Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2025/No. 214 i Western Art Collector

Welcome to the June issue of Western Art Collector! There is much to celebrate in this issue. First, executive editor Michael Clawson was named as an honorary member of the 60-year-old arts organization, the Cowboy Artists of America. This important honor is a rare distinction for longtime supporters of the organization—John Wayne was a past honorary member and present members include such people as Red Steagall, Bill Rey and Seth Hopkins. So he’s in good company. We are very proud of his commitment and support to the CA. Congratulations, Michael! We have some absolutely staggering gallery previews in this issue with Colt Idol at Couer d’Alene Galleries, Grant Redden at Maxwell Alexander Gallery, Silas Thompson at Gallery Wild, Don Oelze at Legacy Gallery, Aaron Hazel at Manitou Galleries and many…

July 18-27, 2025 Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show & Sale Cheyenne, WY – (307) 778-7290 July 26, 2025 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction Reno, NV – (208) 772-9009 August 16-17, 2025 Santa Fe Indian Market Santa Fe, NM – (505) 983-5220 September 13, 2025 Jackson Hole Art Auction Jackson, WY – (866) 549-9278 September 5-6, 2025 Quest for the West Indianapolis, IN – (317) 636-9378 September 6-28, 2025 Western Visions Show + Sale Jackson, WY – (307) 733-5771 September 15-20, 2025 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Cody, WY – (307) 587-5002 October 11-12, 2025 Cherokee Art Market Tulsa, OK – (918) 384-6714 Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2025 Lone Star Art Auction Dallas, TX – (469) 608-7600 November 7-8, 2025 Cowboy Artists of America Show & Sale Fort Worth, TX –…

1 Blue Rain Gallery gets new work from Doug West Now available at Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, are several new pieces from Southwest modernist Doug West. One of the new works is Remembering the Flow & You, showing a union of plants, land and sky. “The Southwest is my rich pallet for creative inspiration. Time spent out on the land is where I feel most grounded. Watching the sky’s changing light, with heroic cloud forms overhead…these feed my artist’s eye,” West says. “I love that the land here is exposed and wide open to long distant horizons. New Mexico resonates deeply with my spirit as an artist. I am most interested in capturing what speaks of the expanse and the connection that ties us to this place…

We’ve been asked before why we still create a section for women artists. The people who ask this question ask it innocently and in good faith. “Women are treated fairly in the art world, right?” Only the artists can answer this accurately, but generally yes, women are treated equally. And yet, depending on where you look, women artists can represent anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of galleries, museum exhibitions, auctions and art fairs. So more can be done, which is why this section is always an exciting time to highlight women artists and their accomplishments in the art world. And make no mistake: the artists whose works appear here in our Women Artists section can, and will, appear in any issue of this magazine. They are not just great…

Opens June 20, 2025 Coeur d’Alene, ID “I’ve been doing artwork my whole life,” Colt Idol relates. “It was a mild interest because my greatest passion was athletics. I didn’t see a future in athletics and left school to spend a year working in my dad’s studio. He’s a sculptor and began the Dick Idol brand of furniture and home furnishings. We went into painting together. It was one of my biggest learning periods for targeted experimentation. Trying to discover your style is like trying to discover a new color. It’s hard to see something that isn’t there yet. You have to create avenues to stumble on new effects.” Idol has mastered the reciprocal effects of light and color and often chooses to depict them in difficult conditions. Often there…

June 5-15, 2025 Jackson Hole, WY For artist Doyle Hostetler, mindset is key. “If I push too hard or think too much, it doesn’t flow. Likewise, comfort kills the creator,” the artist notes. “There’s a quiet sweet spot with a touch of pain that I thrive in.” For his upcoming show Dichotomy, at Gallery Wild, the artist features around 18 new wildlife portraits. Subjects are in “striking clarity against intentionally blurred, often void backgrounds,” says gallery owner Carrie Wild. She continues, “This contrast emphasizes the raw power and presence of animals such as big cats and North American hoofed creatures. Employing a limited palette, Hostetler captures the essence of his subjects, allowing their untamed beauty to command attention. His technique not only highlights the individuality of each animal, but also…

