Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2025/No. 218 i Western Art Collector

Welcome to Western Art Collector! It is with great pride that we present the 15th annual Western Museum Directory. Michael Clawson, our revered museum expert, provides some great insight in his editor’s letter. We highlight 13 museums in the directory, and then we have eight previews of upcoming exhibitions. These are the top Western art museums in the United States, and we have in-depth information on all of them, including their upcoming shows and events. These museums house some of the greatest pieces of Western history and heritage. The guide starts on Page 57. Be sure to use it as you make travel plans around the country. We hear from collectors almost every day about a piece they bought from a gallery, museum or direct from an artist. Sometimes these…

Through December 2025 Fistful of Colors WESTERN SPIRIT: SCOTTSDALE’S MUSEUM OF THE WEST Scottsdale, AZ – (480) 686-9539 www.westernspirit.org Through January 4, 2026 Birds in Art LEIGH YAWKEY WOODSON ART MUSEUM Wausau, WI – (715) 845-7010 www.lywam.org Through January 11, 2026 Selections from the Janis and Roy Coffee Collection TAOS ART MUSEUM AT FECHIN HOUSE Taos, NM – (575) 758-2690 www.taosartmuseum.org Through January 31, 2026 Ed Mell • Maynard Dixon: Icons of the West MAYNARD DIXON MUSEUM Tucson, AZ – (520) 722-7798 www.maynarddixonmuseum.org Through February 22, 2026 Gustave Baumann NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF ART Santa Fe, NM - (505) 476-5063 www.nmartmuseum.org…

Painter Jerry Jordan is widely known for his depictions of Northern New Mexico, particularly around his home of Taos. Jordan has been a fixture in Taos for decades, and has the historical knowledge of the city and its people to prove it. And yet, Jordan is not from New Mexico, but from Lubbock, Texas, not far over the New Mexico border. Lubbock will honor Jordan on October 9 with a formal ceremony, during which the artist will be inducted into the West Texas Walk of Fame. Jordan will join a distinguished group of artists who hail from West Texas, including musicians Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings and Roy Orbison, and sculptor Glenna Goodacre. “I am deeply honored to be recognized in this way by my hometown,” Jordan says. “Lubbock has always…

Located just north of Atlanta is the Booth Western Art Museum, with the world’s largest permanent exhibition space for Western art. Since opening its doors in 2003, this architectural gem, designed to evoke a modern pueblo and crafted from Bulgarian limestone, has captivated visitors within its expansive 120,000 square feet. As a proud affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Booth offers a unique lens through which to view America’s story. With its diverse collection spanning paintings, sculptures, photography and historical artifacts, the museum brings to life the American experience through the eyes of its most renowned artists. The museum’s permanent collection spans more than a dozen galleries, featuring masterpieces from iconic artists like Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, as well as contemporary visionaries such as Howard Terpning and Andy…

Experience the essence of the American West this season at Desert Caballeros Western Museum (DCWM), nestled in the town of Wickenburg, Arizona. The museum features a captivating blend of world-class art collections and expansive historical exhibitions that bring to light the stories of Indigenous peoples, explorers, cowboys, vaqueros, miners and more. The museum’s growing collection features prized works by renowned artists such as George Catlin, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Remington, Georgia O’Keeffe, Charles M. Russell, the Cowboy Artists of America and the Taos Society of Artists. Contemporary perspectives are showcased through fine art by Deborah Copenhaver Fellows, Cynthia Rigden, Billy Schenck, Curt Walters and many other contemporary masters. Upcoming Exhibitions Desert Paradise – The Art and Life of Effie Anderson Smith (1869-1955) Through February 15, 2026 Now You See Us: Celebrating…

Founded in 1987, the National Museum of Wildlife Art is a world-class museum and nonprofit located in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The museum’s collection boasts more than 5,000 artworks representing wild animals from around the world. Featuring work by prominent artists like N.C. Wyeth, Georgia O’Keeffe, Andy Warhol, Ai Weiwei, Thomas Moran and Carl Rungius, the museum’s unsurpassed permanent collection chronicles much of the history of wildlife in art, from 2500 B.C. to the present. Built into a hillside overlooking the National Elk Refuge, the museum received the designation “National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States” by order of Congress in 2008. In addition to the impressive galleries, the museum also includes a museum shop, interactive children’s gallery, Palate restaurant and the outdoor Sculpture Trail. Located just two-and-a-half miles…

