the

Coeur d’Alene
Art Auction
Fine Western &
American Art

The 2019 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction We are now accepting quality consignments
will feature the William P. Healey for our 2019 Auction to be held July 27 at the
Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada.
Collection of paintings by John Fery, Visit our website at www.cdaartauction.com
featuring 28 of the artist’s finest works. tel. 208-772-9009 e. info@cdaartauction.com
John Fery (1859–1934), Iceberg Lake, Glacier Park, oil on canvas, 52 × 58 inches, Estimate: $30,000-50,000
INSIDE Scottsdale Art Auction • Thomas Moran • SoA: Texas • Painting the Old West

APRIL 2019

140
 S ATURDAY , A PRIL 6, 2019
A UCTIONING O VER 350 W ORKS OF I MPORTANT
W ESTERN , W ILDLIFE & S PORTING A RT

Z.S. LIANG 32'' X 52" OIL MARTIN GRELLE 32'' X 36" OIL
ESTIMATE: $45,000 - 65,000 ESTIMATE: $80,000 - 120,000

KENNETH RILEY 20'' X 16" ACRYLIC G. HARVEY 30'' X 24" OIL WILLIAM ACHEFF 40'' X 30" OIL
ESTIMATE: $30,000 - 40,000 ESTIMATE: $80,000 - 120,000 ESTIMATE: $60,000 - 90,000

JOHN COLEMAN 26''H BRONZE BOB KUHN 24'' X 36" ACRYLIC

ESTIMATE: $12,000 - 18,000 ESTIMATE: $75,000 - 125,000

SA ART
SCOT TSDALE
AUCTION
7176 MAIN STREET • SCOTTSDALE ARIZONA 85251 • 480 945-0225 • www.scottsdaleartauction.com
 Scottsdale Art Auction
Saturday, April 6, 2019

GERARD CURTIS DELANO 26'' X 48" OIL

ESTIMATE: $300,000 - 500,000
FRANK TENNEY JOHNSON 20'' X 16" OIL
ESTIMATE: $150,000 - 200,000

THOMAS MORAN 20'' X 30" OIL FREDERIC REMINGTON 23''H BRONZE

ESTIMATE: $3,500,000 - 4,500,000 ESTIMATE: $200,000 - 300,000

A U C T I O N I N G O V E R 350 W O R K S OF I M P O R TA N T
AMERICAN WESTERN, WILDLIFE AND SPORTING ART
S AT U R DAY , A P R I L 6, 2019

For information please call (480) 945-0225 or visit www.scottsdaleartauction.com. Color Catalogue Available $40.

SA ART
SCOT TSDALE
AUCTION
7176 MAIN STREET • SCOTTSDALE ARIZONA 85251 • 480 945-0225 • www.scottsdaleartauction.com
 LESLIE
HINDMAN
AUCTIONEERS

UPCOMING AUCTION

ARTS OF THE
AMERICAN
WEST
THURSDAY, MAY 2 | DENVER
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is currently accepting
consignments for upcoming auctions. We invite you
to receive a complimentary auction estimate of
historic and contemporary Western paintings,
bronzes, American Indian art, artifacts and jewelry.

INQUIRIES
lesliehindman.com/denver
denver@lesliehindman.com
303.825.1855
Kathryn Woodman Leighton (American, 1875-1952),
Portrait of Lazy Boy - Blackfoot.
ESTIMATE: $15,000-20,000
F I N E A RT O F T H E A M E R I C A N W E S T

Martin Grelle, Memories of Horses and Men, 2018, oil on linen, 44 x 44 inches
Please call for availability

SEEKING ARTWORK PURCHASES AND CONSIGNMENTS

Individual Pieces • Collections • Dealers Welcome
Contact Us for Complimentary Artwork Appraisals

www.greatamericanwestgallery.com
332 S. Main Street • Grapevine, TX 76051 • 817.416.2600
 L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I T O R

APRIL 2019 Monthly Now Is the Time

R
PUBLISHER Vincent W. Miller ecently, I was asked to participate in a panel discussion at the
EDITORIAL Autry Museum during Masters of the American West’s opening
EDITOR Joshua Rose weekend. The topic was the state of the Western art market. My
editor@westernartcollector.com
response to this was simple: it’s now. Now is the time. And if you don’t
MANAGING EDITOR Rochelle Belsito
rbelsito@westernartcollector.com think now is the time, just act like now is the time and it will become the
DEPUTY EDITOR Michael Clawson time. It is right now. At this moment.
assistanteditor@westernartcollector.com
When thinking about this, think back to when and where you
ASSISTANT EDITOR Alyssa M. Tidwell
purchased your first piece of Western art. I would venture to say that
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Taylor Transtrum
more than 90 percent of you made this purchase from a gallery. Galleries
SANTA FE EDITOR John O’Hern
have always been the most accessible place for people to start acquiring
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Francis Smith, Amanda Rose
works for their collections. Maybe it was a trip to Jackson Hole or Santa
EDITORIAL INTERN Maia Gelvin
Fe or Scottsdale. After lunch or dinner, you took a stroll down one of
ADVERTISING (866) 619-0841
these now-legendary art destinations and something caught your eye in
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Lisa Redwine
lredwine@westernartcollector.com the window of a gallery. We all know this feeling. You see something so
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Christie Cavalier beautiful, so striking, that it immediately pulls you in emotionally and
ccavalier@westernartcollector.com
you have to have it.
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Anita Weldon
aweldon@westernartcollector.com
That moment is one of the most cherished aspects about collecting art
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Heather K. Raskin
in the first place. The love at first sight, the moment you see something and
hraskin@westernartcollector.com you know you have to possess it. This is the feeling you get from strolling
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Cami Beaugureau through towns like this, looking at art and truly discovering a rare gem.
camib@westernartcollector.com
And this is something that happens at unexpected times in unexpected
TRAFFIC MANAGER Ben Crockett
traffic@westernartcollector.com places and can truly only happen in a gallery space.
PRODUCTION We have said this from the beginning but we will say it again: We love
MULTI MEDIA MANAGER Adolfo Castillo galleries. We love the thrill of discovery that comes from finding such a
ART DIRECTOR Tony Nolan work and we love the knowledge and expertise that gallery owners across
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Audrey Welch the country bring to the table. Their passion and understanding of the
PRODUCTION ARTIST Dana Long intricacies of the art market, as well as their appreciation and support of
SUBSCRIPTIONS (877) 947-0792 quality work, is something we truly admire.
SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Emily Yee
service@westernartcollector.com
Sincerely,
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Jaime Peach
jpeach@westernartcollector.com

ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Darrow Brunkenhoefer

admin@westernartcollector.com
Joshua Rose
Copyright © 2019. All material appearing in
Western Art Collector is copyright. Reproduction in whole
or part is not permitted without permission in writing from P.S. We love to hear from our dedicated collectors about these things as
the editor. Editorial contributions are welcome and should be well! Email me a story about buying work through a gallery and we may
accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope. All care will
be taken with material supplied, but no responsibility will be run it in a future issue! Send directly to editor@westernartcollector.com
accepted for loss or damage. The views expressed are not necessarily
those of the editor or the publisher. The publisher bears no
responsibility and accepts no liability for the claims made, nor
for information provided by advertisers. Printed in the USA. Get Social!
Western Art Collector
7530 E. Main Street, Suite 105, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Telephone (480) 425-0806. Fax (480) 425-0724 or
write to Western Art Collector, P.O. Box 2320, western @artmags collectart
Scottsdale, AZ 85252-2320 WesternArt
art collector Collector
Single copies $7.95. Subscription rate for one year is $36.
To place an order, change address or make a customer
service query, please email service@WesternArtCollector.com or
write to P.O. Box 2320, Scottsdale, AZ 85252-2320.
POSTMASTER: Send all address changes to
Western Art Collector,
P.O. Box 2320, Scottsdale, AZ 85252-2320

PUBLISHER VINCENT W. MILLER

ON THE COVER. . .
WESTERN ART COLLECTOR Gerard Curtis Delano
(ISSN 1936-7546) is published 12 times a year (1890-1972), The Council, oil
by International Artist Publishing Inc. on canvas, 26 x 48” Estimate:
www.WesternArtCollector.com $300/500,000 Available at the
Scottsdale Art Auction.

4
 Inviting Important Consignments
NOVEMBER 9, 2019
ANNUAL LIVE AUCTION

HAROLD WALDRUM (1934-2003), Ranchos de Taos MILLAND LOMAKEMA/DAWAKEMA (Hopi, b. 1941), Corn Maidens

PABLITA VELARDE (Santa Clara Pueblo, 1918-2006) JENEELE NUMKENA (Hopi), Hopi Harvest Ceremony, 1995 JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE-SMITH (Salish-Kootenai, b. 1940)
Song of the Corn Dance Camus Series #8

UPCOMING ONLINE AUCTIONS

Visit our website for a list of the many classic and
THE PATRICIA JANIS BRODER COLLECTION: APRIL 12-21 contemporary artists whose work we welcome, for
AN EARLIER WEST: BOOKS, PRINTS + PAMPHLETS: JUNE 7-15 inquiries regarding potential consignments, and for
WESTERN DECORATIVE ARTS & OBJECTS: AUGUST 16-25 the latest updates to our auction calendar.

For more than 25 years, Santa Fe Art Auction has been renowned for representing exception historic TELEPHONE: 505 954-5858
and contemporary art of the West. This year, encouraged by our exclusive representation of the EMAIL: CURATOR@SANTAFEARTAUCTION.COM
collection of the late American art historian Patricia Broder, we will additionally feature a special focus VISIT: WWW.SANTAFEARTAUCTION.COM
on important Native American Indian art, and particularly the women artists Broder championed. 927 PASEO DE PERALTA, SANTA FE, NM 87501
 ANATOMY OF THE MAGAZINE
Use this magazine to help you become the first to acquire
new works for sale at upcoming shows coast to coast

COAST-TO-COAST COVERAGE
Find out what’s happening across the nation. Western Art Collector is the first
magazine to provide nationwide coverage of upcoming shows and auctions
showcasing Western art from coast to coast.

PREVIEWS PRICE RANGE INDICATORS

In the Preview pages we reveal new Check out and compare each
contemporary and historic Western contemporary Western artist’s prices
works about to become available for and see what you can expect to pay for
sale at the country’s leading Western their small, medium and large works.
art galleries. You can also see how the artist’s works
have been increasing in value as they
have become more widely collected.
AUCTION AND EVENT
PREVIEWS AND REPORTS
Each month we alert you to
ART SHOW LOCATIONS
upcoming Western art auctions and At the top of each Preview page you’ll
events nationwide. Read our reports see the destination where the
on prices fetched so you can stay upcoming exhibition is showing, the
informed and up-to-date on dates, and the gallery address and
the market. contact details so you can make
inquiries about paintings and sculpture
that catch your eye—before they go on
WESTERN ART INSIGHTS sale to the general public.
Find out everything the discerning
collector needs to know. Each month our panel of art consultants,
museum curators and experts share their behind-the-scenes knowledge
SPECIAL FOCUS SECTIONS
of how the Western art market works. Each month we will feature a special supplement designed to
spotlight the most important segments of the Western art market.

STATE OF THE ART GUIDES

In this feature, we put the spotlight on a different Western state in
selected issues and present collectors with a comprehensive buyer’s
guide to collecting Western art in each of these states.
WEBSITE LINKS
At the end of each Preview you will see an icon inviting you to visit
www.WesternArtCollector.com where you can find direct links to
galleries that are hosting important upcoming shows.

VIRTUAL ART WALK

Visit www.WesternArtCollector.com to see our sensational Virtual Art Walk. When a show
announcement catches your eye, click on it and the art will enlarge. Click again and you will
be linked directly to the gallery hosting the upcoming show.
 THE DANCING RABBIT GALLERY
A U T H E N T I C N AT I V E A M E R I C A N A R T

Come Explore Online

Little Dancers Hardy and Jesse Bueno Little Brother

Bob Bell, Choctaw

thedancingrabbitgallery.com | 817-337-8576
FOUNDED IN 1980 | ONLINE SINCE 2012
 FLOCK TOGETHER
OPENING FRIDAY, APRIL 12
225 CANYON ROAD

JIM EPPLER, RAVEN VIII D #24/50, BRONZE, 22” X 13”.