Duane Frey is a self-taught wildlife artist whose work in graphite captures the soul of the animals he draws. He prefers working in graphite to bring out powerful contrasts—light and shadow, softness and strength, stillness and motion. “Working in graphite allows me to strip all the other noise away,” Frey says. “It puts the focus solely on the animal—its expression, the alertness in its eyes, the tension in its muscles, and the vulnerability of its environment.” Frey’s path into art was not straightforward. Though his talent was clear from a young age, life led him down a different path. For years, he worked in construction, his sketchbooks and pencils packed away. But one day, on a dare, he picked up his pencil again—and everything changed. What started as a playful…

June 7, 2025 Lubbock, TX The 11th edition of the Summer Stampede Western Art & Gear Show returns to Texas featuring a diverse range of mediums and styles within Western-themed artwork and working cowboy gear. The show, hosted at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas, includes an evening of food and dancing among a showcase of paintings, photography, bronze sculptures, handcrafted silver work, detailed leatherwork and so much more. “Our mission with Summer Stampede is to showcase Western art and the talented artists who bring it to life, always keeping in mind our core mission of preserving and interpreting the history of ranching,” explains Katy Rush, event manager. “The collection of art in this show represents a dynamic blend of both well-established names and emerging talents. The Western…

June 13-September 1, 2025 San Antonio, TX Presented in conjunction with Museo del Vaquero de las Californias (MuVaCa), located on the tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, the Briscoe Western Art Museum will host Aloha Vaqueros, an exhibition that explores the interconnectedness of North America’s original cowboys and Hawaii’s Paniolo culture. Vaquero culture dates back to the 1680s, brought by the Spanish when they began to settle in the Americas, bringing with them cattle and horses, and establishing ranches. The way of life eventually made its way to Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, which were all part of Mexico at the time. In the early 19th century, these Mexican vaqueros traveled across the Pacific to Hawaii, long before it became a state, to share their ranching skills and traditions with…

June 21-22, 2025 Santa Fe, NM For art dealer Brian Lebel, there are many kinds of art collectors. And no two are ever identical. To prove his point, he offers up any one of his sales or events from the last several decades. Some collectors show up for fine art paintings and sculptures. Others for the historic Native American material. Others for the parade saddles or bits and spurs. Even more show up looking for combinations of materials: Navajo weavings and Acoma pottery, or Edward Borein etchings and vintage saddle equipment, or Colt firearms and beaded gauntlets. To Lebel, it’s all Western art, which is why he offers all of it. “Art brings strange bedfellows together sometimes, and it’s surprising because you’ll never know who you’ll meet,” Lebel says. “The…

April 11-12, 2025 Scottsdale, AZ The stock markets were up and down. Tariffs were in effect, and then weren’t. Even oil was volatile. In early April, all signs were pointing to a tough period for fine art and the people who collect it. But then the Scottsdale Art Auction opened bidding on its live spring sale. Results revealed a hit: $15 million in sales, numerous new auction records and a 97 percent sell-through rate. “Despite the economic issues happening that week, we are thrilled at the number of people actively bidding throughout the duration of the sale,” says auction partner Brad Richardson. “The auction had stronger attendance than we have had in a few years and the enthusiastic bidding speaks to the quality of work we offered across the board.…

In the nearly 12 years I’ve been with Western Art Collector, I’ve interviewed Logan Maxwell Hagege, Glenn Dean and Josh Elliott separately several dozen times. That’s telephone interviews, podcasts, informal chats about new work or just general check-ins for upcoming shows. And yet, as often I’ve interviewed them, we’ve never had the opportunity to all speak together at the same time, at least not on the record. For our coverage of their show, Sun Brothers: Dean, Elliott, Hagege in the Land of Enchantment, I wrangled them all together for a Zoom call from their studios. It was an enlightening conversation, one you can read more about on Page 40. One thing that stood out to me during our discussion was how connected artists feel to other artists. You could see…