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a renowned combination zoo, natural history museum, botanical garden and art gallery that reflects the diverse flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert. The ASDM Art Institute was founded more than 20 years ago with the goal of promoting conservation through art education. In the 1990s, Priscilla Baldwin studied botanical illustration and became an ardent conservationist. In 1998, she and her husband Michael founded the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Art Institute (AI). Today the Art Institute provides art classes, curates art exhibits and manages a growing art collection. The Ironwood Gallery at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is honored to host Wild Arizona, a celebration of 35 years of art by Dyana Hesson. The museum will also be hosting Artists for Conservation’s annual juried International Exhibit of…

One of New Mexico’s most iconic artists, Gustave Baumann (1881-1971) first arrived in the state in 1918 and quickly became a beloved figure in the Santa Fe art community. Although the artist is best known for his woodblock prints, Baumann’s creativity extended to painting, sculpture, drawing, marionettes and furniture design. The New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe is honoring the artistic polymath with Gustave Baumann: The Artist’s Environment, a multiple-gallery retrospective that examines the arc of his career with a focus on the physical, cultural and creative environments that shaped it. Organized thematically, the show focuses on Baumann’s connection with the region’s ecology and landscapes, his fascination with Puebloan and Hispano cultures, the playful narratives he brought to life through marionettes and his involvement with international modernist design…

Nicolai Fechin is best known for his bold, colorful pictures of the people and places of New Mexico. But, as a new exhibition at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art illuminates, Fechin’s artistic legacy extends far beyond Southwest subject matter. Nicolai Fechin: An Artistic Journey, on view October 3 through April 5, 2026, focuses on how a lifetime of travel—as well as his family, friends and training—influenced his work. “Facing hardships in Russia following the 1917 revolution, Fechin immigrated to the United States relatively late in life, at the age of 42,” explains Jonathan Hacker, curatorial fellow at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum. “This fact is often overlooked, and it is easy to forget that he was already an established artist with a full career before moving first to…

Phippen Museum Prescott, AZ Opening October 11 at the Phippen Museum is Click: Light Up the West, where the public can view fine art photography of the American West by some of Arizona’s most talented photographers. “Each participating artist in this exhibit was offered an exclusive invitation based on their impressive portfolios and asked to submit six pieces for sale,” says Edd Kellerman, museum executive director. “And the result is an exceptionally curated collection of fine art photography featuring a variety of artistic techniques and subject matter.” The exhibition runs through January 11, 2026. www.phippenartmuseum.org Taos Art Museum Taos, NM Now on view at the Taos Art Museum at Fechin House is Selections from the Janis and Roy Coffee Collection, which includes selections from a 150-piece donation to the Northern…

Sculptor Star Liana York is thrilled and honored that Medicine Man Gallery is hosting the first major retrospective of her work that will include 50 years’ worth of art. She has only one regret: York has already started another new and novel series that won’t be ready in time to be included in the show, which opens this month in Tucson. But, as evidenced in the nearly 50 pieces that are in the exhibition, York, whose creative impulse is fueled by an inexhaustible curiosity, likely has many more series ahead. Featured in the exhibition are York’s figurative pieces of Native peoples and ranchers, Western wildlife and quarter horses, animal spirit totems, vessels she calls “dream urns,” and a large selection of works inspired by various forms of rock art, including…

Wherever Kenny McKenna goes, he is inspired by the natural light and atmosphere of the world around him, whether it’s the deserts of Arizona, the canyons of Northern New Mexico or even the California coast. For his newest show, the New Mexico artist turns his attention to Texas Hill Country, the famous region known for its luscious beauty and stunning light in the heart of the Lone Star State. From Hill Country to High Desert, which opens October 3, is presented by InSight Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas, which is surrounded on all sides by Hill Country. The show will be the artist’s first at the gallery. McKenna has painted in Texas before, including in Hill Country, Big Bend National Park and Palo Duro Canyon. He notes that the light is…

