Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2024/No. 200 i Western Art Collector

The beginning of awe-inspiring and iconic “national parks” first sprung to life in 1872 with the establishment of the first park that we now know as Yellowstone National Park. Fast forward to August 25, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act, thus creating the National Park Service. The parks would be fall within the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, which would be responsible with protecting the national parks, and helping to preserve these precious lands for future generations. It may come as a surprise to some that many artists, and more specifically, Western artists, were huge catalysts in the formation of the National Park Service, calling for preservation and using their talents to bring about awareness. This includes the likes of Carl Rungius,…

2801 W. Airport Freeway, Dallas, TX 75261, (877) 437-4824, (214) 528-3500, www.ha.com Heritage Auctions is the third-largest auction house in the world with more than 40 different auction categories. It is headquartered in Dallas with offices also in New York, Chicago, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong and other cities. Its art and design categories include American art, Western art, Texas art, California art, Asian art, ethnographic art (American Indian, Pre-Columbian & Tribal), modern and contemporary art, European art, illustration art and more. Heritage is especially acclaimed for its work with American art. Recent auctions have featured works by prominent names like Norman Rockwell, Mark Rothko, Maurice Sendak, Maynard Dixon, John Baldessari, Alexander Calder, David Hockney, Andy Warhol, Thomas Moran, Mary Cassatt and J.C. Leyendecker. In addition, auctions have…

3121 Fourth Street, Lubbock, TX 79409, (806) 742-0498, www.ranchingheritage.org, www.summerstampede.com Every summer, the National Ranching Heritage Center (NRHC) at Texas Tech University hosts the Summer Stampede Western Art and Gear Show, showcasing the creative works of talented Western artists and craftsmen. While visitors can admire Western art and gear year-round at the NRHC, a ranching museum and outdoor historical park, this annual event offers a unique opportunity for attendees to purchase art pieces and interact with the contributing artists. The evening unfolds from 6 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 1. This family-friendly affair not only presents a diverse array of artworks for sale, but also promises an evening of fine folk, dining and dancing to live Western swing music. Attendees can peruse the showcased art, acquire pieces at the…

3637 W. Alabama Street, Suite 470, Houston, TX 77027, (713) 823-8943 Establish in 1982, the gallery has an exceptional inventory of painting and sculpture. The warm green background and LED lighting present a homey atmosphere for collectors to casually view works by the most respected artists of Western and wildlife art: Ken Carlson, Tucker Smith, Robert Abbett, Luke Frazier, Stanley Meltzoff, Carl Rungius, Julian Onderdonk, John Cowan, G. Harvey, Martin Grelle, James Robinson, Charles Wysocki and probably the most examples of works by Bob Kuhn anywhere in the country. In the near future, watch for a new Kuhn book featuring pieces never seen in other books as well as viewpoints on Kuhn and his creations from artists, dealers and collectors. Alan Fama has been representing clients at auctions and building…

Stephen C. Datz thinks of paintings as ideas. At any given time, he’s surrounded by hundreds of them. More than he could ever paint. Stacks of old studies and sketches, countless photos on his computer. Good, but not quite right. Or maybe the timing was off. “For this show, I’ve been going back through those things that have been patiently waiting for development,” Datz says. “It’s exciting. There’s so much new production all the time that I really do forget about things. I’ll pick a stack and go through it and be like, ‘there’s 10 great ideas in here I can use!’” Consider it ‘the muse’s memory,’ a theme Datz was tinkering with for his latest show of new paintings at Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Arizona. “I’ll…

Brian Grimm studied commercial art in college and later worked as a graphic designer. As technology began to take over the profession he spent more time in fine art painting. He explains, “I was fortunate to have traditional school training where everything was done by hand. Of specialty in my commercial art days was sign painting, hand lettering and graphic design. Overall, there are fundamentals in design, drawing, and the use of the brush along with the business knowledge that has carried over into my fine art career.” In his teen years he met renowned wildlife artist Ken Carlson who became his mentor. “When I first saw Ken’s work, it just clicked that wildlife in their natural habitat was what I wanted to paint and that I could do it…

