Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2024/No. 201 i Western Art Collector

Welcome to the May issue of Western Art Collector! This issue contains our highly anticipated State of the Art: New Mexico destination guide. Western and Native American art has long been a focal point for collectors traveling to New Mexico, and it’s something you will see reflected in all of our issues, but especially this one. Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos, Gallup and many other cities—we take you to where the art will be. The history of the West can be found everywhere in New Mexico. It is said that one out of every 10 people living in the Land of Enchantment is an artist or involved in the art world. That is a huge number for our collectors to note. Starting on Page 68 you can find all of our…

Through 2025 Centennial Exhibition FREDERIC REMINGTON ART MUSEUM Ogdensburg, NY — (315) 393-2425 www.fredericremington.org Through June 23 Women Artists of the West’s 54th National Exhibition and Sale: Dreamweavers PHIPPEN MUSEUM Prescott, AZ — (928) 778-1385 www.phippenartmuseum.org Through June 30 The Muse of New Mexico PHOENIX ART MUSEUM Phoenix, AZ — (602) 257-1880 www.phxart.org Through June 30 The Russells in Denver, 1921 DENVER ART MUSEUM  Denver, CO — (720) 865-5000 www.denverartmuseum.org Through August 4 James Bama’s Photographs: Portraits of the West BUFFALO BILL CENTER OF THE WEST  Cody, WY — (307) 587-4771 www.centerofthewest.org Through September 1 Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West DESERT CABALLEROS WESTERN MUSEUM Wickenburg, AZ — (928) 684-2272 www.westernmuseum.org…

Ed Mell, the iconic Phoenix painter whose artwork was a singular force in the Southwest and beyond, died February 21. He was 81 years old. Word of his passing was headline news in Arizona, where Mell was born and where he spent more than 45 years as a professional painter. Tributes poured in from the Phoenix New Times, Arizona Republic, NPR and Arizona Highways, where Mell had contributed interior and cover images for many years. “Mell’s work was modern-ist, exploratory, vibrant. He captured the American Southwest in a style that was inspired in part by the likes of Maynard Dixon… but that, in due time, became inspirational in its own right,” wrote Kelly Vaughn for Arizona Highways. Edmund Paul Mell Jr. was born in Phoenix in 1942. The son of…

932 Railfan Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505, (505) 954-5858, info@santafeartauction.com, consign@santafeartauction.com, www.santafeartauction.com Santa Fe Art Auction has long been the pre-eminent auction house in the Southwest and a nationwide leader in classic Southwestern, Western and Native American arts, as well as in global and American contemporary art. The auction house, founded in 1994, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and is today renowned for its state-of-the-art operation based in an ultra-modern, 13,000-square-foot facility in the heart of Santa Fe’s Baca Railyard Arts District. A celebrated leader in the Western art circuit, Santa Fe Art Auction presents approximately 10 auctions each year, with each collection displayed within multiple showrooms, and curated to showcase the diverse movements and specialties within each sale. The auction house has routinely set record hammer prices for…

146 Kit Carson Road, Taos, NM 87571, (575) 751-0369, admin@couse-sharp.org, www.couse-sharp.org The two-plus-acre Couse-Sharp Historic Site in Taos, includes the homes, studios and gardens of Eanger Irving Couse and Joseph Henry Sharp, two of the founders of the Taos Society of Artists (TSA), and is the home of the Lunder Research Center. CSHS has become an international destination for education, artistic collaboration and scholarship because of its authenticity and importance to American art and the history and cultures of the West. “The TSA left a profound artistic and social legacy,” says Davison Koenig, executive director and curator. “Their shared vision of creating a uniquely American art, permanently influenced the world of art and prevailing perceptions of Native America and the American West.” The organization’s premier fundraiser, La Luz de Taos…

Santa Fe, NM, (505) 467-8549 www.fourelementsbeadworks.com FourElements BeadWorks was born out of the daily gift of creative expression known as jewelry design. “I see the sunset after a rainstorm, and a series of colors and shapes forms the basis for the next collection that I create,” says Suzy Johnson, the artist behind FourElements. “A trip to the ocean, the desert or the mountains gives me unlimited ‘data’ for every new collection.” Johnson is driven to make affordable, beautiful jewelry from natural stones, shells, corals and pearls from across the planet. “I love being able to both blend into fashion trends and personal taste,” she adds. “I also respect and appreciate the natural vibrations of each and every bead that I use. The energies within semi-precious stones are well documented, and…