For his new solo show at Blue Rain Gallery, Symbols and Symmetries, Brad Overton focuses on “small poetic theatre” in each of his paintings. In around 10 fresh works, Overton “strikes a particularly contemplative tone, all while retaining the wonder, humor and keen observation of the human condition that have become his trademarks,” says gallery director, Leah Garcia. Garcia also notes that Overton not only brings poetic energy and sensibility to his subjects, but combines elements of history and individual stories with strong design and evocative symbols. Using oils, paper cutouts and images inspired by his collection of antique lead toys, Overton lets his sense of awe and delight dictate the thoughts that flow from his unique take on the world around him—complex and deep, yet straightforward and tinged with…

Ben Miller began his Endangered Rivers series out of his deep passion for raising awareness about the importance of river preservation. The paintings, like the rivers themselves, are complex layers of color and transparency. Each work is created by thousands of singular casts with a fly rod—Miller calls this process “Fly Cast Painting” and terms the differently shaped materials on the end of the rod “Fly Brushes.” In a sense, the paintings are made in reverse, with marks made on the back of a plexiglass panel. When turned around, the first strikes of paint represent surface reflections and whitewater rills. These highlights are then backed by successive color layers of deeper and darker forms. While his preparation is calculated, the execution must be spontaneous and instinctual. He must first find…

Taos artists beat estimates in Scottsdale sale On August 23, Scottsdale Art Auction presented a live online auction featuring 428 lots of Western art. The works, which hung in the auction house’s Arizona gallery leading up to the online sale, featured a wide variety of material from all around the West, Southwest and even from the broader category of American art. More than 2,500 people registered for the sale, which helped it bring in more than $2.5 million in sales. Highlights from the sale were two paintings by Taos Society of Artists founders: Eanger Irving Couse’s Song of the Blue Aspens (est. $60/90,000) that sold for $117,000 and Joseph Henry Sharp’s Before the Hunt, Glorieta Forest (est. $65/95,000) that sold for $111,000. Other works that sold over estimates were by…

This month we celebrate museums with our annual Western Museum Directory. We really pulled out all the stops and tried to include everything we could get our hands on, and trust me, the cuts we made were difficult and painful. There are just so many great shows. Too many to fit in the issue. Some of the exhibitions we had to cut are going to end up in later issues, but even those issues are going to be full of great museum content. This may sound like I’m complaining, but what an amazing problem to have! One of the exciting elements of our museum coverage—in every issue, not just this one—is the diversity of museums we feature. Of course, some of these venues are the great Western art destinations that…

November 7-8, 2025 Cowboy Artists of America Show & Sale Fort Worth, TX – (817) 247-1200 November 7-8, 2025 Santa Fe Art Auction’s Annual Signature Live Auction Santa Fe, NM – (505) 954-5858 November 12, 2025 Western Trading Post’s Advanced Collector’s Auction Wickenburg, AZ – (520) 426-7702 November 14-15, 2025 Tehachapi Arts Commission Art 2025 Show Tehachapi, CA – (626) 945-3753 November 29-30 SWAIA Winter Market Santa Fe, NM – (505) 983-5220 January 2026 (Dates TBA) Petrie Institute of Western Art Symposium Denver, CO – (720) 865-5000 January 8, 2026 Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale Denver, CO – (303) 291-2567 January 23-24, 2026 Old West Show & Auction Las Vegas, NV – (877) 968-8880 February 14-15, 2026 Southeastern Wildlife Exposition Charleston, SC – (843) 723-1748 March 2026 (Dates TBA)…

New Mexican painter Sean Michael Chavez, known for his popular paintings of horses and vaqueros, has been announced as the official artist for the 2025 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, which will run on October 31 and November 1 in Del Mar, California. The annual race is one of the most popular horse-racing events in the country. Chavez created two images for the event, Lucky Sevens and The Torrie, and both will appear on official programs, posters and merchandise for the Breeders’ Cup. “Lucky Sevens depicts upon a podium the jockey and his horse standing tall and proud in the royal purple of the Breeders’ Cup. In the background, a rendering of the historic Del Mar race track, creating a sense of place,” Chavez says. “The Torrie is a fantasy painting.…