Located in the heart of Santa Fe’s historic Canyon Road, Barbara Meikle Fine Art is home to the work of painter and sculptor Barbara Meikle. It’s where the artist keeps focus amid a busy career. In the end, it all comes down to the animals, which she loves. “I like to say that I have the opposite of writer’s block—I have too many things that I want to paint and sculpt! Horses, burros, birds, bears…it depends on what I have recently experienced. A trip to Alaska to paint and photograph grizzlies, traveling to shows in Arizona and finding owls in the cacti, or the pure pleasure of watching a donkey roll in the spring dirt to scratch that winter coat off his back—they all inspire me,” she says. “Color is…

The announcement on the Couse-Sharp Historic Site’s 2024 gala, La Luz de Taos, includes a description that calls the event the “hottest little art shindig in the West.” This could be one of two things: colorful language by a clever copywriter or an accurate description of a popular returning show. Or a third option: both, because it’s so difficult to say no to anything called a shindig. La Luz de Taos, the Taos site’s biennial gala and art show, returns to Northern New Mexico on April 12. The show, featuring around 45 works from as many artists, will be unveiled at the Couse-Sharp Historic Site, one of the great art destinations in all of the Southwest. The site contains the former home and studio of Eanger Irving Couse and two…

Oil Painters of America kicks off its exciting year of venue-hopping shows with its 33rd annual National Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils in Wichita, Kansas, taking place at Mark Arts from April 5 through May 31. On display will be a collection of original oil paintings by a select group of 200 of today’s best representational artists culled from the more than 2,000 professional artists who submitted work to be considered for this highly competitive juried show. Juror of awards, noted painter Sherrie McGraw, will bestow awards valued at $100,000, including the prestigious $25,000 Gold Medal cash prize during the opening reception and recognition ceremony at Mark Arts on Friday, April 5 from 6 to 10 p.m. The exhibition can also be viewed online on both the OPA and Mark…

A lot of history has taken place in Las Vegas’ Westgate Resort & Hotel, especially back when it was called the International Hotel and home to Elvis Presley for a five-year run of concerts that would mark a long relationship between the iconic singer and the Nevada city. Those storied halls and rooms hosted Brian Lebel’s 34th Annual Old West Show & Auction on January 26 and 27. Like the hotel itself, the show had a lot of history—Western history. Known for uniting Western fine art and high-end collector material such as parade saddles and historic firearms, Lebel’s shows always offer hefty offerings of art and objects that relate to all aspects of the Old West. You just never know what you’ll see, and that was certainly the case for this…

May 9, 2024 Hindman’s Western & Contemporary Native American Art Sale Denver, CO – (312) 447-3271 May 31-August 4, 2024 Prix de West Oklahoma City, OK – (405) 478-2250 July 19-21, 2024 Tehachapi Arts Commission Art 2024 Show Tehachapi, CA – (626) 945-3753 July 19-28, 2024 Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show & Sale Cheyenne, WY – (307) 778-7290 July 27, 2024 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction Reno, NV – (208) 772-9009 August 17-18, 2024 Santa Fe Indian Market Santa Fe, NM – (505) 983-5220 September 6-7, 2024 Quest for the West Indianapolis, IN – (317) 636-9378 September 16-21, 2024 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Cody, WY – (307) 587-5002 September 2024 (Dates TBA) Western Visions Show + Sale Jackson, WY – (307) 733-5771 September 2024 (Dates TBA) Jackson Hole…

Every page we put into Western Art Collector is a labor of love. The editorial team spends a great deal of time requesting materials, interviewing sources, choosing the best images, and then the production team ties it all together with page designs that complement the artwork and help tell a story. Every page matters. But no pages are as important as our covers, which we hold near and dear to our hearts for every single issue. The cover is the first image you see when you pick up the magazine, whether you’re grabbing it from your mailbox, the newsstand or from a stack at the front of a gallery or museum. It’s also the image that represents the entire issue and what is happening that month in the world of…