May 1-31, 2024 Taos, NM Beginning this May, Parsons Gallery of the West will host an exhibition that celebrates the impact Taos art has had on the larger world of Western art. Through the works of six living artists—Jerry Jordan, Melwell Romancito, Ron Rencher, Richard Alan Nichols, John Moyers and Roseta Santiago—the show is a glimpse at both the past and present, examining the ways in which these artists were influenced by the past masters as well as how they’re honoring visions of Taos today. “Taos artists have historically played an important role in the creation of the Western art genre. Inspired by the natural beauty and rich culture of the area, the early Taos Art Colony, including the Taos Society of Artists and later the Taos Modernists, made our…

May 3-June 3, 2024 Santa Fe, NM In her painting, Spirits of the House, Kat Kinnick surrounds herself with elements of her life from the Northern New Mexico landscape, to the folk art she grew up with and the Navajo rugs she helps restore at a studio in Albuquerque, following in the footsteps of her parents. And then, there are the animals, from an inscrutable cat to a symbolic black wolf that came to her in a dream. As a multidisciplinary artist, Kinnick brings animals into all her work—in cobalt blue on her ceramic dinnerware, in full color as in her gouache, Omen – A Cuckoo Flew, and fanciful studies like A Friend, drawn with marker. In her work she explores the relationships among things rather than their separateness. She…

May 1-June 2, 2024 Prescott, AZ May is usually a sustained celebration in Prescott, Arizona, where the Phippen Museum hosts two annual shows, the Western Art Show & Sale and the Miniature Masterpiece Show & Sale. This year, though, the shows are both marking important milestones with the Western Art Show celebrating 50 years and Miniature Masterpiece hitting 20 years. “It’s a unique time for us here at the Phippen,” says executive director Edd Kellerman. “We have the miniature show opening right at the start of the month and then the big show on the [Yavapai County] Courthouse Plaza during Memorial Day weekend. It’s always a fun time to come enjoy our beautiful town and weather.” Miniature Masterpiece opens May 1 and continues through June 2. It will take place…

May 1-October 31, 2024 Pinedale, WY Making up the entirety of the exhibition One with the Land: The Mountain Man’s Journey into the Unknown, hosted at the Museum of the Mountain Man, is the robust Peterson Family Collection. In approximately 75 paintings and bronzes, as well as miscellaneous books and articles, the collection explores the iconic American figure we know as the “mountain man” —along with the Western landscapes these men traversed. “Mountain men were the first non-Natives to live year-round in the mountains,” explains executive director Clint Gilchrist. “In search of beaver, [the raw material for high-fashion top hats in the 1820s and 1830s], they explored every part of the vast, unknown American West. With no fixed base and constantly on the move, they lived off the land and became…

May 15, 2024 Dallas, TX Heritage Auctions hosts a dedicated Western sale at least twice a year, but keen collectors know to also watch many of its other sales, including auctions related to California art, American illustration, Native American art, Texas art and in the seasonal American Art Signature Sales. It’s in these sales, tucked in within other genres, where Western art shines, like veins of gold glittering amid grey granite. The next American sale will take place May 15 in Dallas, where around 75 lots will be offered. Alissa Ford, Heritage’s Western specialist, estimates around 15 works will be Western, with many others that should interest Western collectors. “It says so much about the West. It speaks tremendously about how the West is not just regional art. It can…

All month long I’ve been talking to people about the great Arizona painter Ed Mell, and it’s remarkable to see and hear the outpouring of love that has been directed at the artist, who died February 21. As word of his passing spread, the news was picked up by newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations all around Arizona, and then even nationally as other outlets paid tribute to the Phoenix-based artist. Even people who had only a passing interest in art were aware of Ed—either because of his modernist paintings, or his monument in the center of Scottsdale, or his work on album covers, or his illustration. Western Art Collector has had a long relationship with Ed, who appeared in our seventh issue and then basically never left as we…