123 WEST PALACE AVENUE SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO 225 CANYON ROAD
505.986.0440 WWW.MANITOUGALLERIES.COM 505.986.9833
Through April 30th

Be Still and Know by G. Russell Case · Oil on Canvas Board · 35” x 42”

By Mark Sublette
524 pages of illustrations, letters, poems, and
photographs, including 96 works by 40 nationally
recognized contemporary artists

NOW AVAILABLE
MEDICINEMANGALLERY.COM
Youtube.com/MedicineManGallery
 CONTENTS APRIL 2019

Previewing New Exhibitions Every Month Coast To Coast

PROVO

LA QUINTA
OKLAHOMA CITY CARTERSVILLE
LOS ANGELES PHOENIX SCOTTSDALE CHARLESTON
MESA
FORT WORTH
TUCSON
DALLAS

ALPINE

FREDERICKSBURG
DUNEDIN

98 100 104 106

UPCOMING SOLO & GROUP SHOWS

98 Ed Mell 104 Grant Redden 108 Visions of the West
Witness to the light Classic cowboys Works from 25 artists

100 Honoring ancestry 106 Chris Maynard

Three-artist show Feathers

14
 SPECIAL SECTIONS
State of the Art: Texas 76
Collector’s Focus:
Painting the Old West 92
Collector’s Focus:
Emerging Artists 110

FEATURES
A Convergence of Collections 46
By John O’Hern
T. Allen Lawson:
Brought Into Focus 52
By Michael Clawson

Second to None 58
By Alyssa M. Tidwell
Ogden M. Pleissner:
Fleeting Moments 64
By John O’Hern
Thomas Moran:
Through the Looking Glass 68
By James D. Balestrieri

DEPARTMENTS
Western Art News 34, 36, 37, 38, 39
Western Art Trail 40
Curating the West 42
Recently Acquired 43
Artist Focus Page 113

114
Scottsdale Art Auction
Scottsdale, AZ
William Acheff, The Chief’s Will Decide, oil on canvas, 40 x 30"
Estimate: $60/90,000

AUCTIONS & EVENTS

PREVIEWS 120 Scottsdale Art 124 Bonhams’ L.D. “Brink”
44 Trappings of Texas Auction: Session 1 Brinkman Auction
Alpine, TX Scottsdale, AZ Los Angeles, CA

114 Scottsdale Art Auction REPORTS 126 Masters of the American West
Scottsdale, AZ Los Angeles, CA
122 Brian Lebel’s Old West
Show & Auction
Mesa, AZ

15
Lon Brauer Kathleen Hudson, Grand Prize 2018

34 Award-Winning artists paint historic downtown San Angelo,

the Concho River, International Water Lily gardens, private
ranches & the top invitational roping event in the world.
2019 Artists announced at “The Envelope, Please” on May 7, 2019
Wor shop with ho as e erson itts, May -10, 2019

Artist Applications open until May 1, 2019

www.enpleinairTEXAS.com October 19 - 27, 2019
 Mary Ross Buchholz,
Oreland Joe, Sr.,
Gladys Roldan-de-Moras

MARY ROSS BUCHHOLZ

SHE’S STARTING WELL ° 20x19 ° CHARCOAL

GLADYS ROLDAN-DE-MORAS ORELAND JOE, SR.

ESCARAMUZA CHARRA ° 48x36 ° OIL MEDICINE OF BLACKHORSE ° 30x20 ° OIL

heritage of my home
mary ross buchholz, oreland joe, sr., gladys roldan-de-moras
April ° Reception: Friday, April 5, 6-8pm
214 West Main Street ° Fredericksburg, Texas
830.997.9920 ° insightgallery.com ° info @ insightgallery.com
 Our 2019 Participating Artists
Visit westernmuseum.org or call
928.684.2272 for opening weekend
14 t h A n n u a l tickets, March 29-31, 2017
Maura Allen Shelby Keefe
Suzanne Baker Susan Kliewer
Heather Beary Sue Krzyston

Art from the Kathy Beekman

Heather Burton
Laurie Lee
Jan Mapes
Other Half of the West Stephanie Campos
Jennifer Cavan
Sharon Markwardt
Deanne Lawrence McKeown
Invitational Nancy Cawdrey Barbara Meikle
Sonja Caywood Krystii Melaine
Exhibition & Sale
Sherry Cobb Marcia Molnar
Rox Corbett Julie Nighswonger
Sheila Cottrell Susanne Nyberg
March 29 - May 12, 2019 Lisa Danielle Mejo Okon
Judith Durr Julie Oriet
Joni Falk Karen Petrovich
Sheri Farabaugh Jessica James Rabins

Œ(';1ˆ-PPYWXVEXMSRŒ8MQ>IPXRIV
Deborah Copenhaver Fellows Stephanie Revennaugh
Jessica Garrett Samantha Sherry
1)URQWLHU6WUHHW‡:LFNHQEXUJ$= Linda Glover Gooch Sharon Standridge
Lisa Gordon Sherry Blanchard Stuart
‡ZHVWHUQPXVHXPRUJ Lindsey Bittner Graham Gail Jones Sundell
Sandy Graves Carol Swinney
Erin Hanson Karmel Timmons
Ann Hanson Rebecca Tobey
Stephanie Hartshorn V… Vaughan
Harper Henry Liz Wolf
Micqaela Jones Sam Woolcott
Peggy Judy Dinah Worman

Limited Edition Prints by:

Coleman, Terpning,
Weistling

“Magic Hour”, 30 x 20" “Blackfeet Scouts in the Flathead Valley”, 24 x 32" “The Barbershop”, 30 x 21"

Now Available to Order Fine Art Publishing LLC

Supply Limited, Order Now Before They are Gone. 4500 East Speedway Blvd, Suite 35
www.FineArt.Pub Tucson, Arizona 85712 * 520-274-4992
 ED MELL GALLERY
SHOW OF NEW WORKS

“Desert Light” 42"x 56", Oil on Linen, 2019

“Hands of the Earth” 12 ¼"H x 11 1/8"W x 15"L, Bronze, Ed. 35, 2019 “Painted Hills” 22"x 28", Oil on Linen, 2018

Opening Reception: Saturday, March 23rd 2019 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information please contact Ken Richardson (602) 359-7333 or ken@edmellgallery.com.
By appointment only; Monday-Saturday, 2337 N. 10th Street, Phoenix Arizona 85006

W W W . E D M E L L G A L L E R Y. C O M
 2018 Quest for the West ®
Artist of Distinction
H. David Wright (American, born 1942)
Uninvited Visitors, 2007
Oil on panel
2007 Quest for the West ®
Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award

QUEST FOR THE WEST ®

ART SHOW AND SALE
SEP 6–7, 2019
Join us for one of the country’s top Western art shows.
Enjoy Hoosier hospitality at this must-see show and sale, featuring the
country’s biggest names in Western art. Meet the artists in an intimate
setting and discover why Indianapolis is one of the most popular event
destinations in the country.
Register now by contacting Kay Hinds at 317.275.1341 or
khinds@eiteljorg.com. You may also register as an absentee buyer.

www.quest.eiteljorg.org

PRESENTED BY:

Western Art Society

Susan Temple Neumann

“Wild River Crossing,” oil, 18 x 24”

ZZZVXVDQWHPSOHQHXPDQQÀQHDUWFRP
VXVDQWHPS#W[UUFRP

June 27 – Aug 4: American Plains Artist exhibition winners’

show with 12 of my paintings at Fort Concho in San Angelo, TX “Seeking Wisdom,” oil, 40 x 30”

33rd annual
TRAPPINGS OF TEXAS
Exhibit & Sale of Contemporary Western Art & Custom Cowboy Gear
Opening Weekend: April 11-13, 2019
Exhibit runs through May 19, 2019
For updates on Trappings of Texas events, sponsorship packages, participating artists, and ticket sales,
visit us online at museumofthebigbend.com

Alpine, Texas

Photo ©Jim Bones Belt Buckle Set by 2019 Premier Artist Frank “Buddy” Knight
 Scottsdale Art Auction
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Session I sold at no reserve

1 2 3

4 5 6

1. CHARLIE DYE 24'' X 20'' OIL ESTIMATE: $20,000 - 30,000 2. C. MICHAEL DUDASH 16'' X 20'' OIL ESTIMATE: $4,000 - 6,000 3. RAY SWANSON 38'' X 28'' OIL ESTIMATE: $8,000 - 12,000
4. RUSSELL CASE 18'' X 24'' OIL ESTIMATE: $3,500 - 5,000 5. ROY ANDERSEN 40'' X 30'' OIL ESTIMATE: $15,000 - 25,000 6. DAN OSTERMILLER 32'' X 84'' BRONZE ESTIMATE: $30,000 - 60,000

A U C T I O N I N G O V E R 3 5 0 W O R K S O F I M P O R TA N T
WESTERN, WILDLIFE & SPORTING ART
Session I (119 lots) sold at no reserve

For more information please call (480) 945-0225 or visit www.scottsdaleartauction.com. Color Catalogue Available $40.

SA SCOTTSDALE
ART AUCTION
7176 MAIN STREET • SCOTTSDALE ARIZONA 85251 • 480 945-0225 • www.scottsdaleartauction.com
 Jerry Crandall~Traditional Western Art
Chief Iron Shirt at
Fort Mackenzie
Depicted is the chief himself
(Mehkskehme-Sukahs) a Piegan
Blackfeet, admiring his new outfit
reflected in a woman's mirror. The
jacket is faithfully described in Peo-
ple of the First Man, the journal of
Maximilian at the fort: "...a chief's
scarlet uniform, with blue facings
and yellow lace, which he had re-
ceived from the English..."
It is well known that these Indi-
ans would spend hours primping, ad-
justing and fussing with their
clothing, hair, paint and important
accessories. Behind him can be seen
the exact mountain range, plus the
fort complete with the stars and bars
flying high. Oil, 30” X 40”.

www.eagle-editions.com/original-paintings  eagle@eagle-editions.com  1-800-255-1830

KEEPER OF THE PIECE

20 X 16
OIL ON CANVAS
BY DEN SCHOFIELD

www.denschofield.com • HOME 307-463-2207 %FO4DIPlFME CELL 307-240-1673 • Giclee prints available

 EXPRESS DELIVERY | 20 X 30" | OIL ON BOARD

KATHY
TATE
WWW.KATHYTATE.COM | KATHY @KATHYTATE.COM | 254-968-4275
 XIANG ZHANG

SW GALLERY 972.960.8935
4500 Sigma Rd. Dallas SWGALLERY.COM
Fine Art „ Sculpture „ Custom Framing „ Glass
 Alan Famap ro udl y «Àià i˜ Ì Ã
WILDLIFE & WESTERN
VISIONS ART SHOW
April 13 - May 10, 2019 | 25 Award Winning Artists

TERRY SMITH
“Prowler” Acrylic, 12”x16”

DAVID YORKE
“War and Peace” Oil, 12”x 9”

Ken Carlson “Tracking” 9 x 15" Oil

3637 W. Alabama Street, Suite 470

Houston, Texas 77027 (727) 734-8200 Dunedin, Florida www.plainsmen.com

(713) 626-9449 gallery • (713) 823-8943 cell

alanfama@aol.com 34th Annual

www. famafineart .com Bosque Art Classic

National Juried & Judged
Representational Art Show & Sale

Specializing in the Art of Bob Kuhn Oreland C. Joe Sr., CA

Judge ēęėĞ ĊĆĉđĎēĊ
Artists in Inventory
May 28, 2019
Robert Abbett Mick Doellinger James Reynolds
William Acheff Luke Frazier Jason Rich
Robert Bateman Martin Grelle Tim Shinabarger
Ken Carlson, G. Harvey Matt Smith
John Coleman Julian Onderdonk Tucker Smith
John Cowan Edgar Payne Charles Wysocki

Lily by Xiang Zhang

1996 Art Patrons Purchase Award

$15,500 in Prizes
Prospectus Online/By Request
254.386.6049 | art@BosqueArtsCenter.org
David Shepherd “Elephant and the Termite Mound” 24 x 44” Oil www.BosqueArtsCenter.org | Clifton, TX
“Colorado Foothills,” oil on linen, 16” x 20”

www.jonijurek.com

joni@jonijurek.com
651-338-1153

TANNER LOREN
Fine Western Bronze
tannerlorenbronzeart@gmail.com
www.tannerloren.com

CCAL Gallery
Cody, WY
(307) 587-3597

Artists on Main
Ennis, MT
(406) 682-4858

Currently looking
to expand Gallery
representation

Tanner Loren, The Heart of the

Mountain, Bronze, Edition of 24,
Length 10" x Width 81/2” x Height 20"
 COME FOR THE ART.
STAY FOR THE EXPERIENCE.

Althea Cajero, Santo Domingo & Acoma Pueblos

98th Annual
Santa Fe Indian Market
Presented by SWAIA
August 17-18, 2019
Best of Show and Preview
Events: August 16

swaia.org / 505-983-5220
Angie Yazzie, Taos Pueblo
 SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND GET
SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER ALL 18 MAGAZINES EVERY YEAR
FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY! 12 Issues (Monthly)
Western Art Collector
Discover New Art Available For Sale PLUS
6 Issues of (Bimonthly)
The art of major deceased and contemporary Western artists is in demand,
and if you’re serious about acquiring new works, you need to know when they
become available.
When you subscribe to Western Art Collector magazine you’ll be the first to Native American Art
know about new works because each month we’ll email you the link to the Our Sister Publication Launched
latest issue online. You’ll have instant access to the latest issue when it is
published. You’ll see art coming available for sale before the shows even open.
in January 2016

Coast-To-Coast Coverage MUSEUM REPORT

MUSEUM REPORT
Works in silver and leather, paint and bronze make a stunning

See new art being created by major Western

debut at Cowboy Crossings in Oklahoma City.

I
artists coast to coast. Many readers travel
across the country to acquire pieces from
galleries showing new work in this magazine.