The Denver Art Museum recently announced the full slate of museum additions that were acquired in 2024, with several notable Western works on the list. Among the highlights are a beaded canvas by Kiowa artist Teri Greeves; Billy Schenck’s 1984 half-tone dot painting Half-Tone Flats; a remarkable 1930 New Mexico woodblock print from Jessie Jo Eckford; and a provocative allegorical painting from Cree painter Kent Monkman. Another key addition to the museum’s vast and important collection is Fritz Scholder’s Deco Indian from 1978. The piece, a modern portrait-like painting of a seated Native American man, is a quintessential Scholder work with bold colors, a stylized figure and his solid-color background. Pieces like Deco Indian are helping establish Scholder’s work well beyond the Western and Native American genres from where they…

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There is no mistake that the desert is glorifying in all its majesty. That part, at least in the world of Western art, is largely unquestionable. It’s a theme that comes up in many works by countless artists. And yet, there is also something lurking in paintings of the desert: a feeling of loneliness, isolation and emptiness. These qualities might sound negative or downright terrifying, but consider that these are qualities that make many appreciate the desert even more. We seek out the silence, the isolation and the vast landscapes void of other people. There is a reverence in that stillness. Author Cormac McCarthy, who lived in Santa Fe until his death in 2023, frequently turned to bleak descriptions of the desert to convey a sense of despair tinged with…

Opens June 7, 2025 Pasadena, CA For Grant Redden’s newest show at Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Pasadena, California, the artist will be focusing on the beauty around his home in Wyoming, where the seasons tend to get more pronounced above 7,000 feet. It’s even called High Desert Plateau to draw attention to that high country he enjoys painting. But another element looms large in the show: struggle. This theme is reflected in works like Twisting in the Wind and Upended, both of which show a rider fighting with a quarrelsome horse. “The Western way of life is all about the struggle to stay alive,” says Redden. “These paintings are based on things I’ve witnessed or had happen to me. I haven’t been bucked off a horse since I was a little…

June 13-14, 2025 Santa Fe, NM Aaron Hazel paints with spackle knives, palette knives, brushes and, from time to time, his fingers. “They’re an awesome mechanism,” he says. Hazel studied art at Whitman College in Washington state, where he also played basketball. After college he attended workshops by the renowned impressionist Robert Moore who had also been a basketball player. Hazel now assists Moore in his workshops. He will be demonstrating his own painting skills at Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico, during A Weekend with Aaron Hazel on June 13 and 14. The gallery’s general manager, Cyndi Hall, says, “This event is a unique chance to witness Aaron Hazel’s creative process up close and to truly connect with an artist whose work is as profound as it is…

New Mexico-based painter Teresa Lynn Johnson has been painting with oils for many years, focusing on Western landscapes and animals. Originally from Texas, Johnson spent her childhood on a farm, which helped foster her love for nature and animals. Currently, Johnson is working on a series of wild horse paintings for her September 11 through 14 exhibition at the Reno Tahoe International Art Show in Reno, Nevada. Over the past year, she conducted field research on wild horse herds in California, Nevada and New Mexico. Johnson believes that close observation of these herds and studying their behaviors provides valuable insights and allows her to convey her impressions more effectively on canvas. Additionally, the artist focuses on painting various animals, both wild and domestic, as well as Western landscapes. She derives…

Through September 21, 2025 Cartersville, GA Western Costumes from the Silver Screen: The Davey Collection, an exhibition devoted to the costumes of film and TV, is now open at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia. The exhibition will feature 24 items, including clothing and accessories, from some of the biggest names in entertainment. The items will be paired with complementary material, including movie posters, lobby cards and historic photography, all of which will help connect the materials from how they were first experienced by the public to their present-day presentation. of Hollywood memorabilia, has amassed an extraordinary collection of over 3,300 Hollywood-related items, including Western costumes, personal items from legendary movie stars and vintage fashion,” the museum notes about the exhibition. “His commitment to preserving the legacy of…

March 28-29, 2025 San Antonio, TX The festivities were off the charts at the Briscoe Western Art Museum as it opened the 24th annual Night of Artists exhibition in San Antonio, Texas. The show generated $2 million in sales, including $451,000 in the live auction. “This year’s Night of Artists showcased the incredible talent and vision of today’s top Western artists, and we are thrilled by the enthusiastic response from collectors and guests,” says Liz Jackson, president and CEO at the Briscoe. “The energy, excitement and record-breaking sales reinforce the importance of preserving and celebrating Western art. We are grateful to our artists, patrons and supporters for making this event such a success.” Eighty-five artists and 270 works were included in the show, and many of the artists were on…