1 Blue Rain Gallery shows new Deladier Almeida landscapes Cool Snap, a new work by landscape painter Deladier Almeida, is now being offered at Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The 12-inch-square work shows patches of snow covering the desert as rock formations fill part of the background. Almeida’s work often focuses on improvised brushwork. “The way my painting comes out is a function of the way I attack it,” he says. “I have to work on the edge of my rational mind.” Visit the gallery’s website, www.blueraingallery.com, for more information. 2 Harley Brown sends new portrait to Settlers West Few people live and breathe art quite like Harley Brown, the famous painter, art teacher and author. The artist has submitted a new work to Settlers West’s Summer…

123 W. Palace Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (505) 986-0440, www.manitougalleries.com Nestled in the heart of the Southwest, Manitou Galleries stands as a vibrant celebration of the region’s rich artistic traditions infused with contemporary visions. “With a proud focus on featuring the finest contemporary Southwestern painters and sculptors, our gallery offers visitors an evocative experience marked by a blend of modern aesthetics and timeless Southwestern motifs,” says Cyndi Hall, gallery general manager. Notable masters like Mateo Romero and Nocona Burgess anchor the gallery’s prestige, along with artists like Jim Eppler, BC Nowlin and Aaron Hazel. “Meanwhile, our commitment to cultivating new talent continues with the arrival of emerging artists Taylor Crisp, James Randle and George Hill, whose works infuse fresh perspectives and invigorating energy,” Hall notes. “Their contributions are a…

(484) 639-9378 brian@brianlebel.com www.oldwestevents.com Old West Events will host the 34th annual Brian Lebel Old West Show & Auction in historic Santa Fe from June 21 to 23. The annual event consists of a weekend vendor sale including more than 100 national dealers exhibiting some of the finest Western collectibles in the country, as well as an exciting live auction on Saturday night. The show and auction is held annually in both Santa Fe and Las Vegas, and is regarded as the premier vendor show in the Western collecting community. The auction holds several records for Western artist Edward Borein, and frequently features work from both contemporary and deceased fine artists such as Will James, Maynard Dixon, Charles M. Russell, Olaf Wieghorst, Nick Eggenhofer, John and Terri Kelly Moyers, Michael…

(505) 983-5220, members@swaia.org, www.swaia.org SWAIA’s Santa Fe Indian Market is the oldest and most prestigious Native North American art show in the world. This juried event includes multiple categories of art in the competitive show including pottery, diverse arts, two-dimensional art, jewelry, basketry, youth, textiles, bead and quillwork, pueblo wood carving and sculpture. The 2024 show, now in its 102nd edition, will be held in downtown Santa Fe from August 17 to 18. This year’s event will welcome back SWAIA’s marquee events like the Best of Show Ceremony and award-winning art previews, along with visitor favorites like the Native American Clothing Contest. The weekend’s events include Native American food vendors, multiple dance and musical performances, panel discussions and the new Get Indigenous Film Festival. All ticketed events will be made…

jan@jdelipsey.com www.jdelipsey.com Artist Jan Marie DeLipsey is known for creating gorgeous Western landscape scenes—bringing the viewer a “feeling of intimate reverence of nature’s quiet beauty.” Recently, DeLipsey received the Art of the West Publishers Award for Excellence for her work Vermillion Escarpment, at the 2024 Phippen Museum’s Women Artists of the West National Show. DeLipsey has shown her work in museums and galleries from California to New York, and everywhere in between. Her work has been featured in national fine art magazines and she has been juried into several prestigious art organizations such as the California Art Club, the International Guild of Realism and Oil Painters of America. DeLipsey is a Master Emeritus Member of Women Artists of the West and can most often be found with paint and easel…

On July 1, 1877, members of the press gathered at a Sacramento racetrack to watch a demonstration featuring Occident, a racehorse owned by Leland Stanford, the industrialist and eventual founder of Stanford University. The horse and rider came tearing down the track at full speed. They were pulling a curious contraption, a small two-wheeled cart designed to roll over a series of thin wires that would electrically trip 12 cameras positioned 27 inches apart alongside the track. As the horse galloped past, a moment taking barely more than a second, a drumroll of clicks could be heard by the viewers. The resulting images, taken via “automatic electro-photograph,” would show a single stride of a horse at a full gallop. Those images, and later ones with the equine subject Sallie Gardner…