Covering The Major Art Destinations

Oklahoma City
Our State of the Art sections alert
you to the peak seasons for Western art
destinations Major Western Art Auction and
around the Event Previews and Reports
nation. You’ll
find details about Gallery, Auction and Event Previews Each month we alter you to upcoming
all the major Auction and Event Reports • Museum Exhibitions auctions and events nationwide and report
shows opening along on auction results so you can be informed
with images of new work 12 Issues of the Monthly Magazine about the Western art market.
and dates of upcoming exhibitions. A visual feast of large-format images and
articles previewing new paintings and
sculptures from the upcoming shows of
Embedded Videos major Western artists coast to coast.
Videos in each issue let
you take part in all the
art action—starting from Which Subjects Do You Like Best?
inside artists’ studios to In every issue we spotlight different art
Scan for gallery openings and right genres and subjects. Visit our Homepage
VIDEO
through to auctions on and click on Editorial Calendar to see the
the go. full listing of subjects and the issues they
appear in with your subscription.

Which Reader Are You?

&
(MONTHLY) (BIMONTHLY)
OR ONLY $20
1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION
PRINT AND DIGITAL DIGITAL ONLY AVA I L A B L E W O R L D W I D E

1 YEAR $36 (US$49 CAN) | 2 YEAR $68 (US$96 CAN) 2 YEAR $38
AVA I L A B L E I N N O R T H A M E R I C A O N LY

FOR FASTER SERVICE subscribe online at www.WesternArtCollector.com/subscribe

 Western Art News

Frontiers of America
A new semi-permanent exhibition at the BYU Museum of
Art will feature work by Maynard Dixon and others.

Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), Forgotten Man, 1934, oil on canvas, William Bliss Baker (1859-1886), Fallen Monarchs, 1886, oil on canvas,
40 x 501/9". Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 1937. 30 x 39¾”. Brigham Young University Museum of Art. Gift of Thomas E.
Robinson, 1974.

T
he Brigham Young
University Museum of
Art in Provo, Utah, will
be opening Becoming America
beginning May 31. The semi-
permanent exhibition will feature
paintings, photographs, prints,
etchings and sculptures from the
BYU Museum of Art’s permanent
collection.
“Becoming America grew
out of my engagement with
the MOA’s beautiful and varied
collection of American art.
I want the works in our
collection to tell their own
stories, instead of me imposing
my personal view of what
American art is and what
it means,” says Kenneth
Hartvigsen, curator of American
art at the museum.
The exhibition will feature
works by Maynard Dixon, Minerva organized in thematic groups as together, these themes explore
Teichert, Norman Rockwell, Roy though in dialog. Those thematic how America’s power is evident
Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and groups include: the frontiers of not only in what the nation is but
others. The exhibition, which will America’s land and peoples, also what it is still becoming.
also show works which have not economic potential and division, “I hope that by organizing
been previously displayed, will be and conflict and freedom. Taken the exhibition as a series of
interconnected themes we’ve
created a conversation where
patrons will find connections
and draw narratives beyond
those highlighted on the labels
of the individual works,”
says Hartvigsen. “My hope
for visitors is that they will
feel that there is great power
in recognizing that we as
individuals, and we as a nation,
are never stuck or frozen in
place, we are always full of
potential, always becoming.”
For more information about
Frederic E. Church (1826-1900), View of the Hudson River
the exhibit or museum visit
Valley from Olana, 1865, oil on canvas, 12¼ x 203/8".
Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 1962. moa.byu.edu.

34
Gone with the Wind

EZRA TUCKER

Harvest Time Trout in Autumn

LOU PASQUA BRETT SMITH

 Western Art News

Postcards from the Past

A new exhibition at the La Quinta Museum in California presents
desert photography from Susie Keef Smith and her cousin.

Mr. Brant, the

Cactus Candy Man
of Mecca, appeared
in this postcard
called Trail Breakers
of the West.
Susie Keef Smith
postcard. Warner
Graves Collection.

Susie Keef Smith and

Lula Mae Graves
lounge in hammocks
at Corn Springs,
1930. Warner Graves Aqueduct surveyors Luis Perez and Erwin
Collection. Nunley, 1930. Lula Mae Graves photograph.
Warner Graves Collection.

N
ow on view at the La
Quinta Museum in La
Quinta, California, is
Postcards From Mecca: The
California Desert Photographs of
Susie Keef Smith and Lula Mae
Graves.
The exhibition, the first to
showcase work by Susie Keef
Smith, will feature photographs
that were originally intended as
postcards for a post office spinner
rack. In the 1930s, Smith was the
postmaster in Mecca, California,
on the north shore of the Salton
Sea. She frequently ventured
out around the area with her
cousin, Lula Mae Graves, as
they documented the last of
the desert prospectors, burro
teams, stagecoach roads and the
construction of the Colorado
River Aqueduct and the All-
American Canal.
Smith’s body of work was
nearly lost to history after a
public administrator in charge
of her estate dumped her photo
albums into a trash bin. A savvy
archaeologist jumped into the
trash and rescued many of the
images that will be shown in the
exhibit.
Not only do the works
show historical aspects of
the Mecca area, many of the
images add to the flavor of the
West, including photographs
that show a rattlesnake coiling
around a dropped hat, watering
holes with human skeletons, the
aftermath of flash floods and a
hammock strung between two
palm trees.
Postcards from Mecca: The
California Desert Photographs of
Susie Keef Smith and Lula Mae
Graves will be on view through
May 1 at the La Quinta Museum.
For more information visit
www.californiadesertart.com or
www.postcardsfrommecca.com.

36
 Western Art News

The Magic Returns

A children’s book co-written and illustrated by painter
Howard Post returns to bookstores.

A
pair of cowboy boots
that takes a young child
on a magical journey
to the Amazon River, the Taj
Mahal, ancient Egypt, the moon,
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show
and the Chisholm Trail is the
subject of the book The Magic
Boots, written by Scott Emerson
and Howard Post. The book, first
released in 1994, is illustrated
by Post, the prominent Arizona
painter whose contemporary
Western works have been
collected around the country. A
new version of the book with an
updated cover has recently been
rereleased to a new generation
Western subject matter in The Magic Boots.
of young readers.
“I had never done a children’s back at that time, and we had just maybe on the side we would Association. “There are so many
book back then. A friend of mine decided to do a book, mostly make some money on it, but books that get released, but this
was a publisher of fine art prints for our kids and grandkids, and mostly it was for our families,” one did gain some notice, which
Post says of Magic Boots, which was fun,” Post says, adding that
was published by Gibbs Smith for he traveled all around the country
both the 1994 and 2019 editions. to promote the book and read it
“We brainstormed a lot, but the to school children.
idea itself was sort of mine. It Although the boots are
came from this idea of growing fictional, the artist says that after
up wanting to be a cowboy and the book’s release he traded a
all that.” bootmaker a painting for a pair of
After the book was originally boots made to look like the boots
released, it joined a crowded from the story. The magic boots
marketplace with other children’s were a gift to his wife, Marilyn.
books, but found an audience “My wife doesn’t wear boots too
that was struck by the adventures often,” he says, “but the magic
of the main character, who slowly boots do exist.”
realizes his magical dreams must For information about The
come to an end when his cowboy Magic Boots, visit the publisher
boots no longer fit. At one point at www.gibbs-smith.com. It
after it was released it was named is also available from many
as one of the top 10 books to online booksellers and other
read to recovering children in bookstores.
hospitals by the National Hospital

The Magic Boots, by Scott Emerson and Howard Post. Illustrated by Howard
Post. Published by Gibbs Smith, Layton, UT.

37
 Western Art News

Texas Art
David Dike Fine Art returns with the Texas Art Auction April 6 in Dallas.

T
he biannual Texas Art
Auction returns to Dallas
on April 6 with 249 lots of
early to contemporary Texas art.
The auction, presented by
David Dike Fine Art, will include
60 paintings from the collection
of John Stone, who has curated a
phenomenal collection of Texas
art for the last 40 years. Stone was
raised in the West Texas town of
Haskell, where he was exposed
at an early age to farming and
livestock. He moved to Dallas in
the 1970s after receiving his BA
from Texas Tech and a master’s
from Michigan State University,
and later founded John Stone
Services, a highly successful
commercial landscape company.
His artwork is notable for its
hand-carved, gold-leafed frames,
most created by Jack and Vera
Barnett, artists whose own works
appear in the Stone Collection.
Another artist who frequently
appears in the collection is Otis
Dozier, a Texas regionalist who Julian Onderdonk (1882-1922), Road Through the Trees, 1913-1914, oil on canvas, 25 x 30" Estimate: $250/350,000

was part of the art group the at $250,000 to $350,000.

Dallas Nine.
Other works in the auction
include pieces by Olin Travis,
Merritt Mauzey, Christina
Kercheville and Edward
Eisenlohr, whose 1924 piece
Santa Fe is estimated at $8,000
to $10,000. One piece that
collectors have their eye on
is Julian Onderdonk’s Road
Through the Trees completed
in 1914. The work, which
appears in the Onderdonk
catalogue raisonné, is estimated
Onderdonk is one of the most
iconic painters to have focused
on Texas and major works by
the artist, especially pieces with
Texas bluebonnets, have reached
more than $500,000 at past
auctions.
The auction will take place
April 6 starting at noon at
Wildman Art Framing in Dallas.
A preview will take place from
April 1 to 5, from 10 a.m. to 5
p.m. For more information visit
www.daviddike.com

Edward Eisenlohr (1872-1961), Santa Fe, 1924, oil

on canvas, 20 x 24" Estimate: $8/10,000

38
 Western Art News

Western Gear
The Traditional Cowboy Arts Association returns to
Oklahoma City for its 21st annual exhibition and sale.

O
n October 4, the
Traditional Cowboy Arts
Association, fresh off a
year promoting a new coffee table
book and its 20th anniversary, will
return to the National Cowboy
& Western Heritage Museum in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The
event, the Traditional Cowboy
Arts Association 21st Anniversary
Sale & Exhibition, will once
again feature the highest-quality
work across three disciplines:
leatherwork, silversmithing and
rawhide braiding. Works shown
at the event include saddles, bits
and spurs, quirts, belt buckles and
countless other items done at the
highest level by TCAA members.
Previous years’ events have
featured the pairing of the TCAA The Traditional Cowboy Arts Association at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 2018.
and the CAA, the Cowboy Artists
time in six years. this together, whether we’re in the that went into each piece. “The
of America, in an event titled
“We wish the CA all the same show or not,” says TCAA average piece I bring to a TCAA
Cowboy Crossings. In late 2018,
goodwill in the world, and we silversmith and founding member show takes 150 hours. Last year
the CAA moved its annual show
hope they have an incredible show Scott Hardy. “Now, we are looking I did a decanter that took 400
to November in Fort Worth,
in Fort Worth, because Western forward to having a different kind hours, and I’ve even brought work
Texas, allowing the TCAA to host
art is Western art and we’re doing of show, one where it can be a that took 800 hours to complete,”
its own exhibition for the first
little bit more intimate and hands- Hardy says. “It’s important that we
on with our creations. The CA had explain to viewers what it is that
two dozen guys and we usually we do, and how we transcend
have about 15 of us, and that’s a craft to art. I think visitors will be
lot of artists. With fewer artists, we in for a treat, and they’ll get to
can really talk in depth about what experience the show in a much
it is we do, especially about how more personal way.”
this is an emerging art form.” For this year’s show the TCAA
Not only will the TCAA will occupy a familiar space
exhibition and sale, which has within the museum, but where
been held at the Oklahoma the CAA works were previously
museum for all 21 years, feature located will be a horse-themed
more prominent education and exhibition, Caballeros y
outreach opportunities, it will Vaquerros, that complements the
give each member a chance to TCAA show. For more information
talk about their work and present about the event visit
Scott Hardy, decanter and funnel Cary Schwarz, saddle with it to collectors so they can begin nationalcowboymuseum.org or
set, 14k yellow gold flower centers silver horn by Scott Hardy and to understand the level of work www.tcowboyarts.org.
pyrographic embellishments

39
 Western Art Trail Calendar

Our guide to special events, sales

& auctions from coast to coast

Logan Maxwell Hagege, Breaking Through the Storm, oil on canvas, 40 x 60” Estimate: $50/75,000

April 6: Scottsdale Art Auction

Scottsdale, AZ | (480) 945-0225 | www.scottsdaleartauction.com

April 6-27 April 11 Through April 28

APRIL MAXWELL ALEXANDER GALLERY OLD TOWN SCOTTSDALE BOOTH MUSEUM OF WESTERN ART
April 5-26 Grant Redden Gold Palette ArtWalks: Mood and Tone: The Art
INSIGHT GALLERY
Los Angeles, CA – (213) 275-1060 A Sip of Scottsdale of T. Allen Lawson
www.maxwellalexandergallery.com Scottsdale, AZ Cartersville, GA – (770) 387-1300
Heritage of My Home www.scottsdalegalleries.com www.boothmuseum.org
Fredericksburg, TX – (830) 997-9920 April 6-Sept. 16
www.insightgallery.com
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN April 11-13 April 30
April 5-28 T.C. Cannon: At the Edge of America MUSEUM OF THE BIG BEND PLAINSMEN GALLERY
MOUNTAIN TRAILS GALLERY SEDONA
New York, NY – (212) 514-3700 33rd Annual Trappings of Texas Wildlife & Western Visions
www.americanindian.si.edu Alpine, TX – (432) 837-8730 Dunedin, FL – (727) 734-8200
The Ever-Evolving West: www.museumofthebigbend.com www.wildlifeartshow.com
The Old and the New
Sedona, AZ – (800) 527-6556, (928) 282-3225
www.mountaintrailssedona.com