Every segment of the Western art market is important. The galleries introduce us to new artists, and help new and old artists sell their work and grow their careers. Auctions allow art to recirculate throughout the country and help build demand and prices for art. Fairs and markets bring together collectors all under one roof. Each one has a role to play. For museums, the role is to exhibit the art in a pristine setting, protect the culture of art and to explore what the art represents to us now and to the generations of people who come after us. Museums have a lot of heavy lifting to do, which is why we always devote a special section in every October issue to our Western Museum Directory. We support museums…

The West starts at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, located on the iconic River Walk in the heart of downtown San Antonio, Texas. Bringing the vibrant culture and heritage of the American West to life through painting, sculpture, photography and historical relics, the Briscoe shares the stories of the Native American, vaquero, American cowboy, pioneering women and the landscape and wildlife that define the American West. The museum features a wide range of artists including the canonical George Catlin, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Remington and Fritz Scholder, and contemporary works from Mark Maggiori, Howard Terpning, John Coleman and Bonnie Marris. Together, the museum’s permanent collection, exhibitions and educational programs reflect the region’s rich history and traditions, filling 14 galleries and the McNutt Sculpture Garden, making it a must for anyone who…

The Maynard Dixon & Native American Art Museum in Tucson, Arizona, is dedicated to the lifework of legendary Western artist Maynard Dixon (1875-1946) and to the voices of Native Americans through historic and contemporary artworks. The museum features the most extensive collection of drawings, sketches, oil paintings, handwritten poems, letters and ephemera related to Maynard Dixon. A world-class collection of Native American jewelry, pottery, baskets, kachinas, weavings and Polynesian art is featured in the museum as well. Highlights include pottery by Maria and Julian Martinez; their son, Popovi Da; and grandson, Tony Da. There is a significant collection of historic Native American jewelry, as well as a vintage Navajo silversmith bench with original tools. The rotating exhibitions in the Presidential Room feature celebrated artists who have been inspired by the…

The Phippen Museum in Prescott, Arizona, is a notable cultural destination dedicated to celebrating the fine art and heritage of the American West. Named after George Phippen—renowned local artist and first president of the Cowboy Artists of America—the museum showcases a variety of permanent and rotating exhibits throughout the year, making it a dynamic space for both art lovers and history enthusiasts. The 17,000-square-foot facility boasts four galleries, two studio replicas, a museum store, multi-purpose classroom, research library and four permanent exhibits. They include the Bill & Marion Gary Western Heritage Gallery (home of the Arizona Rancher & Cowboy Hall of Fame), the George Phippen Gallery, the Solon H. Borglum Collection Room and the Ray Swanson Gallery. Serving as both an educational resource and a cultural hub, the Phippen Museum…

Since it opened on April 23, 1983, the Museum of Western Art (originally known as the Cowboy Artists of America Museum) has a mission dedicated to excellence in the collection, preservation and promotion of Western heritage and the education and cultural enrichment of its diverse audiences. The museum (known as MoWA) consists of several galleries, an extensive Western heritage research library, small museum store, a children’s interactive gallery, and a large pavilion for special events. Throughout the year, exhibits change every 60 to 90 days. In addition, eight workshops a year are held by those known for their expertise in the Western art genre. At the rear of the museum is the Gladys and Andy Simon Cowboy Artists of America Memorial Garden honoring each of the CAs since its inception…

The concept was simple: new work paired with old work. The new work was for sale, and the old work was there to ground the artist to their origins. For collectors, the pairing was meant to illuminate an artist’s history and guide them to their current work. Since 2013, this formula worked tremendously well for the Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve’s biennial exhibition and sale, started in 2013. The museum is tweaking this concept for the museum’s 100th anniversary, although the general theme is the same: honor the past while celebrating the present and future. The event, the Woolaroc Exhibition & Sale, kicks off October 18 at the museum in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Previous iterations of the exhibition featured a limited number of artists, usually around eight, to allow extra wall…