May 31-June 13, 2024 Santa Fe, NM John Manzari, owner of Meyer Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, describes the work of Brad Price succinctly: “His contemporary postimpressionist paintings, marked by bold brushstrokes and vibrant colors, convey the rugged beauty of the region. Through emotive works, Price not only depicts scenes but allows viewers to share in the immersive experience of the landscapes he portrays on canvas.” A Brush With Nature is the title of Price’s next exhibition at the gallery. It opens May 31 and runs through June 13. Price visits Northern New Mexico from his home in Oklahoma to immerse himself in the colors, light and forms of the region. His brushstrokes, color complements and contrasts bring a unique vibrancy to his paintings. Price employs a technique called…

May 4-18, 2024 Dunedin, FL A popular Western art tradition in Dunedin, Florida, is the Plainsmen Gallery’s annual Wildlife & Western Visions group show every spring. The show returns to the gallery on May 4. “This annual spring show showcases an inspiring collection of contemporary and traditional Western and wildlife art,” says Jill Berry, the gallery’s coowner. “[This year] we are highlighting a new medium and contemporary style for David Yorke.” One of the Yorke pieces, Young Hearts, shows a pair of Native Americans sitting on a fallen aspen tree amid fall leaves. “My painting Young Hearts is a bit of a departure for me, using acrylics. For the last 20 years, I’ve mainly been using oils, but this subject seemed to lend itself to a different approach,” Yorke says.…

April 20-August 4, 2024 Indianapolis, IN Organized by the New-York Historical Society Library and Museum and now on view at the Eiteljorg Museumis the thoughtprovoking exhibition Acts of Faith: Religion and the American West. In more than 100 pieces that span 200 years, including present day, the exhibition tells quite the story of “many religious beliefs and spiritual practices of the peoples who lived in or moved to the American West,” says Jessica L. Nelson, guest curator and former director of religion and culture initiatives at the Eiteljorg Museum. Nelson also shares that the start of the exhibition began when the Eiteljorg Museum realized the need for nuanced and careful analysis of religious ideas, identities and histories in museums. “When we heard about the exhibition being developed by New-York Historical,…

May 18, 2024-Jan. 5, 2025 Los Angeles, CA Combining science, art and technology, the Autry Museum of the American West unveils Out of Site: Survey Science and the Hidden West—opening up a unique dialogue about remote, obscure or completely hidden sites throughout the American West. Featured are 139 works including archival documents, artifacts and visual technologies, works on paper, paintings, photography and video by both contemporary and historic artists. The exhibition is organized into three sections: Site Unseen, Survey to Surveillance and Remote Control. “It follows a general chronological path, beginning with the gold rush and the desire to see and possess Western resources, especially the precious metals buried underground,” says Amy Scott, the Marilyn B. and Calvin B. Gross Curator of Visual Arts at the Autry. Richard Misrach, Entrance, Yucca…

May 9, 2024 Denver, CO Freeman’s | Hindman will be hosting its Western & Contemporary Native American Art sale in Denver this May, offering in-person, phone and online bidding. The sale features nearly 225 lots of historic and contemporary Western painting and sculpture, as well as contemporary Native American fine art, showcasing the breadth and beauty of the American West and Southwest. “This auction includes an incredible selection of works by award-winning representational landscape artist Wilson Hurley,” says Alexandria Dreas, Western art specialist at Freeman’s | Hindman. “His immense skill is never more obvious than in his depictions of rolling cloud formations and expansive canyon scenes. Not only does the May 9 auction feature an iconic rendering of Canyon de Chelly, but his Tierra Encantada demonstrates his tremendous skills in…

March 15-16, 2024 Great Falls, MT A full room, active bidding and fierce competition marked the 37th annual March in Montana in Great Falls, Montana, on March 15 and 16. The 777-lot sale realized $3.2 million in sales with a 97 percent sell-through rate. The top lot of the two-day sale was Norman Rockwell’s 1935 study Sleigh Ride. Accompanying the lot was a collection of books and materials, including a Polaroid photograph of Rockwell and a personal note signed by the artist stating it was a study for a larger painting. The piece the study would inspire is a mural titled The Dover Stage that hangs in the clubhouse of the Society of Illustrators in New York City. The study has a long history in Great Falls, where it was…