Thomas Moran (1837-1926) painted his majestic Green Cliffs, Wyoming in 1881, a decade after he first visited the area. He depicts the colorful strata of the eroded peaks rising above the river and struck by bright sunlight. In the foreground, leading off diagonally across the canvas to an encampment in the distance, are Native Americans on horseback. The area was a popular meeting place for Crow, Blackfoot, Shoshone and other peoples. He made a small watercolor sketch at the time, which he titled First Sketch Made in the West at Green River, Wyoming 1871—the first of 40 paintings of Green River. Moran was on his way to meet F. V. Hayden’s survey expedition to explore Yellowstone. His paintings of Yellowstone were instrumental in the area’s being designated the country’s first…

The Texas terrain is vast. The second largest state, behind only Alaska, Texas is divided into four major geographic regions: the Gulf Coastal Plains, Interior Lowlands, Great Plains, and the Basin and Range Province. Each of the physical locations present differing forms of the earth’s terrain and what the planet can offer. The Gulf Coastal Plains—stretching across cities like San Antonio, Paris and Del Rio—is made up of numerous streams and rivers that flow into coastal estuaries. The seaward areas are made up of dunes, grasslands and salt marshes. The Great Plains, including the cities of Lubbock and Amarillo, feature such regions as the Panhandle, Toyah Basin and the famous Texas Hill Country, making up the southeastern part of the Edwards Plateau. The Hill Country, with its sprawling hills of…

214 W. Main Street, Fredericksburg, TX 78624, (830) 997-9920, info@insightgallery.com, www.insightgallery.com InSight Gallery presents a diverse group of artists ranging from traditional still life to wildlife, Western, Native American and everything in between. This provides clients with a little something for everyone who has a passion for traditional art by offering a variety of styles and subject matter by nationally renowned artists. Art continues to be a source of joy and happiness for people who visit the gallery both in person and online, and this devotion from collectors doesn’t waver. InSight Gallery values their relationships both with collectors and artists and appreciates the patronage of clients who choose to work with galleries in what has become an increasingly digital world. Upcoming shows at the gallery include Mystery and Light, a…

4500 Sigma Road, Dallas, TX 75244, (972) 960-8935, www.swgallery.com This spring, Southwest Gallery is thrilled to spotlight fantastic new works by prominent Western artists Bob Hagan, John Cook, Phil Beck, Tom Dorr and Xiang Zhang. Southwest Gallery is focused on sharing professional artistic expertise, service and guidance. An art buyer wants to feel the value of their purchase on many different levels as well as “buy it because you like it.” The gallery believes that by igniting the clients’ desire to examine the value in owning artwork, they find out how it actually enriches their lives. People recognize and appreciate the idea of created beauty and the amazing possibilities in celebrating their own unique tastes through art. For more than 55 years, Southwest Gallery has provided Dallas largest collection of…

7233 Blanco Road, San Antonio, TX 78216, (210) 822-6155, www.texasauction.com Established in 1975, Vogt Auction Galleries specializes in the sale and appraisal of historic firearms, bladed objects, Texas history, artifacts of the early West and their most popular category, fine Texas and Western art. Vogt hosts a Spring and Fall Texas & Western Art auction annually at their auction house in San Antonio and streams it live online for anyone to watch. “This spring’s auction lineup is one of my favorites to date—there’s just such incredible variety to suit every Texas and Western art collector’s taste,” says fine art specialist Natalie Curran. Vogt takes pride in curating auctions that showcase Texas Hill Country works from artists such as Julian Onderdonk, Porfirio Salinas, José Arpa and Dawson Dawson-Watson. Recently, Vogt has…

While the two might differ in style, painter Dennis Ziemienski says that he and Douglas Fryer share a “love of composition and the organizing of elements to make a powerful painting.” The illustrative art of Ziemienski, evoking sentiments of Western life, is placed alongside the moody, almost abstract landscapes of Fryer at Altamira Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona. “I’m happy to be sharing this exhibit with Douglas Fryer,” says Ziemienski. “His use of light is very powerful [and embraces] the beauty of the subject matter, a feature that compels the viewer to want to be there.” Fryer says this new body of work is based on his fascination with alteration and change in the natural world. “The side-by-side comparison and association of quickly transitioning clouds and atmosphere with elements that…