Dyana Hesson has been painting larger-than-life florals for more than 30 years and, in recent years, has narrowed her focus to the native plants of her home state of Arizona. Now, Tucson’s Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is showcasing roughly 40 paintings that span the artist’s passion for the botanical beauty of the Southwest and beyond. Wild Arizona: Native Arizona Plants and Places will be on view in the museum’s Ironwood Gallery from October 4 through December 7. An artist talk followed by a reception will take place on opening day from 1 to 4 p.m. Hesson scouts her subjects on hikes, off-road Jeep adventures and restoration projects, chasing elusive blooms around the state with the seasons. Although she didn’t start out with conservation in mind she, like many who become more…

Opening October 3 at the Briscoe Western Art Museum is Going to Texas: Five Centuries of Texas Maps, featuring 64 original maps from the Yana and Marty Davis Map Collection. The new exhibition will take visitors on a journey through Texas’ evolving history and identity. The maps featured have a range of more than 500 years, from the 16th century to 2006. “This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a collection of this caliber,” says Liz Jackson, president and CEO of the Briscoe Western Art Museum. “Maps are more than coordinates and boundaries—they are windows into the people, politics and possibilities of a place. This exhibition shows how cartography helped shape Texas and how Texas shaped the world’s imagination in return.” The map collection was assembled by Yana and…

Storytelling in New Mexico has a long and colorful history. Histories, stories and religious rites have been passed on orally among Native peoples for thousands of years. In the 1960s, Helen Cordero at Cochiti Pueblo began making figurative clay sculptures of storytellers and children in honor of her grandfather. Historic narratives of Hispanic culture and the colorful, often tall, tales of heroes and outlaws of the American West become visible today in the paintings of New Mexico artist Jim Vogel. Drawing since before he can remember, Vogel attended the Art Institute of Chicago where he met Christen Hupfer. They married and eventually settled in Dixon, New Mexico, where they raised three children and collaborate on making art. Today they share a studio they built with their son Sage, who collaborates…

At 34, Colt Idol has already made a name for himself as a painter of Western scenes defined by a bold use of color that makes his pieces appear to glow from within. On October 3 and 4, the public is invited to watch how he achieves his signature vibrancy in A Weekend with Colt Idol at Legacy Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. During the show, the artist will work on paintings in front of an audience from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Idol will also have paintings on display, including landscapes, teepee imagery, wildlife, narrative-driven pieces and more contemporary works that emphasize the use of paint. Color, an element he continues to push, is central in all of them. “I stumbled into certain color ways that…

A costa Strong Fine Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will host a new solo show for painter R.E. Reynolds starting on October 20. The show, titled Sky’s the Limit, will feature new landscapes done in Reynolds’ unique impasto style that he achieves with a mixture of methods. “I prefer to use tools that are a little too large for the job, in the sense that I do not want to be too careful, but rather discover in the process of laying paint down a feeling like sunlight on the figure, or the expansive windswept forms of cumulus clouds,” he says. “I’m using large palette knives, brushes, mason’s trowels and kitchen spatulas to add and subtract oil paint from the canvas.” The artist says the title refers to his desire to…

Tony Pro’s debut solo show in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will take place this fall at Meyer Gallery, offering collectors a closer look at the internationally acclaimed artist’s work. A deeply personal homage to the Navajo (Diné) and pueblo people, Between Earth & Sky features intimate portraits and panoramic landscapes in rich oils. “I grew up visiting the reservations with my parents every summer. My mother sold Native jewelry and textiles, and my father, an aspiring Western artist, would be in search of models and inspiration among the mesas of Arizona and New Mexico,” says Pro. “Those memories of Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly and Taos shaped me. This show is my way of giving back.” A total of 16 new works will be on display, with highlights including Among…

In 2023, Art Renewal Center Living Master Stephen A. Jesic completed a major new work, Monarchs of the Sky, featuring wedge-tail eagles. The work took years to complete, but the time was necessary to hone in the composition. “Usually, my design concepts are fully resolved before I start the painting process, but Monarchs of the Sky proved difficult and had a long history,” Jesic says. “The initial inspiration happened while I was photographing outback scenery in 1986. A wedge-tailed eagle was soaring high above, catching thermal currents, majestic. Years passed, more reference photos gathered, then finally a design was completed by early 2017. I started the painting with a single eagle but soon felt the eagle’s pose was not dynamic enough. Several more years passed as I photographed wedge-tailed eagles…