40

MAY
May 1-June 2
PHIPPEN MUSEUM
Miniature Masterpiece Show & Sale
Prescott, AZ– (928) 778-1385
www.phippenartmuseum.org
Through May 12
DESERT CABALLEROS WESTERN MUSEUM
Cowgirl Up! Art from the
Other Half of the West
Wickenburg, AZ – (928) 684-2272
www.westernmuseum.org
Through May 12
GIBBES MUSEUM
Lying in Wait: Sporting Art
by Ogden M. Pleissner
Charleston, SC – (843) 722-2706
www.gibbesmuseum.org
May 14-August 25
BOOTH WESTERN ART MUSEUM
Booth Artists’ Guild Annual Exhibition
Cartersville, GA – (770) 387-1300
www.boothmuseum.org
Through May 15
LA QUINTA MUSEUM
Postcards From Mecca: The California
Desert Photographs of Susie Keef
Smith and Lula Mae Graves
La Quinta, CA – (760) 777-7170
www.postcardsfrommecca.com
May 20-June 1
TRAILSIDE GALLERIES
Calvin Liang, Huihan Liu & Jie Wei Zhou
Jackson Hole, WY – (307) 733-3186
www.trailsidegalleries.com
May 24-June 22
GERALD PETERS GALLERY
Contemporary Naturalism
Santa Fe, NM – (505) 954-5700
www.gpgallery.com
Opening May 31
BYU MUSEUM OF ART
Becoming America
Provo, UT – (801) 422-8287
www.moa.byu.edu
JUNE
Through June 2
AMON CARTER MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
From Remington to O’Keeffe:
The Carter’s Greatest Hits
Fort Worth, TX – (817) 738-1933
www.cartermuseum.org
Through June 2
BOOTH WESTERN ART MUSEUM
Bob Kolbrener: 50 Years in the West
Cartersville, GA – (770) 387-1300
www.boothmuseum.org
June 7-8
NATIONAL COWBOY & WESTERN
HERITAGE MUSEUM
Prix de West Invitational Art
Exhibition & Sale: Opening Weekend
Oklahoma City, OK – (405) 478-2250
www.nationalcowboymuseum.org
June 7-30
MOUNTAIN TRAILS GALLERY SEDONA
Spirit of the Cowgirl
Sedona, AZ – (800) 527-6556, (928) 282-3225
www.mountaintrailssedona.com
June 17-June 29
TRAILSIDE GALLERIES
High Country Summer
Jackson Hole, WY – (307) 733-3186
www.trailsidegalleries.com
Through June 23
WESTERN SPIRIT: SCOTTSDALE’S
MUSEUM OF THE WEST
Photographs by Barry M. Goldwater:
The Arizona Highways Collection
Scottsdale, AZ – (480) 686-9539
www.scottsdalemuseumwest.org
JULY
Through July 7
ARIZONASONORA DESERT MUSEUM
Feathers: Solo Exhibition
by Chris Maynard
Tucson, AZ – (520) 883-2702
www.desertmuseum.org
July 18
YELLOWSTONE ART MUSEUM
North by Northwest Juried Art Show
Billings, MT – (406) 256-6804
www.artmuseum.org
In every issue of Western Art Collector, we
will publish the only reliable guide to all
major upcoming sales, events and auctions
nationwide. Contact Alyssa Tidwell at
atidwell@westernartcollector.com to
discuss how your event can be included
in this calendar.
TOP WESTERN EVENTS AND
AUCTIONSAT A GLANCE
Through March 24
Masters of the American West
Los Angeles, CA – (323) 667-2000
March 20-23
Out West Art Show & Sale
Great Falls, MT – (406) 899-2958
March 21-23
March in Montana
Great Falls, MT – (307) 635-0019
March 21-23
The Russell: An Exhibition and Sale to
Benefit the C.M. Russell Museum
Great Falls, MT – (406) 727-8787
March 29-30
Briscoe Museum’s Night of Artists Sale
San Antonio, TX – (210) 299-4499
March 29-31
Cattlemen’s Western Art Show and Sale
Paso Robles, CA – (805) 472-9100
March 29-May 12
Cowgirl Up! Art from the
Other Half of the West
Wickenburg, AZ – (928) 684-2272
Through March 31
Altermann Galleries & Auctioneers
March Online Sale
Online – (855) 945-0448
April 6
Scottsdale Art Auction
Scottsdale, AZ – (480) 945–0225
April 11-13
33rd Annual Trappings of Texas
Alpine, TX – (432) 837-8730
April 16
Bonhams’ California and Western
Paintings and Sculpture
Los Angeles, CA – (323) 850-7500
May 3
Heritage Auctions’ American Art Auction
Dallas, TX – (877) 437-4824
May 29
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’
Arts of the American West
Denver, CO – (303) 825-1855
May 31
Altermann Galleries &
Auctioneers Santa Fe Sale
Santa Fe, NM – (855) 945-0448
May 2019 (Date TBA)
Christie’s American Art Auction
New York, NY – (212) 636-2000
May 2019 (Date TBA)
Sotheby’s American Art Auction
New York, NY – (212) 606-7000
May 2019 (Date TBA)
Bonhams’ American Art Auction
New York, NY – (212) 710-1307
June 7-Aug. 11
Prix de West
Oklahoma City, OK – (405) 478-2250
June 22-23
Brian Lebel’s Cody Old West
Show & Auction
Santa Fe, NM – (480) 779-9378
July 27
Coeur d’Alene Art Auction
Reno, NV – (208) 772-9009
Aug. 16-25
Santa Fe Art Auction’s Western
Decorative Arts & Objects
Online – (505) 954-5858
Aug. 17-18
SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market
Santa Fe, NM – (505) 983–5220
Aug. 2019 (Date TBA)
Altermann Galleries &
Auctioneers August Sale
Santa Fe, NM – (855) 945-0448
Sept. 7-15
11th Annual Celebration of Art
Grand Canyon, AZ – (928) 638-2481
Sept. 4-15
Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival
Jackson, WY – (307) 733-3316
Sept. 13-14
Jackson Hole Art Auction
Jackson, WY – (866) 549-9278
Sept. 8-Oct. 6
Quest for the West
Indianapolis, IN – (317) 636-8119
Sept. 2019 (Date TBA)
Western Visions
Jackson, WY – (800) 313-9553
Oct. 18-19
The Woolaroc Retrospective
Exhibit & Sale
Bartlesville, OK – (918) 336-0307
www.woolaroc.org
Sept. 20-21
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale
Cody, WY – (888) 598-8119
Oct. 3-5
Cowboy Crossings
Oklahoma City, OK – (405) 478-2250
Dec. 2019 (Date TBA)
SWAIA Winter Indian Market
Santa Fe, NM – (505) 983-5220
41
 Curating the West

Each Month We Ask Leading Museum

Curators About What’s Going On In Their World.
Mary Bones
Director
Museum of the Big Bend
Alpine, TX
(432) 837-8143
www.museumofthebigbend.com

What event (gallery show, What are you reading?

museum exhibit, etc.) in the
next few months are you
looking forward to, and why?
The Museum of the Big Bend
will host the 33rd annual
Trappings of Texas with a
weekend packed full of events,
April 11 through 13. Trappings
is the longest-running exhibit
in the country which shows
contemporary Western art
alongside custom cowboy gear.
All of our artists have working
knowledge of the ranching way
of life.
A Treasury of Modern Asian
Stories, 1961. 
Interesting exhibit, gallery
opening or work of art
you’ve seen recently.
The Trappings of Texas exhibition in 2016.
Inside Out at the San Angelo
Museum of Fine Arts. This exhibit
explores women’s status and roles The Museum of the Big Bend will exhibit to curate? Or see
in American society as reflected be exhibiting five centuries of someone else curate?
in fashion from foundation to Mexican maps from the museum’s I think it would be interesting
silhouette. Yana and Marty Davis Map to curate an exhibit that focuses
Collection for our fall 2019 show. on how technology has made
What are you researching I have quite a lot to learn! it possible to never leave one’s
at the moment?
What is your dream home.

The Museum of the Big Bend in Alpine, Texas.

42
Recently Acquired

The Tia Collection:

Logan Maxwell Hagege
O
ne of the most important Western
art collections in the world, the
Santa Fe-based Tia Collection, has
recently acquired Logan Maxwell Hagege’s
massive new painting Taos Plains. The
60-inch-by-40-inch painting, depicting a
single figure on horseback and framed
against a billowing cloud on the horizon,
will join works by some of the most
important painters of the West, including
artists who spent a great deal of time in
New Mexico, such as Alexandre Hogue,
Cady Wells, Victor Higgins, Walter Ufer,
Stuart Davis and many others.
The collection is privately owned,
though portions of it are frequently traveling
around the country to loaned exhibitions
that expose the works to countless new
museumgoers. Currently there is a major
Tia Collection show, New Beginnings:
An American Story of Romantics and
Modernists in the West, ongoing now at
Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the
West in Scottsdale, Arizona. It runs through
September 22.
Taos Plains is the second Hagege work
in the Tia Collection, which leans toward
modernism. “Tia Collection has been
avidly following Logan’s career since its
first acquisition of his work in 2009/2010
of Taos Profile, currently on loan to the
Booth Western Art Museum in Georgia,”
says Laura Finlay Smith, Tia curator. “We
were excited to add Taos Plains to the
collection in 2018 as a way to continue not
only supporting him as an artist, but also
to create a conversation between the two
works, demonstrating the development of
his well-known painting style over almost
a decade.”
Hagege, who’s still under 40 years
old, has a growing list of museums and
important collections that have acquired
his work including the Eiteljorg Museum
of American Indians and Western Art in
Indianapolis and the Autry Museum of the Logan Maxwell Hagege, Taos Plains, oil, 60 x 40”
American West in Los Angeles.

43
 Art Show Preview

Gearing Up
Cowboy gear and works
of art unite at the 33rd
annual Trappings of Texas.

W
e all know the saying,
“April showers bring
May flowers.” But this
April, the Museum of the Big
Bend will bring something much
better to Alpine, Texas. Regarded
as one of the best Western art and
custom cowboy gear exhibits and
shows, Trappings of Texas returns
for its 33rd year.
The exhibit—which was
organized for the first time in
1986 by Gary Dunshee, owner
of Big Bend Saddlery, and Joel
Nelson, an award-winning cowboy
poet—continues to carry on its
legacy of showcasing the best of
cowboy artistry. Artists in the show
range from established artists from
the prestigious Cowboy Artists of
America and Traditional Cowboy
Arts Association to up-and-comers
getting started in their career—
while the works presented range
from original oil paintings and
bronze sculptures to one of a kind
bits and spurs.
This year’s premier artist, Frank
“Buddy” Knight of Marfa, Texas, is
a well-known blacksmith, cowboy
and silversmith. Knight
has worked on ranches for
more than 40 years and is a master
of metal fabrication. The artist
displayed his spurs at the Western
Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada,
in 1995 and demonstrated spur
making at the 25th Texas Folklife
Festival in San Antonio, Texas,
in 1996. Now, he’ll bring his
signature spurs and cowboy gear

Brian Asher, Busted, pencil, 14½ x 15"

44
Buddy Knight, Buckle Set, mild steel and sterling silver

Valeria Coe, Loafin’ on the Circle H,

watercolor, 13½ x 16½"

Painter Edgar Sotelo at a previous Trappings of Kim Mackey, Light in the Window, oil, 11 x 14"
Texas in Alpine, Texas.

To learn more, visit

to this year’s exhibition, including
a timeless yet stylish metal buckle
set. Other artists to look for at
the 2019 exhibit include Cowboy
Artists of America member Phil
Epp, Donna Howell-Sickles and
Wes Griffin.
“I’m excited to have two recent
etchings in the upcoming Trappings
of Texas exhibit,” says Epp. “One of
the prints titled Ryan Stockpens is
a view of an older set of livestock
pens outside of Marfa. I visited the
site with fellow artists Wayne Baize
and Loren Entz after the 2019
Cowboy Artists of America trail
ride at the 06 Ranch near Alpine. I
love that Texas landscape.”
The exhibit will run through
May 19, but for those who really
want to become immersed in
all things cowboy, the Trappings
of Texas opening weekend is a
must. From April 11 through 13,
the exhibit’s opening weekend
will include a preview party,
lunch with the featured artists,
grand opening reception, exhibit
and sale, calf fry lunch and
www.museumofthebigbend.com.
fifth annual “Ranch Roundup”
party. Additional presentations
and demonstrations will also be
scheduled for Saturday, April 13.
Trappings of
“This is a great event for all
ages and I encourage everyone to
Texas
come out to Alpine, Texas, for a
April 11-13, 2019
great weekend,” says Mary Bones,
director of the Museum of the Big Museum of the Big Bend,
Bend. “All works are for sale and 400 N. Harrison Street,
Alpine, TX 79832
benefit the artists and the Museum
(432) 837-8730,
of the Big Bend. Your purchase
museumofthebigbend.com
helps all of us preserve our history.”