May 30, 2025 Online A stunning variety of fine art—cowboys and cattle, wildlife art, Native American subjects, bronzes, figures and more—will be available May 30 during the Spring 2025 Online Auction hosted by Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Art Auction. Once primarily known for a large September sale, Jackson Hole Art Auction now offers three annual sales in February, May and September, each bringing a large volume of material to bidders. “This our third annual and largest spring auction,” says managing director Kevin Doyle. “I started this auction to keep us relevant year-round for our clients. This auction, along with February, has been a great conduit for larger estate liquidations.” Doyle notes that there will be several collections represented, including one estate with bronzes by Dan Ostermiller and also important wildlife works…

1 HYRUM JOE SELLS NEW WORK FROM BLUE RAIN GALLERY Painter Hyrum Joe (Navajo (Diné)) has been showing at Blue Rain Gallery for many years and has seen continued success from the gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A recent work, Watermelon Day at the Trading Post, recently sold to a collector. The painting, although straightforward in subject matter, is quite contemporary with loose brushwork, lively color and a powerful sense of light—all hallmarks of Joe’s exciting and evocative works that show Native American life. 2 TOM LOVELL SOARS AT JOHN MORAN AUCTIONEERS During John Moran Auctioneers’ March 25 Art of the American West sale in Monrovia, California, a Tom Lovell work quickly rose to become the top lot of the sale. The 1994 piece, A Warrior No More, is described by…

Western Art Trail → Recently Acquired → Western Art News → Fresh Paint → Sold June 6-August 3 Prix de West NATIONAL COWBOY & WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM May May 10-September 21 Western Costumes from the Silver Screen: The Davey Collection BOOTH WESTERN ART MUSEUM Cartersville, GA – (770) 387-1300 www.boothmuseum.org May 30-June 28 Oil Painters of American: 34th Annual National Exhibition & Convention HERRIG CENTER FOR THE ARTS Bradenton, FL – oilpaintersofamerica.com May 30 Spring 2025 Online Auction JACKSON HOLE ART AUCTION Online – (307) 734-9739 jacksonholeartauction.com May 31-August 31 The Art of Printmaking: Process and Passion STEAMBOAT ART MUSEUM Steamboat Springs, CO – (970) 870-1755 steamboatartmuseum.org June 5-15 Doyle Hostetler: Dichotomy GALLERY WILD June Through June 1 Miniature Masterpieces Show & Sale PHIPPEN MUSEUM Prescott, AZ – (830) 896-2553 museumofwesternart.com…

As Jeremy Lipking was preparing his Prix de West paintings for the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, a theme developed: the iris flower. Lipking pulled on the thread and ended up with three works that relate to the flower. The linchpin of the trio is A Personal Possession, showing a woman holding a small glass case. “This painting depicts my second great-grandmother Sophia who came to America from Germany. Her one personal possession she brought with her was an iris rhizome from a plant that grew in her garden since she was a child. It was the one thing she brought from home to a new land and loved it dearly,” Lipking says. “My grandmother then continued growing these irises that came from the initial plant and I, too,…

In 2013, Logan Maxwell Hagege, Josh Elliott and Glenn Dean were featured in a show called Young Guns. Although it wasn’t that far into the past—the olde yonder times of 12 years ago—the trio of painters think back on the name of the show and they can’t help but crack a smile. “We’re not really young anymore,” Elliott laughs. That first show was at Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, and then another joint show took place in 2015 at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia. But their history goes back even further, to the old Maynard Dixon Country shows in Utah, the California Art Club and plein air shows in Carmel-by-the-Sea. They estimate they had all met by 2003, and the first painting trip together was in 2007.…

June 27-July 6, 2025 Santa Fe, NM Don Oelze’s latest solo show at Legacy Gallery features a body of work that represents the ongoing focus of the artist’s painting career: narrative storytelling centered around Native American life, with particular emphasis on the later half of the 19th century. “I have long been drawn to this pivotal era, where the collision of cultures and the enduring strength of Native peoples created stories of deep resilience, loss and humanity,” he says. For this upcoming show, Oelze has divided his work between the Northern Plains tribes and the Apache people of the Southwest, two distinct cultural regions. “While both hold immense historical and artistic interest for me, my connection to the Southwest, and to the Apaches in particular, has deepened significantly in recent…