October 18-December 31 Woolaroc Exhibition & Sale WOOLAROC MUSEUM & WILDLIFE PRESERVE Bartlesville, OK – (918) 336-0307 www.woolaroc.org September September 26-October 7 Brad Overton: Symbols and Symmetries BLUE RAIN GALLERY Santa Fe, NM – (505) 954-9902 www.blueraingallery.com October Through October 3 Golden Age Influencers NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ILLUSTRATION Newport, RI – (401) 851-8949 www.americanillustration.org October 3-4 A Weekend with Colt Idol LEGACY GALLERY SANTA FE Santa Fe, NM – (505) 986-9833 www.legacygallery.com October 3-24 Kenny McKenna: From Hill Country to High Desert INSIGHT GALLERY Fredericksburg, TX – (830) 997-9920 www.insightgallery.com October 3-December 31 Resonance 2025: 4th Annual Art Invitational A.R. MITCHELL MUSEUM OF WESTERN ART Trinidad, CO – (719) 846-4224 www.armitchellmuseum.com October 3-24 Kenny McKenna: From Hill Country to High Desert INSIGHT GALLERY Fredericksburg, TX – (830) 997-9920 www.insightgallery.com Oct.…

During an installation and unveiling ceremony on July 26, the Benson Sculpture Garden in Loveland, Colorado, presented a new bronze monument by sculptor Amanda Markel to the public. More than 100 people were in attendance as her piece Ridge Runners was unveiled for the first time. The monument will remain a permanent installation at the Colorado garden. The venue, recognized as one of the 200 most important modern and contemporary art sites worldwide and among the top 20 must-see contemporary art destinations in the United States, is home to a collection valued at more than $5 million. Presently, more than 188 sculptures are on view at the garden, which is home to the annual Sculpture in the Park, one of the most prestigious sculpture events in the country. The bronze…

1 Dylan Cavin unveils new ledger work at Acosta Strong Fine Art Choctaw painter Dylan Cavin had a strong showing at August’s Santa Fe Indian Market, where he had a booth on Lincoln Avenue, along the market’s most major artery. The artist has been fusing Western imagery with Native American ledger art, creating a unique blending of styles and cultures. In addition to his Native American subjects draped in traditional weavings, he also is painting more classic cowboy figures on antique paper. His cutting-edge work is already enticing Western collectors of all varieties. Although Santa Fe Indian Market is over, Cavin shows his work at Acosta Strong Fine Art in Santa Fe at the base of historic Canyon Road. See more work at www.acostastrong.com. 2 Dominik Modlinski sends work to…

My first real exposure to the art of the American West came at the Rockwell Museum in Corning, New York. I knew of the big names and the big paintings but suffered the insularity that many of us suffer in the places we were born. As a child of the East Coast of Massachusetts, we always joked that there was no culture west of the Berkshires which, mercifully, buffered us from the neighboring state of New York. That was before I spent more than 30 years working in museums and cultural institutions across the state of New York. Insularity and exclusion is a thing of the past in museums as they make connections—among works of art and with the public that comes to look at them. I asked Erin Coe,…

Couse-Sharp Historic Site is the most significant historic site focused on the early 20th century Taos art colony and the Taos Society of Artists (TSA). During its heyday, the TSA was one of the best-known artists’ groups in the nation. Inspired by the area’s light and landscapes, as well as the people of Taos Pueblo and the Hispano town of Taos—communities many centuries old—these artists made a lasting impact. Their shared vision of creating a uniquely American art forever influenced perceptions of Native America and the West. CSHS’s two-plus-acre campus includes the homes, studios and gardens of Eanger Irving Couse and Joseph Henry Sharp, two of the TSA’s six founders, as well as the workshops of Kibbey Couse, a pioneering inventor, and the Lunder Research Center. The architecture, furnishings, gardens,…