45
 CONVER
GENCEMany aspects of the West, including
Texas and Mexico, come together in the
art-filled home of Byron and Keely Lewis.
BY John O’Hern PHOTOGRAPHY by Francis Smith

Stagecoach Into the Valley (The Desert Stage), oil on canvas board, with its original hand-carved frame, by Marjorie Reed (1915-1996),
hangs above the cabinet. It was originally commissioned by Roy Rogers. Navajo Woman, oil on canvas, by Lon Megargee (1883-1960), is on
the right. It hangs above a rare Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) eight-leg oak sideboard, with hand-hammered copper hardware in its original
finish. On the sideboard is a hand-hammered copper, three-socket lamp with rare vented cap by Dirk van Erp (1862–1933). To the left of the
Marjorie Reed painting is an unsigned standing Arts and Crafts lamp with its original Quezal Art Glass shade. On the coffee table is Mark
Rossi’s bronze Hen on Nest. On the far left is a Handel Daffodil Overlay Table Lamp. Above the arch is a Spanish-style, treadle-loomed wool
God’s Eye Rug by Lazaro and Maria Montaño of the Zapotec village of Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico. In the hall is Ed Mell’s Cactus and
Clouds, oil on canvas. The large photograph on the right is Brangus Heifers, Live Oak County, Texas, a monumental digital archival pigment
photograph by Jay Dusard, personally inscribed to Keely as a fellow photographer and friend.

47
 Ed Mell’s Cactus and Clouds,
oil on canvas, hangs on
the left. Above the 18th-
century convent doors
from Zacatecas, Mexico, is
Twilight Stroll Triptych,
oil, cold wax and silver
leaf, by Katherine Lott.
The Talavera, Mexico, pots
on the floor belonged to
Keely’s mother. Between
them is an 18th-century
hand-forged iron candelabra
from Mexico. To the left
of the doors is La Copa
Sagrada, oil and gold leaf on
panel, by Patrick McGrath
Muñiz. On the table in
the foreground is Star
Liana York’s bronze, The
Collector. On the sideboard
is the bronze Mares at Play,
Blackbird of Bean Pods by
Tony Hochstetler and an
unmarked period hand-
hammered copper and
mica lamp. The Madonna
to the right of the door was
found in an architectural
salvage shop.

K
eely Lewis says, “I always had a sense I wanted to keep
my childhood things. Those things are kind of precious.”
Her collection of childhood books and her first doll,
Baa, are now part of a collection of collections she and her
husband Byron have put together over the years. She inherited
two Talavera pots from her parents’ home that inspired her and
Byron’s interest in learning about authentic folk art in Mexico—
now one of their collections.
The Ojo de Dios (“God’s Eye”) pattern is featured in a
contemporary weaving by Lazaro and Maria Montaño of the
Zapotec village of Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico. Byron
relates, “The experience of visiting in the Montaño’s home,
learning about their craft and bringing that rug home from
Oaxaca was amazing. Lazaro is a direct descendant from the
Zapotecs, from a long line of weavers, and brought back the
use of natural dyes and processes by questioning his mentors
about the old ways. They made us comida (late lunch) over
a fire in their courtyard. It was fabulous, with black beans
literally handed down from his family. They are totally self-
sufficient in shearing and carding wool, spinning yarn, treadle-
looming rugs and growing everything they need from their
modest land.
“Part of what I love about American Western art and arts and
craft movement is the worthiness of handcraft,” Byron explains.
“I became aware of American Bungalow magazine when I was at
the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. The experience
awakened a love of architecture and art that had not been a part

Above the arch is Tree of Life, a hand-loomed wool rug,

from Oaxaca, Mexico. Beneath it is Two Horses, oil on
board, by Lon Megargee (1883-1960). On the left is Woody’s
First Flight, bronze, by Gerald Balciar. En El Campo (Las
Campesinos), oil on board, by Lon Megargee (1883-1960)
hangs above Ed Mell’s bronze Two Horses. Beneath it is a
clay sculpture, Tree of Life, by Josephina Aguilar, Ocotlán de
Morelos, Oaxaca, Mexico.

48
Ed Mell’s Southern Arizona Longhorn, oil on canvas, ex-collection of Winston Lauder hangs on the right. The hand-hammered copper lamps,
are by Dirk van Erp (1862-1933) and Old Mission Copper Crafters. Mell’s bronze Upward is on the dining table. Hacienda, oil on board, and
Hernando Villa, watercolor, by Marjorie Reed (1915-1996) flank the right window.

Far left: Still Life, oil on

board, by Lon Megargee
(1883-1960) hangs in the
kitchen. The clay figures
to the right on the counter
are Last Supper, by Estella
Aguilar, Ocotlán de Morelos,
Oaxaca, Mexico; and Turkey
is welded found metal,
by Ken Law. North and
South Faces of Camelback
Mountain, are hand-colored
etchings by Mark McDowell.
The bronze, Dog Pile, is
by Lawrence Massey. The
hand-hammered copper
Flower Boat on the table
is by Dirk van Erp (1862-
1933).

Left: En El Campo (Las

Campesinos), oil on board,
by Lon Megargee (1883-
1960), hangs above Ed
Mell’s bronze Two Horses.
Beneath it is a clay
sculpture, Tree of Life, by
Josephina Aguilar, Ocotlán
de Morelos, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Mell’s bronze, Jackknife,
is on the table in the
next room. Lucky, one of
the couple’s rescue cats
observes the scene.

49
 of my life.” The Inn, built in 1913, has hosted
the National Arts & Crafts Conference since
1988. The couple has collected fine examples of
period furniture by Gustav Stickley (1858-1942),
the prime promoter of the design movement
in the United States. They have augmented
their antiques with contemporary pieces by
the company that evolved from his brothers’
furniture company, L. & J.G. Stickley. The dealer
Eric Firestone was instrumental in their acquiring
many of their pieces from the period.
The couple lived in a 1939 Arts and
Crafts house for 30 years before designing
and building their current home. “We cherry-
picked our favorites from the office, our home,
guest house and ranch to put in the new
house,” Keely explains.
They worked with Hugo and Ceci Salinas of
Superboy Design and Construction to realize In the bedroom are, left to right, Breakfast in the Cactus Patch and Coyote, acrylic on
their new home. Many of the design elements canvas, by Sue Sill. On the antique Indian dowry chest is Jan Mapes’ bronze Cotton Tail
Resort. On top of the bookcase is Tony Hochstetler’s bronze Cicada and Maple Leaves.
honor the traditions of the Mexican border
region where they live. “They were fabulous to
work with,” By relates. “All plans were created changes in room dimensions to accommodate reflects that Byron “never outgrew the little
in three-dimensional virtual format so that we the large Marjorie Reed work Stagecoach into boy” in him. The 50th anniversary Corvette,
knew where every key piece of furniture and the Valley and Ed Mell’s Southern Arizona Thunderbird and Mustang join a 2008 Shelby
paintings would be placed. Ceci requested Longhorn. GT 500 among other vehicles in a room that
photos and dimensions, and somehow Every piece in the collection has a personal holds a collection of vintage porcelain service
incorporated everything we requested directly meaning or connection, from Keely’s childhood station signs and works by their friend Mark
into the plans, even requiring some final and family pieces to the car collection that McDowell. His Big Car and Trailer is a version

Two Prismacolor pencil on birch panel drawings by Mark McDowell, John’s Sinclair Truck and Big Car and Trailer, are on the back wall among an
authentic porcelain service station sign collection, along with a 50th anniversary Corvette, Thunderbird and Mustang and a 2008 Shelby GT 500.

50
Rio Grande Valley watercolors by Lydia Greter hang on the The large painting, Ranch Days, oil on canvas, by Lon Megargee (1883-
bedroom wall. On the chest is Migration, a steel sculpture, by 1960), is ex-collection of Snuff and Nettie Garrett. Beneath it is a one-
Brian Wedgworth. In the foreground are Small Bronze Cats by of-a-kind Taylor guitar. The shelves contain miscellaneous Mexican folk
Rosetta. art as well as Keely’s childhood books and her first doll, Baa.

The collectors stand in front of Canyon
Sunset, oil on canvas, by Ed Mell, above
an oak and leather top library table with
hand-hammered copper nail heads by
L. and J.G. Stickley. The green art glass lamp
is by Goodwin & Kintz Co. On the table is
Roadrunner, hand-carved and painted wood,
by Nestor Melchor, Oaxaca, Mexico. Next to
it is a hand-hammered copper trivet with a
Grueby tile.
of the subject that hangs in the Phoenix Sky
Harbor Rental Car Center.
McDowell works with color pencil on
sheets of birch plywood. He has lived and
worked at Cattle Track Arts Compound in
Scottsdale, Arizona, for more than 20 years,
where Fritz Scholder and Philip C. Curtis also
worked. Earlier in its history, the site was where
Mario Andretti’s race cars were built.
The couple’s friendship with McDowell
is illustrative of their close connection to
many of their artists as Byron expressed in his
recollection about visiting the Montaños in
Oaxaca.
They went to Arizona to meet Ed Mell at
a gallery opening and have since become
fast friends. Mell is also a classic car buff.
Keely recounts how Mell’s Cactus and Clouds,
now hanging in their home, was a surprise
50th birthday gift from the artist, which she
discovered when she walked into her office.
Lydia Greter is a friend whose work they
have collected for 30 or 40 years. Her Rio
Grande Valley watercolors surround the bed
in the master bedroom. They own 60 or 70 of
her works.
They were introduced to the work of Lon
Megargee (1883-1960) by Firestone, who
figures prominently in several aspects of their
collecting. Megargee, born in Philadelphia,
had a boyhood dream of being a cowboy. He
headed west as a young teenager to work on
an uncle’s ranch and, over the years, did it all.
He was a cowboy and a rancher and eventually
became known as Arizona’s first cowboy artist,
living in a way that was larger than life. “He
lived a life that intrigues me,” Byron says. “He’s
one of Ed Mell’s favorite artists.”
Throughout the collection are paintings and
sculptures of cats, many by Diane Hoeptner.
In one photograph of their collection Lucky,
a rescue cat, watches Francis at work. Lucky,
who has limited use of her hind legs is one
of 27 cats and five dogs in the couple’s
“collection.”
Byron was president of the Edinburg
Foundation, which was responsible for helping
develop the PAWS Animal Shelter. PAWS
stands for Pet Adoption and Wellness Services.
Keely is vice president of the Palm Valley
Animal Shelter, the largest full-service animal
intake facility in Hidalgo County, Texas.

51
Brought
Into
FOCUS
A new retrospective at the Booth
Western Art Museum has allowed
T. Allen Lawson to stand back and
see his work from a new perspective.
By Michael Clawson

The Nursery Tree, 2017, oil on linen mounted on panel, 35 x 32”

The Salt Lick, 2017, oil on linen mounted on panel, 26 x 28”
L
ast year T. Allen Lawson began a
work that was made up of 11,520
individual squares of paint, each
one an individually mixed color
on a half-inch square. Like
pixels on a computer screen,
Mosaic looked almost abstract when viewed up close.
But viewed from further and further distances, the work
blossomed to life. It was only at about 70 feet away that
the final image, a top-down view of a pile of leaves,
finally emerged with stunning clarity.
Mosaic is not only a magnificent experimentation with
color and design, but it serves as an appropriate metaphor
for any artist and their work, especially on the occasion of
a midcareer retrospective as they look back on where they
started and on the road that led them to where they are
today. For Lawson, on the occasion of his own retrospective
at the Booth Western Art Museum, time has been kind.
“Painting is constantly a struggle. Balancing the harmony
and the subtlety of your work, you just get so involved
in all of it that sometimes you are blinded by obvious
aspects of what you’re working on. You become too close
to it. But then, at a distance, it all starts to make more
sense,” Lawson says. “After five or 10 years, you can
look at it again with a fresh set of eyes, and without the
worries. You see it all with a new perspective.”
The retrospective, titled Mood and Tone: The Art
of T. Allen Lawson, is now on view at the museum in
Cartersville, Georgia, and runs through April 28. The
show features 66 works from Lawson’s career, including
many from his private collection that have not been
exhibited before. “I’ve never had this many paintings in
one place before,” Lawson adds.
“Me at 25 years old and me at 55 years old, we’re
the same people. The DNA is the same. But my outlook
and perspective is much broader, my ability to put
53
 Bernadette, 2014, oil on linen mounted on panel, 30 x 21”

Red Oak, 2011, oil on panel, 30 x 12” Mosaic, 2018, oil on board. Collection of the artist