May 8-9 SANTA FE ART AUCTION April 20-August 4 Acts of Faith: Religion and the American West EITELJORG MUSEUM Indianapolis, IN – (317) 636-9378 www.eiteljorg.org May 1-31 Historic Taos Storytellers PARSONS GALLERY OF THE WEST Taos, NM – (575) 737-9200 www.parsonsart.com May 1-June 2 Miniature Masterpiece Show & Sale PHIPPEN MUSEUM Prescott, AZ – (928) 778-1385 www.phippenartmuseum.org May 1-October 31 MUSEUM OF THE MOUNTAIN MAN One with the Land: The Mountain Man’s Journey into the Unknown Pinedale, WY – (307) 367-4101 www.museumofthemountainman.com May 3-June 3 HECHO A MANO Kat Kinnick: A Benevolent Force Santa Fe, NM – (505) 916-1341 www.hechoamano.org Roundup! May 4-18 Wildlife & Western Visions THE PLAINSMEN GALLERY Dunedin, FL – (727) 734-8200 www.plainsmengallery.com May 4-June 1 Summer Show SETTLERS WEST GALLERIES Tucson, AZ – (520) 299-2607 www.settlerswest.com…

The Nevada Museum of Art in Reno has been gifted more than 125 works of art from the collection of Native American artist Judith Lowry. The collection, which includes works by the artist but more prominently features artwork from other Native American artists, was assembled over many decades by Lowry and her husband Brad Croul. The collection is known as the Lowry Croul Collection of Contemporary Native American Art and it includes paintings by prominent Native American contemporary artists with a West Coast and Great Basin focus. The inclusion of important contemporary works by Native American artists adds range and depth to the museum’s existing and fast-growing permanent collection of regional, national and international Indigenous artists. “Over the past two decades, the Nevada Museum of Art has shown a true…

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100 E. San Francisco Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (505) 982-5511, www.lafondasantafe.com La Fonda on the Plaza, the only Santa Fe hotel situated on the historic Santa Fe Plaza, offers vibrant décor, authentic New Mexican architecture and a central location that provides guests with unsurpassed access to original artwork, entertainment and attractions, among many other amenities. The hotel holds a coveted place in a rich tapestry of hospitality that predates American independence. City records indicate that La Fonda sits on the site of the town’s first inn, established when the city was founded by Spaniards in 1607, making the property the oldest hotel corner in America. In addition, La Fonda is known for its rich art collection, with original artwork hanging in every guest room—connecting the people who designed, built…

www.glennagoodacre.com Glenna Goodacre was a muchheralded sculptor who worked out of her studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In her 50-year career, Goodacre sculpted more than 600 works, the most well-known of which is the Vietnam Women’s Memorial installed in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall in 1993. She also created the obverse for the Sacagawea U.S. Dollar, first minted in 2000, as well as the Irish Memorial at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia. Goodacre was also an academician of the National Academy of Design and a fellow of the National Sculpture Society. Sadly, Goodacre passed away in 2020 after a long illness at her home in Santa Fe, the city where she lived and worked since 1983. Dan Anthony, a longtime presence in the art scene in Santa Fe as…

May 4-June 1, 2024 Tucson, AZ Settlers West hosted its first Summer Show in 1985. Ever since, it been an opportunity for the gallery to showcase new works by some of the most established artists in the Western art world—this year, Don Oelze, William Acheff, Harley Brown, Robert Griffing, C. Michael Dudash and Daniel Smith—as well as promote paintings and sculpture by new and emerging talents like Cody Oldham, Terry Nybo, Jason Tako, Ashwini Bharathula. “The result is hopefully an exciting mix of styles and subject matter for our collectors and art enthusiasts,” says gallery manager Mike Salkowski. The show, featuring 80 new works by nearly 50 artists, opens Saturday, May 4 with an all-day preview followed by an opening reception at 5:30 p.m. All works are sold by intent…