Andrew Roda is a Western realist oil painter based in Los Angeles. Often known for bold colors and high-contrast settings for his classic Americana subject matter, Roda’s technique conveys an attention to detail and realism while still embracing a painterly effect to his work. Best described as a contemporary take on the classic trompe l’oeil still life, Roda’s use of light, shadow and contrast create an incredible depth of field in his work, vividly bringing his subjects to life off the canvas. “My appreciation for the subject lies in a belief that everyday objects—a pair of boots, a saddle, a rifle or even the hand-forged grill of a 1950s Ford—are artwork in and of themselves,” Roda says. “When I look at an old saddle, I first see the craftsmanship and…

A stunning array of Western art will be available to bidders on April 12 and 13 during the annual Scottsdale Art Auction, now in its 20th year of bringing top-quality artwork to collectors. The lots are from the 1800s to the present day, from traditional artwork to contemporary, and priced from $1,000 to $7 million. “We’re feeling very optimistic in the market and how 2024 is going so far,” says auction partner Brad Richardson. “We’ve seen some tremendously successful shows and sales recently that show there is always going to be an appetite for the highest-quality Western art out there.” This year’s sale will feature 410 lots spread across two sessions and two days. The second session, which is where many of the major pieces with high estimates will be…

In 1890, Edvard Munch, the Norwegian expressionist who would paint The Scream three years later, released some of his writings as the St. Cloud Manifesto, which served as his artistic credo. “The young Munch voiced his desire to represent love, hate, longing, despair and dreamy erotic connections as if they were sacred subjects,” the Art Institute of Chicago notes about the text. “In doing so, he suggested what would become his larger strategy of subtly transforming the profane into the eternal.” The writings contain an oft-quoted passage from Munch that begins to explore where he was artistically at that point in his life and career: “From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them, and that is eternity.” It sounds more grim and gruesome on first impressions,…

Depending on who you ask, the Old West may have ended when barbed wire was introduced to the open lands of the West, or even the arrival of the railroads, or the invention of automobiles or airplanes. Others mark it with the death of famous figures such as Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill or Jesse James. Hollywood suggests as much by framing the end of the West around the death or retirement of the last gunfighters in films like The Wild Bunch, Unforgiven and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Some might argue that the Old West never truly ended in some parts of the country. Whenever the Old West ended, from that moment onward artists began looking back to that period for inspiration in their work, whether it’s detailed historical…

8333 Douglas Avenue, Suite 360, Dallas, TX 75225, (469) 608-7600, info@lonestarartauction.com, www.lonestarartauction.com The Lone Star Art Auction is the largest live art auction held annually in the state of Texas specializing in the best American, Western, wildlife, sporting and Texas fine art of the 19th to 21st centuries. “Texas is one of the largest fine art markets in the country, and it deserves its own Texas-sized, Texas-based auction to satisfy collector demand,” says auction founder and owner Phil Berkebile Jr. The 2024 auction will take place at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel on October 11 to 12, kicking off Friday morning with a full-day auction art preview and the Lone Star Art Auction Patron’s Cocktail Reception and Dinner that evening. Saturday begins with an auction art preview and breakfast followed by…

1550 Bandera Highway, Kerrville, TX 78028, (830) 896-2553, www.museumofwesternart.com The Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas, is planning a blockbuster exhibition for their 41st year. Darrell Beauchamp, executive director, says that Western art enthusiasts can expect a stellar selection of original art to add to their collection. “We moved our annual Roundup Exhibition and Sale from September to April to accommodate artists who were unable to participate in previous years due to conflicting shows,” he says. “The date change has made it possible for many top-rated artists to be with us and we couldn’t be happier.” Opening weekend will be packed with activities. The evening of Friday, April 26, is the artist dinner and award presentation, with a panel of judges determining who takes home the coveted Director’s Choice…