54
South Brooks Two-Track, 2018, oil on panel, 9½ x 10”
things into my painting is more sophisticated and it goes
deeper and richer. I hadn’t developed it and acquired it at
25 yet,” Lawson says. “I can relate it to my wife. Did I love
my wife when I married her? Yes, but today that love is so
much stronger, so much deeper and we have bonded over our
shared experiences. You can’t begin to comprehend that sort
of love and passion when you first meet your wife or someone
you first become in love with. That power is so raw, but it
changes and develops over decades. Painting is very much
the same way as you move through your career. You learn
things that a younger painter could never duplicate.”
Some of the works in the show, including early landscapes,
will allow Lawson to look back on where he came from. He
was raised in Sheridan, Wyoming, but after graduating high
school ventured off to other places, including the American
Academy of Art in Chicago, Lyme Academy College of Fine
Arts in Connecticut and eventually, after lots of traveling,
to Rockport, Maine, where he lived for 17 years. Two years
ago the painter moved back to Sheridan, to a ranch that he
says has the potential to be his Kuerner Farm, the famous
Pennsylvanian ranch property where Andrew Wyeth painted
nearly a third of all his work over a 77-year span.
55
 Wracked, 2010, oil on linen mounted on panel, 36 x 40”
It’s all these places—Chicago, the East Coast, Wyoming,
Europe—that are reflected in Lawson’s work, whether it’s in
farm scenes with sheep and cattle, or marine scenes with
boats and harbors, or rural country homes with satellite
dishes and snowmen, or desert scenes with towering cliffs.
“This truly is a retrospective, because you’ll get a lot of
his subjects from throughout Maine, but also subjects from
around the world and from around the West, including
his Prix de West winner [The Nursery Tree]. You’ll see oils,
drawings, mixed media pieces, the mosaic that looks like a
Chuck Close-type painting…you’ll see just how experimental
of an artist he is,” Seth Hopkins, executive director at the
Booth Museum, says about the artist, who often goes by Tim.
“For representational artists who do sublime subjects, it can
be very easy to get in a rut, but Tim keeps it all so fresh by
experimenting on whatever he feels like. Mosaic took three
years to complete, but he did it because he felt it would be
56
challenging and because it would inform his other work.”
And although Lawson is often considered a Western artist,
Hopkins draws a larger circle around the painter and his
work. “How many Western artists have galleries in London?
Well, Tim does. And it’s because he’s an international artist
who does things in the West, not exclusively a Western
artist. People find him all around the world because of the
quality of his work,” Hopkins says. “His work has a sheer
beauty to it, but also a lot of formal qualities of art, whether
it’s the abstract design, which he places a lot of emphasis
on, or the attention to detail or his ability to edit his work,
which is something that George Carlson admires of him. In
the show we have his Bark series. They’re close-up paintings
of bark. They’re done in a realistic style, but the more realistic
he paints them, and the more detail he adds in, the more
abstract they become. And yet they look like physical pieces
of bark. He uses different methods, including wire brushes
January’s Deposit, 2017, oil on linen mounted on panel, 9 x 10”
and sanding down and painting in layers. You don’t really see
brushstrokes, and there is no impasto, but there is a paint
quality that comes through that is just magical.”
Tim Newton, chairman of the board at the prestigious
Salmagundi Club, says Lawson’s work has a delicate nuance
to it that isn’t seen with other artists. “His work has a universal
subtlety, and he’s very quiet and sophisticated in his portrayal
of everyday things,” Newton says. “He regards his subjects
as really the essence of life, these things that you might
otherwise walk past, and yet he engages with them in a
meaningful if not spiritual way.”
It’s that connection to one subject in particular, the land,
that most excites Lawson these days, especially as he settles
comfortably into the ranch that he’s lived on for two years.
The ranch primarily trains horses, and although Lawson has
nothing to do with the day-to-day operation he injects himself
into the scenes as often as he can. “My biggest job right now
is to stack hay on the feed truck. It’s just such a magical place.
Not a day goes by since we’ve been here that I don’t count my
lucky blessings,” Lawson says. “I’m so excited I get to paint
it. There are so many pictorial possibilities, and I do see it as
my Kuerners or even my Olson House, where Andrew Wyeth
painted for so many years. I will never run out of material,
nor will I ever repeat myself. It’s about as perfect a place as
an artist could ask for.”
Mood and Tone:
The Art of T. Allen Lawson
Through April 28, 2019
Booth Western Art Museum, 501 Museum Drive,
Cartersville, GA 30120
(770) 387-1300, www.boothmuseum.org
57
 SECOND to
NONE
The Amon Carter Museum of American Art highlights the
best of the best from its permanent collection. BY ALYSSA M. TIDWELL
Frederic Remington
(1861-1909), A
Dash for the Timber,
1889, oil on canvas,
48¼ x 84⅛”. Amon
Carter Museum of
American Art, Fort
Worth, Texas, Amon
G. Carter Collection.

58
T
hroughout the past five decades, the Amon Carter Museum
of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas, has acquired one of the
world’s finest collections of American paintings, sculpture,
photography and works on paper. In an exhibition titled From
Remington to O’Keeffe: The Carter’s Greatest Hits, the museum features
highlights from its permanent collection and several loans from private
lenders, including landscapes, Western themes, still lifes, representations
of war, modernist sculptures and more. The collection features a vast
range of works demonstrating the mastery and creativity of American
artists, including Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, George
Bellows, Stuart Davis, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, William Henry
Jackson and Georgia O’Keeffe, among many others.
“We first thought about what has defined this collection and part
of that was Ruth Carter Stevenson, daughter of Amon Carter, and her
59
 Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), Sunrise, Yosemite Valley, ca. 1870, oil on canvas,
36½ x 52⅜”. Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas. 1966.1.

vision of landscape paintings and artists of the Stieglitz Circle

like O’Keeffe, Arthur Dove and Marsden Hartley,” says Shirley
Reece-Hughes, curator of paintings and sculpture. The museum
is also currently in the process of renovating its upstairs galleries,
including updates to the flooring, lighting and wall configurations.
To allow visitors to still easily view artwork, From Remington to
O’Keeffe is displayed in the front galleries on the bottom floor,
with the exception of pieces by Remington and Russell in a portion
upstairs not currently being renovated.
Included in the exhibition is an iconic painting by Remington—
and one of the most important Western paintings of all time, for
that matter—A Dash for the Timber, 1889. The piece, which
depicts a group of riders on horseback rushing toward the viewer
in a flurry of dust, was part of an assignment given to Remington
Frederic by Harper’s Weekly, a magazine that hired illustrators to create
Remington images to complement their stories, Reece-Hughes explains. Also
(1861-1909), The seen in the exhibition is Remington’s instantly recognizable bronze
Broncho Buster,
1909, bronze, The Broncho Buster, 1909. “We wanted to tell a story about the
48¼ x 84⅛”. Amon progression of American art,” says Reece-Hughes.
Carter Museum The Fall of the Cowboy, which Remington painted in 1895, is
of American Art,
Fort Worth, Texas, layered with symbolism pertaining to America history and cowboy
Amon G. Carter culture. “That’s a really pivotal painting because, in many ways, it
Collection. was signaling the end of the frontier,” Reece-Hughes explains. “It’s
this cold winter, this kind of eerie feeling of death and conclusion
to this era that was being swept away.” In the painting, one
cowboy sits on horseback while another closes a wooden gate,
symbolizing the end of a prominent period in American history. “It

60
 Frederic Remington (1861-1909), The Old Stage-Coach of the Plains, 1901, oil on canvas, 40¼ x 27¼”.
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Amon G. Carter Collection. 1961.232.

speaks to Remington as one of the masters of
[American art]. It’s like the cowboy way of life
is leaving…We’re moving on to the Industrial
Revolution. America at that point has been
settled, all the frontiers have been conquered.
It has a very poetic tone to it,” the curator says.
His First Lesson came along eight years later.
“This was inspired by a visit to an American-
owned ranch in Chihuahua, Mexico,” Reece-
Hughes recounts. She explains that Remington
was on a separate assignment at the time for
Harper’s Weekly and kept this particular scene
in his memory, finally painting it about 10
years after his visit. “That Mexico sunlight, the
streaks you get in the canvas, you see the sun
bleaching down on it,” Reece-Hughes says of
the beauty of the piece.
Another esteemed work comes from

61
 Clockwise from left:
Robert Seldon Duncanson (1821-1872), The Caves,
1869, oil on canvas, 36 x 30¾”. Amon Carter Museum
of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas. 2012.8.
George Bellows (1882-1925), The Fisherman,
1917, oil on canvas, 30⅛ x 44”. Amon Carter
Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas.
Frederic Remington (1861-1909), The Fall of
the Cowboy, 1895, oil on canvas, 25 x 35⅛”. Amon
Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth,
Texas, Amon G. Carter Collection. 1961.230.

62
Frederic Remington (1861-1909), His First Lesson, 1903, oil on canvas, 27¼ x 40”. Amon Carter
Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Amon G. Carter Collection. 1961.231.
American-German painter Albert Bierstadt,
known for his sweeping landscapes of the
American West. In 1966, the Amon Carter
Museum acquired Sunrise, Yosemite Valley,
originally painted circa 1870. “Bierstadt painted
multiple views of Yosemite Valley, and this is
one of the most stunning ones because of
how he captured the atmosphere and the light
peeking through,” says Reece-Hughes. Here
was a German immigrant who was going
west, painting these landscapes for an Eastern
audience who hadn’t had a chance to see
these places, she explains. Bierstadt was part
of a generation of artists who promoted the
splendor of Yosemite and encouraged people
to travel in that direction. Their works also
prompted the government to begin focusing on
land preservation. “It’s not just about beauty, it’s
about what was happening in America at that
particular time,” she adds.
“The Western works were the foundation
[of the museum]...The only two artists Amon
ever collected were Russell and Remington,”
says Reece-Hughes. Carter died before he was
able to see the museum through to fruition,
a legacy that was carried on by his daughter.
“I think in many ways Ruth had to carry what her
father envisioned forward.” While maintaining
the original vision of Amon Carter, the museum
also endeavors to continuously advance the idea
of the West and expand the narrative.
In addition to the powerful Western works
featured within the collection, Reece-Hughes
says the first gallery on the bottom floor focuses
on the early 19th century up to the Hudson
River School painters like Thomas Cole. In
the second gallery, the exhibition moves into
the mid-1800s, exploring how American art
expanded beyond landscape. She says, “It’s the
idea of America being an Eden and the beauty
of the landscape, but also looking at how things
change as time progresses.” This progression in
art history continues throughout the galleries.
Swimming by Thomas Eakins is another
prominent work in the collection. “It has this long
beautiful history,” she says of the piece, which
was purchased by Friends of Art, Fort Worth Art
Association in 1925 and then acquired by Amon
Carter Museum of American Art in 1990.
“The guiding principle of the museum is
to buy the master work of the artist,” she says.
George Bellows’ 1917 oil The Fisherman depicts
a man, probably the artist himself, on a rocky
shoreline casting his line out into tempestuous
waters. “It’s a vital painting, bridging two
traditions, romanticism and modernism.”
Another focus of the exhibition is rarity,
Reece-Hughes explains. “We have this piece
by Grant Wood, Parson Weems’ Fable...It’s this
amazing painting where Grant Wood’s made an
almost theatrical stage out of this story [about
George Washington],” she says. “It was also
painted during a critical time, the rise of fascism
in Europe...so it has a lot of resonance to it. It’s
also got a touch of humor.” The piece depicts
a 6-year-old George Washington with an adult
head being chastised for damaging his father’s
cherry tree, the longest enduring legend about
America’s first president.
The exhibition runs through June 2.
From Remington to
O’Keeffe: The Carter’s
Greatest Hits
Through June 2, 2019
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
3501 Camp Bowie Boulevard
Fort Worth, TX 76107
(817) 738-1933, www.cartermuseum.org
63
 Vermont Hills, 1964, watercolor on paper, 10 x 7”. Collection of Shelburne Museum, gift of Morton Quantrell. 1996-42.16.
Photograph by Andy Duback.

FLEETING O
gden Pleissner (1905-1983) was born
in Brooklyn and spent summers on a

MOMENTS
ranch in Wyoming where he developed
a lifelong love of the Western landscape
and for nature and the out of doors
in general. Constantly painting the landscape, he
joined the U.S. Air Force in 1942 and was stationed
in the Aleutian Islands to document the war effort
Watercolors by Ogden M. Pleissner show a and was later stationed on the European front. He
eventually settled in southern Vermont where he
sportsman’s life in a new exhibition at the Gibbes
lived for the rest of his life.
Museum of Art in Charleston, South Carolina. In Vermont he rekindled a wartime friendship
with Samuel Webb, eldest son of collector Electra
By John O’Hern Havemeyer Webb who had a home in Shelburne,
Vermont. Webb and Pleissner hunted together
and Webb invited him to visit the family farm.
Mrs. Webb had a “collection of collections”
and, in 1947, founded the Shelburne Museum,
inviting Pleissner to serve on the board. After his
death, his widow donated his paintings and vast
archives to the museum. The museum’s Pleissner

64
Duck Shooting, 1959, watercolor on paper, 21¾ x 33”. Collection of Shelburne Museum, gift of Morton Quantrell. 1996-42.19.
Photograph by Andy Duback.

Blue Boat on the Ste Anne, 1958, watercolor on paper, 17¼ x 27½”. Collection of Shelburne Museum, gift of Marion W.G. Pleissner. 1986-98.1.

65
 On the Wind River, watercolor and gouache on paper, 153/8 x 215/16”. Collection of Shelburne Museum, bequest of Ogden M. Pleissner.
1985-31.53. Photograph by Andy Duback.

