that places like Northern New Mexico offered “a safe space for early queer artists to live unhampered by the stigmas and social restrictions present…

Jackson Hole QuickDraw sees strong sales in Wyoming After Jennifer Johnson finished her quickdraw piece during the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival on September 16, she stood in front of the crowd to tell them about the painting. “You can’t see Tetons behind the [Million Dollar] Cowboy, but I moved a mountain, so there you go,” she told the crowd of bidders. The painting went on to sell for $18,500, one of the top lots of this year’s quickdraw. Other artists whose work performed well included Aaron Hazel, who painted an iconic bucking bronco and rider against a teal background, and Bryce Pettit, who made a small fawn out of clay. Interested in having your SOLD! stories featured in the pages of Western Art Collector magazine? Email Michael Clawson at…

Subscribe today to get the best Western art magazine in the country, and the only monthly magazine that highlights the top artists, galleries, museums, fairs and auctions throughout the art market. Need proof? The proof is in your hands. Flip through this issue to see the best coverage of the American West: ★ Previews of all the biggest events, shows and sales.★ Destination guides from the hottest art markets.★ Special genre sections to expand your collecting power.★ 12 issues a year, each one presenting work from the top artists and the rising newcomers…and everyone in between! Hitch your wagon to the go-to source trusted by artists, gallery owners, museum curators, auction specialists and collectors. Saddle up with Western Art Collector. SUBSCRIBE TODAY BY VISITING www.WesternArtCollector.com/subscribe $55 FOR 12 ISSUES! $65…

UPCOMING SHOW Up to 105 works November 18-25, 2023 Settlers West Galleries 6420 N. Campbell Avenue Tucson, AZ 85718 (520) 299-2607 www.settlerswest.com SHOW LOCATION: TUCSON, AZ Every year, one of the most anticipated shows at Tucson-based gallery Settlers West is The Great American West exhibition. It’s the gallery’s banner show, where “the most sought-after artists go out of their way to create stellar, memorable pieces for the occasion,” says Settlers West manager Mike Salkowski. More than 50 artists are participating in the 2023 show, with a total of 105 new works on display for the opening. “Our opening night purchase draw often feels like an exciting reunion, with many artists and patrons in attendance to view these outstanding works in person, as they are meant to be seen,” Salkowski adds.…

UPCOMING SHOW Up to 12 works Nov. 15-Dec. 15, 2023 Claggett/Rey Gallery 216 Main Street, Suite C-100 Edwards, CO 81632, (970) 476-9350 www.claggettrey.com SHOW LOCATION: EDWARDS, CO Artists are often asked the question, “What inspires you?” It’s a simple question but also a loaded one, because for many artists, inspiration can be anywhere and everywhere all at once. Sometimes, the most challenging part is sifting through the cacophony of stimuli in order to distill it down to something tangible—turning experience into art. Posing that question to pastelist W. Truman Hosner, without hesitation, he says, “Life itself. No kidding! That’s why I paint from life almost exclusively, never from photos. That way my paintings become a performance of experience whereby I try to put everything I’ve learned into play over a…

Born in Mansfield, Ohio, Ron Lape has devoted much of his life to art. “I have been painting since I was a young man. I am a self-taught artist,” he says. “I find inspiration in the West and the older way of life and the people who lived during that time.” New works include his two cowboys amid later-afternoon light, Golden Our, and also a dramatic hunting scene titled Spring Hunt, showing a line of Native Americans along a ridge. “My style is a cross between representational and photorealism. I like painting both in detail and looser painterly styles,” he says. “I think it gives my collectors and new buyers a choice. I make many of my still life artifacts, which gives me a sense of what time and effort…

Even though they’re small in size, miniatures provide big opportunities. Opportunities for artists to flex their precision skills, and opportunities for new collectors to start building their collections. This month, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum will hold its 18th annual Small Works, Great Wonders show and sale, featuring small works from more than 125 contemporary artists, including Joshua Tobey, Paige Pierson, Kenny McKenna and many more. Tobey typically sculpts two or three monuments a year and finds miniatures to be a nice change of pace. “Imagine, you’re up and down, on your knees or bent over every day,” he says. The work takes a toll, which has made him appreciate sculpting smaller pieces. “I love the intimacy and being able to sit down…I like to let a sculpture…

Artist A.R. Mitchell (1889-1975) played many roles throughout his life and career: ranch hand, cartoonist, Western pulp magazine cover artist, fine artist, historian and so much more. Mitchell also photographed many aspects of his hometown in Trinidad, Colorado, but these works remain largely unseen, at least until recently. The A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art, with a mission to preserve and promote Mitchell’s work, aims to change that with its annual Resonance Art Invitational. More than 30 nationally recognized artists have been invited to participate in a celebration of Mitchell’s many achievements and his photographic works. “The show will display each artist’s piece alongside an enlarged print of the chosen photo, inviting viewers to enjoy and compare the regional history and diverse subject matter in Mitchell’s photography to a newly…

This November, Hindman is offering a wide variety of Western artwork during its two-day Western & Contemporary Native American Art sale. Among the two sessions, bidders will find a focus on historic Western art, alongside a strong selection of contemporary Western and wildlife paintings, as well as contemporary Native American fine art and objects—a total of nearly 200 lots. “From historic to contemporary, the material featured in this auction displays the quality, range and skill of some of the most important names in Western, Southwestern, wildlife and contemporary Native American art,” says Alexandria Dreas, Western art specialist at Hindman. One of the standout lots in the upcoming sale is Taos Society artist Eanger Irving Couse’s Mysteries of the Stream, estimated at $200,000 to $300,000. “Mysteries of the Stream is an…