(817) 312-4811, stephanie@horseshoetrailstudio.com, www.stephanieburkfineart.com Stephanie Burk, an associate member of Women Artists of the West, calls the cities of Fort Worth, Texas, and South Fork, Colorado, home. “The West and all it offers has been at my doorstep for decades and never disappoints,” she says. “The opportunity to paint and create art that embodies all I hold dear, the endless horizons and the stunning sunlight, alongside people engaged in tasks of daily living, are precisely where deep joy is hidden.” The artist adds that jumping into a new painting is simultaneously exciting and extremely challenging. “The moment when the painting starts to come together and almost talks to me from the canvas is astonishing,” she says. “I often hear it insisting on bolder color and big brushstrokes. Clearly the voices…

Nature connects us in ways that are hard to imagine. It connects at such a fundamental level that it can be taken for granted. That’s where art comes in to reunify us with the natural world, a world that sculptor Bryce Pettit strives to enhance with idyllic bronzes that capture its imperfect perfection, opening us up to a magical world either far away or in our own backyard. In his show titled Tributaries, Pettit brings his newest bronze menagerie to life, with six to eight new pieces, inspired by a month-long rafting trip through the Grand Canyon that allowed him to camp under the stars away from the distractions of the modern world. “Pettit invites us into a world where rivers flow and otters glide gracefully. In his Tributaries exhibit,…

In the two decades since she moved to the United States from London, Jill Carver spent plenty of time painting at national parks like Canyonlands, Arches and Moab—but the Grand Canyon eluded her. “Eventually, I found myself thinking, ‘I’ve been here for 20 years, and I think it’s time to paint the Grand Canyon,’” she says. She knew that to begin to truly understand the Grand Canyon, she needed to commit herself wholeheartedly to the endeavor, and she set aside 10 days in August of 2022 to immerse herself in the environment. “It ended up being an extraordinary summer and the monsoon season returned with full energy to the Four Corners region after a bit of a drought,” she says. “I was out there during the monsoons, and it was…

“The West is smack-your-senses real. As real as the unexpected rattle of a startled diamondback three feet off the trail,” says Michelle Kondos. “But anyone who spends time here knows that it’s more than that. In my work, I constantly try to find that fulcrum point between the West that we grasp with our eyes and the mysterious Western dreamscape we feel in our souls—the one that lies behind the plains and mountain ranges.” Originally, Kondos made her bones as a professional artist by doing fine art portraiture in oil, including two official portraits of the mayors of New Orleans. However, the beauty of the landscapes, people and animals of the West soon beguiled her. She still maintains a busy portraiture practice in New Orleans, but in 2013 she moved…

This spring, Vogt Auction Galleries hosts its annual Spring Texas & Western Art Auction, featuring a menagerie of treasures that reflect the robust history of the West with 275 lots of paintings, bronze and ceramics on offer. The April 6 sale will place particular emphasis on plein air Western artists like Matt White and Scott Christensen along with the early Texas artists like Karl Hermann Lungkwitz and Rolla Sims Taylor, comments Vogt fine art specialist Natalie Curran. “Oils by Julian and Eleanor Onderdonk will have a chance to dazzle as well,” she adds. A strong selection of works by Texas regionalists and modernists like Thomas Hart Benton and Otis Dozier will also be included in the sale. “To provide a sense of the scope of the artistic themes and regions…

1 David Kammerzell work sells in Santa Fe Giacobbe Fritz Fine Art is on a roll with artist David Kammerzell, whose painting Dauntless was recently scooped up by collectors at the gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “Kammerzell’s work combines vintage Western imagery with contemporary pattern, elegant linework and idealized color,” notes gallery associate Hannah Eckert. “His glamorous cowboys and girls are a favorite!” To see works by the artist that are still available, visit www.giacobbefritz.com. 2 Robert Moore painting goes to loyal collectors Impressionist painter Robert Moore recently had a piece of art, the 72-inch-wide Midday Splendor, sell at In Sight Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas. “I had a very loyal client walk by the gallery and we had a very large—48 by 72 inches—Robert Moore landscape hanging on the…