June 12-22, 2025 Jackson Hole, WY Idaho artist Silas Thompson’s new body of work emerged from time spent in and around the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park last fall. Appropriately, it will be revealed at Gallery Wild in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in an exhibition titled The Veiled Apologue, from June 12 through 22. Thompson’s latest landscapes are a combination of the style of paintings he has become known for—dense, dappled thickets of woods and flickering aspen groves that dissolve into various degrees of abstraction—and more experimental pieces that further explore the way we perceive the world around us. One of the anomalies in the collection is Drawn Back, a highly impressionistic depiction of the iconic Grand Teton all lit up in dawn’s alpenglow. The colors of the craggy peak…

June 17-July 1, 2025 Jackson Hole, WY As a young boy, Rocky Hawkins would dress up in cowboy outfits and imitate the characters he saw in 1950s TV shows about the Old West. That fascination with Western history endured throughout Hawkins’ life, and for the past 23 years the artist has worked on his Montana ranch creating expressive, abstract imagery of the West. An exhibition of new works by Hawkins titled Into The West: Then & Now will be on view at Altamira Fine Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, from June 17 to July 1. “This latest series was inspired by a Spaghetti Western made in 1968 called Once Upon a Time in the West,” says Hawkins. The film, in which Clint Eastwood was originally offered the role of the…

June 20-21, 2025 Oklahoma City, OK The most famous lyrics in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical Oklahoma! are, of course, the big opening lines with the sweepin’ wind and the wavin’ wheat. But look at the artwork of this year’s Prix de West at Oklahoma’s National Cowboy & Western Heritage and another lyric will jump out at you: “You’re doin’ fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma O.K.” The Sooner State will once again host one of the largest and most spectacular Western shows of the year beginning June 6 in Oklahoma City. This year’s show will feature the work of 90 artists with 275 works on view. Not only are these some of the best artists working today, but they will be showing their best works, including pieces they’ve been working on for months…

May 31-August 31, 2025 Steamboat Springs, CO From Leon Loughridge to the late Frank Stella, a new exhibition at Steamboat Art Museum in Colorado explores the art of printmaking, a unique creative process with a centuries-old history. Artist and master printer Sue Oehme serves as the guest curator for this upcoming exhibition, which offers visitors an immersive experience into the world of contemporary printmaking. “Much of my life has been devoted to the making and understanding of visual art. Most of my adult life has been dedicated to the art and technique of fine art printmaking, and now, as the guest curator, this exhibition will showcase the beautiful printmaking work that has been produced, either with me, through me, or through teaching,” says Oehme. “Fine art printmaking is first and…

May 30-June 28, 2025 Bradenton, FL Oil Painters of America will be holding the 34th Annual National Exhibition & Convention at the tail end of May. The prestigious monthlong exhibition showcases the finest in representational artwork created by nearly 200 juried artists as well as many esteemed OPA Master Signature artists across North America. It’s a celebration of talent and passion for the traditional art of representational oil painting, punctuated by a diverse range of prominent painters. Among the featured Master Signature artists are notable names such as Daud Akhriev, Kathy Anderson, Nikolo Balkanski, John Michael Carter, James Crandall, William Farnsworth and Patrick Saunders, who will serve as the juror of awards. As part of the exhibition, Saunders will award approximately $100,000 in cash and merchandise to exceptional participating artists, including…

June 22, 2025 Calgary, Alberta Held at the historic Dean House in Calgary, Alberta, the annual Pure West Art Auction, gearing up for its seventh edition, boasts between 150 and 200 significant Western lots. Ingrid Schulz, the founder and producer of the auction, notes that collectors will find “a quintessential mix of contemporary artists and historical pieces.” Schulz continues, “Our group of contemporary artists are asked to create a piece of work specifically for this sale—one which hasn’t been seen prior to the sale. [In addition], Pure West always brings in few key pieces of art for the sale that hold historical significance and interest. We are [currently] working through a large estate collection, much of which will be in this auction as well.” This particular collection contains Navajo rugs,…