Each year, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City sets the standard for Western art with three flagship events: the Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition & Sale, the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association Exhibition & Sale, and Small Works, Great Wonders. The crown jewel, Prix de West, is the pinnacle event for collectors in the United States and beyond, generating millions in annual sales and uniting the masters of the genre with its rising stars. Collectors encounter icons such as Thomas Blackshear II, George Carlson, Curt Walters, John Coleman and Martin Grelle, alongside fresh voices like Sean Michael Chavez, Eric Bowman and Logan Maxwell Hagege—together shaping the future of Western art. That same blend of legacy and scope defines the museum’s permanent collection, one of the most…

Founded in 1925 by oilman Frank Phillips, Woolaroc is a 3,700-acre working ranch with a 50,000-square-foot museum housing a collection described by Christie’s of New York as “one of the finest collections of Southwest art in the world.” The museum started out as a hangar in 1929 for the Woolaroc airplane, a plane Phillips sponsored in the Dole Flight from Oakland California to Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1927. Today, the museum houses more than 600 paintings, 300 bronzes and more than 2,300 pieces of Native American art and artifacts. The Woolaroc collection includes a broad representation of paintings by many of the “Old Masters” of Western art, including Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, William R. Leigh and Frank Tenney Johnson, as well as five of the original six Taos Society artists:…

As the only fine art museum in northwest Colorado, the Steamboat Art Museum (SAM) presents two major exhibitions annually showcasing both living masters and historic works that reflect the culture of the West, plus a fall Plein Air Event and Exhibition. SAM provides free educational outreach for all ages (from preschool to seniors), along with workshops, artist talks and collaborative events. A meeting and event space for local organizations and nonprofits, the museum serves as a cultural hub for the community. Its museum store highlights local artists, crafters and authors. Admission to exhibitions is always free. This winter SAM presents Lighting the Way: The Art of Robert Lougheed and His Legacy, featuring the renowned painter of the American West and seven artists deeply influenced by his mentorship: Terri Kelly Moyers,…

Art very rarely springs out of nothing onto a canvas fully formed. There are numerous preliminary steps that occur long before paint is put to canvas. And even before that, an idea trickles into the artist’s mind, where it percolates and brews, until finally those early sketches or color studies can happen. Art simply takes time and many different steps to come into being. The Booth Western Art Museum will explore this aspect of fine art with a unique new exhibition, Concept to Canvas: Six Contemporary Artists, opening October 25 in Cartersville, Georgia. The six artists are Jane Hunt, Michele Usibelli, Lori Putman, Brent Cotton, Jay Moore and Randal Dutra. Not only will the museum exhibit finished easel paintings, three from each artist, but also preliminary paintings and sketches, color…

An upcoming solo exhibition at the Museum of Western Art will showcase Taos, New Mexico-based artist Walt Gonske, known for his impressionist paintings of the Southwest. The prolific painter creates around 100 works a year, with this show featuring 69 paintings from what is considered Gonske’s signature body of work: a series titled The Church. “To have the works of the great Walt Gonske at our museum is a great honor,” says Darrell Beauchamp, executive director. “He is, without a doubt, one of the premier painters of our time. Gonske is an American master who paints with emotion, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Kerrville and our museum.” Highlights in the show include architectural pieces like Old San Isidro Church and Mission San Jose; townscapes like Chapel on Janitzio…

Excitement abounds as the A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art features its fourth edition of the invitational exhibition, Resonance. The museum, founded to preserve and promote the artwork of A.R. Mitchell, honors this iconic Western artist and cowboy each year in a unique fashion. Some of today’s best Western artists are invited to recreate, in their own style, imagery from one of Mitchell’s personal photographs taken from his life in the American West. “To date, much of Mitchell’s photography remains unseen by the public,” explains Allyson Sheumaker, museum executive director. “Three years ago, literally thousands of images were discovered in an unattended part of the museum’s storage area, igniting the idea for this show. Mitchell’s photographs, taken from the 1930s through the mid-1950s, were used as research for his own…

About every other year—give or take a little here and there—Maxwell Alexander Gallery’s artists meet in Southern Utah for a multi-day artist retreat amid the windswept desert plains and towering rock formations. The trip offers opportunities for the artists to get to know each other and bond, and to experience incredible country near Monument Valley. More than anything, though, the artists go to paint. The works that come from that trip are offered in a show the following year. This year’s show opens October 17 at the gallery in Pasadena, California. Nearly every artist represented by the gallery participates. The artwork offers a fascinating snapshot of creativity with and within nature by some of America’s top painters. For some of them, the experience in this ancient and beautiful location is…