May 24-June 4, 2024 Durango, CO Sculpture artist Raymond Gibby sculpts what he is moved by, and more often than not, he is influ S ence by nature and its many inhabitants. Aptly titled Call of the Wild, Gibby’s solo show at Blue Rain Gallery in late May includes around 50 of his wildlife bronze creations—“paying tribute and giving gratitude for the richness of life,” the artist adds. “In Gibby’s artistic realm, wildlife transcends mere subject matter; it is a conduit for human connection,” says Blue Rain Gallery manager Shella Huggett. “Through his sculptures, Gibby invites viewers to delve into a shared experience with the natural world, tapping into the universal empathy and kinship that exists between humans and wildlife…With each piece, Gibby masterfully captures wildlife with unparalleled detail…

May 25-27, 2024 Prescott, AZ The Phippen Museum will return with thisyear′sannual Western Art Show & Sale in Prescott, Arizona. The show will celebrate its 50th anniversary, and the museum its 40th anniversary. How can the host museum be younger than the event, you ask? “That’s the unique thing about our show. Originally the show was titled the George Phippen Memorial Art Show & Sale. That was in 1974 when the first show was held with the support of the community,” says executive director Edd Kellerman. “The proceeds from the first 10 years went directly into the museum that would become the Phippen. And right there with the show was Louise Phippen, George’s wife, who was promoting her late husband’s work and elevating the [Cowboy Artists of America]. Her goal…

May 4-August 4, 2024 Bartlesville, OK The national art organization Women Arts of the West is rolling out a new show at the Woolaroc Museum in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The inaugural event, Women Artists of the West Invitational Exhibition & Sale, opens May 4 and the group is hoping its success will lead to a long-term biannual show. “This is the first all-women show at the Woolaroc, so they are stepping up and showing real confidence in women’s work, which is really important to us. The only other museum that hosts a show like this is Desert Caballeros Western Museum for Cowgirl Up!,” says painter Mejo Okon, the organization’s co-president. “It’s a very exciting time for the group because we are going through a strong transition. We don’t want to be…

May 8-9, 2024 Santa Fe, NM The Art of the West at Santa Fe Art Auction this May is shaping up to be another superb sale with an exceptional selection of Western and Native American artwork on offer. The collection features paintings, sculptures and more from such artists as Ben Turner, Ken Carlson, David Nordahl, E.A. Burbank, Carlos Vierra, Dan Namingha, Agnes Tait, Lon Megargee and Fran Larsen. “Santa Fe Art Auction’s Art of the West sale…marks the beginning of high season for the Southwest house,” says Gillian Blitch, president and CEO of the Santa Fe-based auction house. She adds that the sale also comes in anticipation of the 75 th annual Rodeo de Santa Fe, a city staple held June 19 to 22. “[Western works in the sale] celebrate…

May 7, 2024 Monrovia, CA Stemming from private collections throughout California, the Southwest and more, comes John Moran Auctioneers’ California and American Fine Art sale of approximately 150 lots. Jeff Moran, auction president and head of California and American fine art, notes that the sale is meticulously curated, with excitement surrounding two Western paintings by Edgar Payne (1882-1941). With a variety of subjects and periods represented, this sale has something from every aesthetic of California and American art. However, Moran’s focus is on the rare-to-market Payne paintings. “We are delighted to present two exquisite pieces by Edgar Payne created in the heart of the 1920s,” says Moran. “As these works edge closer to their centennial of creation, they hold a significant status in our auction, being the top lots on…

Scott Tallman Powers participated at the Western Horizons show at Legacy Gallery in early March and reports that a fascinating thing happened with one of his paintings at the Arizona show while a collector was standing in front of his work. Powers’ girlfriend, Carrie Fisher, tells the the story: “A collector from Oklahoma was drawn to a portrait of a rancher who wore his wisdom in his eyes and spoke volumes with just a look. The collector was drawn to the piece and saw that it was painted by an artist whom he’d purchased art from at another show one year prior, at a show almost 1,000 miles away. The first painting he’d purchased from this artist was a ranchwoman, beautiful and strong. He said it was her eyes that…