“When Leroy Garcia, owner of Blue Rain Gallery, first invited me to show with his gallery he told me he was only interested in representing original paintings. He was familiar with my hand-pulled, limited-edition serigraphs, which he saw for many years at Andrews Pueblo Potter & Gallery in Albuquerque, who also represented Tammy Garcia when her career was first developing,” says artist Doug West. He made serigraph editions for about 25 years, a level of mastery of serigraphy that evolved into a “clean” graphic style depicting scenes of the New Mexico landscape. After years of printmaking, however, West desired a new creative challenge, eventually leading into his career as an oil painter. “I admired many of the Taos founders’ work, along with contemporary plein air artists,” he says. “I began…

The main inspiration for Debbie Carroll’s upcoming show, Enchanted: A Love of the Land, was her artist residency at the storied Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico, this past summer. Carroll says, “I have long been drawn to this area and love to paint the high desert landscapes, brilliant blue skies with their monsoon clouds, and the flora and fauna so abundant in this area despite it being such an arid climate.” Her new paintings capture Northern New Mexico sites, including Kitchen Mesa and Cerro Pedernal, the Painted Desert and vistas in and around Taos. Worrell Gallery in Santa Fe will be showing the series from October 10 through 31, with a reception on opening day from 5 to 7 p.m. “I have a tendency to romanticize my subjects, and…

Aleksandar and Lyuba Titovets are presenting a new body of work at InSight Gallery starting November 7 in Fredericksburg, Texas. Titled The Painted World, the show will present new works from both artists. “The Painted World presents the luminous work of Aleksander and Lyuba Titovets, a husband-and-wife duo whose classical training meets vibrant, contemporary expression. With artistic foundations rooted in their art education in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Titovets’ style is a nod to their history as well as their life in the West,” says gallery co-owner Elizabeth Harris. “Known for their rich brushwork, dynamic color and poetic vision, their work invites viewers into a world shaped by memory, place and emotional depth.” Aleksander, known for his rich and impressionistic style, blends Russian academic training with Western light and color.…

When Naomi Shachar began exhibiting her paintings about 15 years ago, the California art community immediately took notice. Soon after that she was exhibiting and gaining recognition for her work across the United States. A resident of Mission Viejo, California, Shachar works primarily in oil. The primary focus of most of her work is Western themes, including land- and seascapes, horses and still life. In July 2024, her equine painting Cooling Off was awarded best of show at the Art 2024 Tehachapi exhibition in Tehachapi, California. Shachar was born in Israel and says her love of art was inherited from her Hungarian mother. Educated as an interior designer, she felt her natural creativity and self-expression were inhibited. Her first artistic creations were decorative ceramic works and sculptures, but soon after…

Founded in 1982 as a small group of artists who came together to celebrate the American Plains region, the American Plains Artists (APA) has grown into a prominent non-profit organization with a continuously growing membership of award-winning artists. This fall, APA will host its 40th Annual Juried Exhibit, featuring top-notch original artworks depicting the American Great Plains region. From people to landscapes to wildlife, artists in the exhibition capture the plains way of life, both historic and modern. Among the artists represented in the show is Brenda Morgan, who brings several wildlife paintings, as well as a cowboy on horseback. Her oil The Strong Survive depicts two bison and their offspring. “I came across this bison family unit while visiting the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge in Canton, Kansas. The refuge does important work…

Since its debut in 2022, the Lone Star Art Auction has boasted terrific selections of Western material in its annual fall sale. However, the auction has been offering a broader appeal year after year since the inaugural sale. Now in its fourth year, the sale is embracing its larger collections—American art, Western art and Texas art—as it returns to Dallas on November 1. “It certainly looks like a Western sale because it is Western heavy, but we also pick up a lot of great Texas art and we’re also expanding more into the larger American art category,” says owner Phil Berkebile Jr. “So, as we see more of that traditional American art, and even contemporary art, we are leaning into it for our great Texas collectors.” Western art fans will…