Beaverkill Bridge, 1952, watercolor on paper, 18 x 31”. Collection of Shelburne Museum, gift of Morton Quantrell. 1996-42.4.
Photograph by Andy Duback.

66
Untitled, 1923-45, watercolor on paper, 15 x 217/8”. Collection of Shelburne Museum, bequest of Ogden M. Pleissner. 1985-31.51.
Photography by Andy Duback.
Gallery displays thematic exhibitions of his
work and houses a recreation of his studio in
Manchester, Vermont.
Katie Wood Kirchhoff, the museum’s
associate curator, has been exploring the
collection and the archives since she arrived
three years ago and is working to flesh out
Pleissner’s story and his place among American
watercolor painters.
Known now primarily for his watercolors,
Pleissner recounted, “With the little oil
sketches, the darn things would stay wet all
the time and make an awful mess to transport.
I did so many watercolor sketches and paintings
during the war because they were easier to carry
around.” Kirchhoff’s research indicates he had
been experimenting with watercolor long before
his time in Alaska. She explains, “In watercolor
he seemed to be able to do more with less. He
would manipulate his compositions in ways
that made use of the paper background in terms
of empty space and he knew how to apply
highlights. He would paint on wet paper and
used a hair dryer to move the pigment around,
sometimes using the butt of a brush to make
marks and create highlights.”
An exhibition of his paintings from
Wyoming to Maine to the Lowcountry of South
Carolina is on view at Gibbes Museum of Art
in Charleston through May 12. Comprised of
watercolors from the Shelburne Museum, Lying
in Wait: Sporting Art by Ogden M. Pleissner also
includes work from South Carolina collections.
A highlight of the exhibition is perhaps
his most famous sporting art painting, Blue
Boat on the Ste. Anne, 1958, which illustrates
his command of the watercolor medium in
depicting both the misty atmosphere and the
details of the boat and fishermen. Pleissner
recalled, “When I finished it, my dear wife
Mary fell in love with it and asked me if
I would please give it to her. I said I could
not afford to do that because we needed the
money and it had to go to the gallery to be
sold. So I took the picture to New York, and the
very next day, without my knowledge, Mary
went to the gallery with a fistful of her savings
and purchased the painting. When I found
out about it and realized how very much she
wanted the picture I canceled the sale, gave her
the painting, and told her to keep her savings.
I had to pay the gallery’s commission on top of
everything. Not a very good business deal!”
Lying in Wait:
Sporting Art by
Ogden M. Pleissner
Through May 12, 2019
Gibbes Museum of Art, 135 Meeting
Street, Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 722-2706, www.gibbesmuseum.org
67
 THROUGH the
LOOKING GLASS
Thomas Moran’s Green River paintings reveal
a painter at home with the landscape.
BY JAMES D. BALESTRIERI

Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Castle Rock, Green River, WY (detail), oil on canvas, 20 x 30”.
Available at the Scottsdale Art Auction. Estimate: $3.5/4.5 million
69
 Andrew J. Russell (1829-1902), Citadel Rock butte, Green River,
Wyoming, 1868, Albumen print. Library of Congress.

Thomas Moran at easel, age 78, around 1915. Photo courtesy Yellowstone
National Park Photo Collection.

I
n the fall of 1870, Thomas Moran was
doing some work for a new publication,
Scribner’s Monthly magazine. He had
been asked to work up some crude
sketches from the first scientific
expedition to a place called Yellowstone. What
he saw was a new set of wonders, one no artist
had attempted to capture. Using paintings
as collateral, Thomas Moran found himself
heading to Yellowstone with the geological
survey headed by Ferdinand V. Hayden in
1871. What came of that journey: Hayden’s
report to Congress, the photographs by
William Henry Jackson, and the paintings by
Moran—especially those that were reproduced
magnificently in stone lithographs by Louis
Prang—would lead to the establishment of
Yellowstone as our first national park and
would be the making of Moran.
Moran’s last stop on the train, before the
expedition would begin the trek to Yellowstone,
was at a boom town beside the tracks, a place
called Green River, Wyoming.
Imagine Moran stepping off. Imagine the
fantastic forms and colors of the rocks meeting
and firing his painter’s eye. The awe comes
through in miniature, in the swift, small First
Sketch Made in the West. Even at this scale,
Moran reaches for the pinks in the sandstone,
for their reflection in the river, for the ochres
of the mud, for the blue of the sky. What he
doesn’t want is what isn’t there. What he
doesn’t want is what brought him there—the
railroad. What he doesn’t want is town and
townspeople, buildings and business, the very
things that dominate the 1868 photograph of
Green River, a photograph taken two years
before his arrival.
Moran crops journalism and documentary
modernity out of the Green River wonderland
as he shifts his point of view away from the train
and the bustle of improvement to the buttes and
escarpments, to the geological layer cake, to
the wide, all-but-unpeopled romance of Green
River’s past. Imagine Moran realizing that even
Albert Bierstadt—who had been everywhere,
it seemed—hadn’t visited Green River, that no
other Western-trained painter had been. In a
way, Moran discovered Green River; and, in
turn, Green River created Moran, making him
into the American master he would become.
Still, he was English, this most American of
artists—at least at first—a weaver’s son, born
in Bolton, England, in 1837. Bolton was a

70
 Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Green River of Wyoming, 1878, oil on canvas, 25 x 48”. Private Collection.
small, foul city, a byproduct of the Industrial
Revolution. Smoke rose and the soot of the
mills rained down on the cramped row houses
of the hand loom weavers whose trade, once a
good, skilled one, dwindled every year as the
march of the machines pushed them out. There
were no inspiring landscapes, no wonders
and vistas, save for those in the weavings
of his father and especially in those of his
mother, who was known for her ability to loom
scenes of wonder into the cloth she made at
her husband’s side. The Moran boys: Edward,
Thomas and Peter, all of whom would become
painters of note, escaped their dark, cramped
world through art. The paintings of the Moran
brothers abound in imagery of the sea, of
mountains, of deserts. Civilization, when it
appears at all, is diminished and picturesque,
Photo © Christie’s Images/Bridgeman. Sold at Christie’s in 2008 for $17,737,000.
harmonious with the landscape.
In 1842, eclipsed at last by technology,
Thomas Moran Sr. left England for the
United States. Two years later, the rest of the
family followed. First in Baltimore, then in
Philadelphia, they found a steady market for
their hand-loomed cloth and began, once
again, to prosper. Edward Moran rented a
studio and Thomas was apprenticed to an
engraver, though the young artist’s interest in
watercolors doomed the relationship.
Moran studied then, by his brother’s side and
with the encouragement of James Hamilton,
a respected painter of the day. Hamilton
introduced Moran to the works of the English
artist J.M.W. Turner, prints largely, but the young
artist immediately saw light and atmosphere
and a breadth of imagination in Turner that was
worth emulating. Though Moran would not
return to his birthplace and see Turner’s work in
color, in the paint, until 1862, no artist would
exert more influence on him than Turner. John
Ruskin, Turner’s champion and Britain’s most
important writer on art, advised all young artists
to study nature. Moran would take Ruskin’s
advice as well. Like Turner and Ruskin, and
perhaps because of their influence, Thomas
Moran was a romantic. He loved Longfellow’s
Hiawatha and Lord Byron’s Childe Harold and
lost himself in their remote, craggy lands, in
their ruins of lost civilizations, and in their
brooding solitary wanderers.
Moran never claimed to be documenting the
American West; he never asserted authenticity.
Instead, he stayed true to his romantic vision.
From Turner, Moran developed the philosophy
71
 that landscape painting should not be slavishly
accurate, that the actual scene must be
subordinate to its suitability as a subject for
painting. From Ruskin, Moran schooled himself
to be accurate and faithful in another way, to
the elements within a picture: to rocks and
water, leaves and sky. In the process, he wove
the landscape of the West—canyon depths,
mountain peaks, the many-hued layers of the
bluffs—into the American imagination. Moran
would turn and turn again to Green River, almost
as if the place haunted him. His hauntings,
transformed into art, leave an afterimage that
floats across our eyes and our history, an
afterimage that ultimately displaces the physical,
topographical Green River in our minds.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream—
Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Cliffs of Green River, 1874, oil on canvas. Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas.
72
Lingering in the golden gleam—
Life, what is it but a dream?
—Lewis Carroll, Alice Through the Looking-
Glass, 1871
In my mind, there is a connection between
Moran’s great landscapes of the American West
and the Wonderland that Alice finds down the
March Hare’s hole and through the looking
glass. Though Moran’s West is a place and Alice’s
Wonderland is a dream, they intersect and
interweave. The landforms become Wonderland
and the reflective stillness of the surface of
Green River stands in for Alice’s looking glass.
Look at any of Moran’s Green River
paintings through the Lewis Carroll looking
glass. Turn any of them upside down. You want
to put your hand through the image. If you
did, the rest of you might follow. But let your
mind’s eye do the work, let it pass through the
evanescent image. Through the painted path
of the seductive reflection, Moran illuminates
the special nature of the place itself. This
world and its mirror image are magical realms.
If you look away, it might not be there when
you look back, Moran seems to say. Now turn
the images right side up again. Magically,
you’re still somewhere else, another realm,
a natural wonder that becomes, via Moran’s
inner vision of the outward world, a vanished
kingdom. Yes, these rocks, these cliffs, too,
shall pass, as all things pass, into the past, into
time, into other realms and elsewheres. But
the painting remains, as a sign and symbol of
Moran’s vision.
There are mundane matters we shouldn’t
ignore. Why was Moran there? Why was
Hayden there? Hayden, the ardent geologist
and paleontologist known to the Indians as “He
Who Picks Up Rocks Running?” Why were they
sent there by the United States government?
Why? For scientific purposes alone? No. To
see if there was land fit to farm, fit for cattle,
fit to mine for coal and precious metals. Fit
Thomas Moran (1837-1926), First Sketch Made in the West at Green River, Wyoming, 1871,
watercolor, gouache and pencil on wove paper, 3¾ x 81/8”. Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK.
Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Green River Wyoming Territory, 1886, etching on paper,
5½ x 8¼”. Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK
for railroads. Fit for towns and cities. Fit for
industry. These journeys of exploration, were,
at root, journeys of exploitation. Their Indiana
Jones adventures fueled interest. The fossils and
rocks signified the presence or absence of coal,
water, valuable minerals. So say the reports.
How did Moran, who had been born into
the grimmest excesses of industrial progress,
feel about this? With the sole exception of
the lines and bands of Indians, Indians he
never saw in Green River, he left humanity
out of his paintings. His Earth was an Earth
before the white man’s arrival, a visionary
photograph of a paradise that could only
be a paradise when progress and industry is
cropped out. He painted these places—Green
River, Yellowstone—as even more beautiful
than they were, painting them as he saw them,
as he wanted the world to see them. In weaving
beauty, Moran unwove the hand of civilized
man from the rocks of Green River even as he
knew that progress, development, evolution
are inevitable, inexorable. Through what is
present and what is absent in Moran’s Green
River visions we see the tensions between our
contradictory impulses to exploit and conserve
the natural world.
In light of Moran’s romantic leanings,
73
 Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Green River, oil on canvas, 15 x 21”.
Bequeathed by Clara S. Peck. 83.46.14 F. The Rockwell Museum,
Corning, NY.

thinking of Moran and Carroll, Moran and Byron, Moran and Turner and
Ruskin, where do the Green River paintings belong? Do they depict the ruins
of an empire as Turner, Byron and Longfellow might have described them.
No. They’re the ruins of a geological era. The great age of the Earth surely
came to Moran as he contemplated the great bluffs—this basin was once a
vast body of water teeming with life long vanished, the famous Green River
fish fossils attest to this. The traces of its past are not the broken keeps of
castles and columns of temples but the nature-made towers of a vanished
epoch. The Indians become a trace of an imagined past, a vision from another
age, another Wonderland, crossing over into our world for a moment.
Ruskin’s philosophy—a return to village-based handcrafted economies
and a moral and spiritual closeness to nature—will inspire the Pre-
Raphaelites, a group of British artists who find their subject matter in the
myths of Britain’s medieval past. There’s a clue in this to Moran and to the
Green River works. What Moran wants is to see Castle Rock transform into
the ruins of an Arthurian castle, one of those he would later paint in Wales.
What he wants is to people these ruins with the ghosts of the Knights of the
Round Table: Gawain, Lancelot, Kay and Arthur himself. What he does is
an American variation on Arthur—he peoples this landscape with ghostly
Native warriors, shadow warriors moving in line across the mirrored river,
riding into the golden dusk. Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell will
make this connection even more explicit later on, painting Cheyenne Dog
Soldiers, mounted Sioux hunting buffalo with spears, lance-bearing vaqueros,
the world’s cavalrymen, and cowboys of every stripe as the knights of their
time. The American West, for them as for Moran, unfolds as a resplendent
tournament where horsemen and artists tilt in the lists, jousting against one
another, against nature, against progress.

James Balestrieri is director of J. N. Bartfield Galleries

in New York City. Jim has written plays, verse, prose
and screenplays. He has degrees from Columbia
and Marquette universities, attended the American
Film Institute and has an MFA in playwriting from
Carnegie Mellon. He has an excellent wife and three
enthusiastic children.

Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Indian Summer, Green River, WY, 1913,

oil on canvas, 25 x 30”. Sold at Scottsdale Art Auction in 2011 for
$4,159,000.

74
75
 State of the Art:
F
rom Houston to Dallas to San
Antonio, Texas bleeds cowboy
culture. Countless galleries and
museums celebrating the themes of the
Great American West call the Lone Star State
home, and it’s no wonder why—the larger-
than-life state is an icon of Western culture,
with highly varied landscapes of desert and
pine forest, as well as a shared border with
Mexico taking up almost half the perimeter
of the state.
In the central part of the state is the
Blanton Museum of Art at the University of
Texas at Austin. One of the largest university
76
The Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas.
art museums in the country, the Blanton has
a permanent collection of nearly 18,000
works of fine art, including contemporary
American and Latin American art. A
beacon for art, culture and independent
creators, downtown Austin also houses the
Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum,
providing context and history about
America’s 28th state.
To the south in San Antonio is the Briscoe
Western Art Museum, a preservation of the
history, culture and art that make up the
American West. The museum’s signature
event, Night of Artists, showcases 280 works
by nearly 80 of the county’s top Western
artists during the last weekend of March.
Events throughout the weekend include
the Artists Awards Dinner & Live Auction,
as well as the Luck of the Draw Sale &
Reception.
Each year, spring ushers in one of the most
noteworthy events in the state, the Houston
Livestock Show and Rodeo, a yearly gathering
packed with events showcasing Western
heritage. The nearly three-week-long event
features horse shows, wine auctions, trail
rides, rodeos and more.
For more than 60 years, the Amon Carter
 The Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Courtesy Visit Houston.

The front entrance of the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.

Museum of American Art in Fort Worth home, including Bosque Arts Center, Great
has been exhibiting a vast collection of American West Gallery, InSight Gallery,
American fine art, including one dedicated Museum of the Big Bend, National Ranching
to two of the great Western artists: Frederic Heritage Center, The Dancing Rabbit Lubbock
Grapevine
Remington and C.M. Russell. An exhibition Gallery, Fama Fine Art, RS Hanna Gallery Wichita Falls
Dallas
titled From Remington to O’Keeffe: The and Southwest Gallery. Also included Cleburne Fort Worth
Carter’s Greatest Hits, currently on view are several artists based in the Lone Star Stephenville Clifton
through June 2, allows visitors to view some State: Todd “Tex” Mueller, Susan Temple Alpine
Fredericksburg Magnolia
of the most esteemed works in the museum’s Neumann, Kathy Tate, Mick Doellinger
Kerrville Austin
permanent collection. and Barbara Mauldin. In addition, readers Houston
Throughout the pages of this Texas can gain information about the annual TEXAS
section, readers can learn about and EnPleinAirTEXAS competition.
view artwork from a wide range of other
galleries and museums that call Texas

77
 InSight Gallery
State of the Art: TEXAS

214 W. Main Street, Fredericksburg,

TX 78624, (830) 997-9920
info@insightgallery.com
www.insightgallery.com
InSight Gallery represents a select group of
the finest painters and sculptors living and
working today in landscape, figurative, still
life, impressionistic, wildlife, sporting and
Western art. The gallery is home to 60 nationally
recognized artists, including award-winning
members of the Oil Painters of America, Cowboy
Artists of America, Prix de West, American
Impressionist Society, American Pastel Society
and Masters of the American West.
Located in charming Fredericksburg, the
gallery is housed in an immaculately restored
historic building with 8,000 square feet of
gallery show space. This year the gallery
celebrates its 10th anniversary and welcomes
artists Cyrus Afsary, Mark Eberhard and Jeremy
Winborg, among others. Shows will be held all
year in celebration of the milestone. This year
has already seen the successful Texas Masters
Show in March. In October, African wildlife
artist Lindsay Scott will be joining InSight
Gallery from her home in New Zealand for a
show. Rounding out the year is an incredible
show planned with two powerhouses of the
representational art world—David A. Leffel and
Sherrie McGraw. The InSight Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas.

“Fredericksburg is a bustling tourist destination and that only continues to

grow. Our town of a little over 10,000 hosts over two million visitors a year.
This means that…every season is ‘the busy season’ in Fredericksburg and
particularly at InSight Gallery…It’s a privilege to be able to represent such
outstanding and notable artists at InSight Gallery.”
— Elizabeth Harris, director, InSight Gallery

InSight Gallery, Sagrado, oil, 36 x 40", by George Hallmark. InSight Gallery, A Texas Morning, oil, 48 x 72", by Robert Pummill.

78
 State of the Art: TEXAS
An outdoor view of the Great American Great American West Gallery, A Cautious Encounter, oil on linen, 44 x 58", by Martin Grelle.
West Gallery.

Great American “Quality continues to be the most significant

West Gallery factor in the minds of our clients when they are
332 S. Main Street, Grapevine,
TX 76051, (817) 416-2600 considering the purchase of new artwork for
www.greatamericanwestgallery.com their collections. This fact challenges us to ensure
The Great American West Gallery
that what we show and offer for acquisition in the
specializes in original Western
fine art, including paintings and gallery is the very best a particular artist has produced.”
sculpture from the best living and
– Phil Berkebile, owner, Great American West Gallery
deceased Western masters. The
gallery also features Texas landscape
paintings depicting the Texas Hill
Country, West Texas and other areas
of the Lone Star State. Featured
artists include Martin Grelle, G.
Harvey, Melvin Warren, James
Reynolds, Howard Terpning, Bill
Owen, Tom Lovell, Frank Tenney
Johnson, Tom Ryan, Charlie Dye,
Olaf Wieghorst, James Earle Fraser,
Cyrus Dallin, Grant Speed, Robert
Scriver, Porfirio Salinas and Julian
Onderdonk.

Great American West Gallery, Old

Country Store, oil on canvas, 12 x 16",
by G. Harvey.

79
State of the Art: TEXAS

The entrance to RS Hanna Gallery on Main Street

in Fredericksburg, Texas.

RS Hanna Gallery
244 W. Main Street, Fredericksburg,
TX 78624 , (830) 307-3071
www.rshannagallery.com
RS “Shannon” Hanna has created another
beautiful art gallery space in Fredericksburg,
Texas, for collectors to experience some of
the best in contemporary representational fine
art from all over the country: an exceptional
group of 60 working artists, curated with her
eye for talent, promoting artists nationally as
well as regionally. Her group of artists—much
like the group she put together when co-
founding InSight Gallery in Fredericksburg 10 RS Hanna Gallery, Last Day of Training, oil, 20 x 24”, by John Austin Hanna.
years ago, as well as her RS Hanna off Main
that she ran for seven years—embraces the
best in talent, diversity and collectability. “Art is one of those things that continues to
Specializing in working closely with
intrigue long after its first encounter and in
each client to find what sings to them, RS
“Shannon” Hanna proudly represents John that sense, the market will never go away. Its
Austin Hanna, Marc Hanson, Lori Putnam, health depends on the mysterious connection
Dan Beck, Jeff Legg, Tony Eubanks, Elizabeth
Pollie, Robert A. Johnson, Morten E. Solberg,
promoted between the artist and collector…”
Kevin Beilfuss, Neil Patterson, Peter Fiore, -Shannon Hanna, owner, RS Hanna Gallery
Denise LaRue Mahlke, Jennifer McChristian,
Bryce Cameron Liston, Hodges Soileau,
Rosetta, Stefan Savides, Christine Drewyer,
John Cook, Pam Ingalls, Ezra Tucker, Bob
Rohm, Lindsey Bittner Graham, Thomas
Schaller, William J. Kalwick Jr., Jeri Salter,
Mary Dolph Wood, Marion Quick, Burneta
Venosdel, Marie Figge Wise, Dee Kirkham,
Kim Hill, Daniel Glanz, Dianne Massey
Dunbar, JR Cook, Kim Carlton, Hebe Brooks,
Joy Kroeger Beckner, John Bennett, Heather
Arenas, Alex Alvis, Carolyn Mock, Margi
Lucena, Chuck and Barbara Mauldin and
Natasha Isenhour among others.
Upcoming shows include the NOAPS
annual Best of America Small Painting National
Exhibition through April 31, and Texascapes
2019 featuring the works of Chuck and RS Hanna Gallery, Illusion of Security, watercolor, 11 x 22”, by Marion Quick.
Barbara Mauldin from May 1 to 25.

80
 State of the Art: TEXAS
Southwest Gallery, Two Bits A Head, oil on canvas, 40 x 60", by Xiang Zhang.

Southwest Gallery, Go Find Mama, oil on canvas, 32 x 36", Southwest Gallery, Last Calf to Rope, oil on canvas, 44 x 77", by Tom Dorr.
by Tony Eubanks.

Southwest Gallery
4500 Sigma Road, Dallas, TX 75244
(972) 960-8935, www.swgallery.com
Reflecting on Southwest Gallery’s five decades
of business in Dallas, Texas, the gallery
is inspired by the more than 100 artists it
represents, as well as the collectors who
embrace the spirit of art. The Dallas-based
gallery offers not only fine Western works,
but also invites an exploration of all styles.
At Southwest Gallery, an extensive array of
art from modern to traditional can be found,
creating an eclectic selection to broaden any
collection. The gallery’s featured artists include
Lee Alban, Marc Esteve, Michael Mentler,
Olga Suvorova, Mark Andrew Allen, Lorand
Fekete, Javier Mulio, Dale Terbush, Randy
Baker, Robert A. Fobear, Jesus Navarro,
Zhiwei Tu, Tony Bass, Kay Walton, Ann
Hardy and John Pototschnik, among many
others. Deceased artists whose work can be
found in the gallery’s collection include John
Alexander, Dupre, Nancy Sims, Frederick
Hart, William Merritt Chase and others.

81
State of the Art: TEXAS

The Dancing Rabbit Gallery located in Southlake, Texas.

The Dancing Rabbit Gallery

P.O. Box 92394, Southlake, TX 76092
(817) 337-8576
katie@thedancingrabbitgallery.com
www.thedancingrabbitgallery.com
Founded in 1980, the Dancing Rabbit Gallery
focuses on the art, artists and culture of Native
Americans in the Southwest. The gallery,
which now operates in an online-only format,
features authentic work from artists in a
number of states from Oklahoma and Texas,
through New Mexico and Colorado, and to
Arizona and Utah. The gallery emphasizes
jewelry and pottery, though there is an
extensive fine art section, as well as a few Zuni
carvings, baskets, weavings and sculptures
in bronze, stone and wood. In addition to
pottery from the matriarchs like Sara Fina,
Margaret Tafoya, Lucy Lewis and Paqua Naha,
more contemporary potters like Erik Fender
and Jeff Roller are also represented. Historic
jewelry is contrasted by contemporary styles The Dancing Rabbit Gallery, Polychrome The Dancing Rabbit Gallery, Shalako III, bronze,
Lidded Olla, clay and minerals, 11 x 10 x 10”, ed. 12 of 12, 28 x 10 x 11½”, by Upton (Greyshoes)
by some of the most talented Native American by Erik Fender (San Ildefonso). Ethelbah Jr. (Santa Clara/White Mountain Apache).
jewelers of today, including Abraham Begay,
Albert Lee, Althea Cajero, Alvin Yellowhorse, concentrated on fine art, with more than two gallery. Titled Contemporary Traditions in
Steve LaRance, Marlin Honhongva and a dozen pieces in the exhibit. Additionally, Native American Jewelry, this is the second
number of others. The Dancing Rabbit Gallery jewelry, pottery, Zuni carvings, baskets and of a series of online exhibits and related
just finished a two-month exhibit of Native weavings are displayed. An online jewelry books that focuses on different artistic media
American art and culture at the Lancaster exhibition extends through the middle of by the best of today’s contemporary Native
Arts Center in Grapevine, Texas. This exhibit April, accompanied by a new book by the American artists.

82

Barbara Mauldin, Lady Bird Buddies, oil, 18 x 18"
Barbara Mauldin, Soft Impressions, oil, 16 x 20"
Barbara Mauldin
www.barbaramauldinart.com
Represented by RS Hanna Gallery
244 W. Main Street, Fredericksburg, TX
(830) 307-3071, www.rshannagallery.com
The Texas Hill Country is a wonderful source
of inspiration for Barbara Mauldin, who resides
in the heart of this region in Fredericksburg,
Texas. The countryside abounds in a diversity
of trees, wildflowers, animals, charming
architecture and rugged terrain. All of these
subjects find their way into her colorful oil
paintings, especially the prickly pear cactus.
Mauldin is drawn to the color variety found in
ordinary things. She uses a limited, three-color
palette (plus white) and loose brushwork to
create a warm, intimate scene, working both
outdoors and in the studio. In May, Barbara
and Chuck, her husband and fellow artist, will
be featured in Texascapes, an exhibit that will
spotlight their Texas landscapes at RS Hanna
Gallery in Fredericksburg.
Barbara Mauldin, Parked in the
Pasture, oil, 18 x 24
83
 Mick Doellinger
State of the Art: TEXAS

doellingersculptures@hotmail.com
www.doellingersculptures.com
For the past 35 years, Mick Doellinger
has focused on sculpting animals, but his
fascination with wildlife, nature and art
spans back to his earliest memories. From his
first terra-cotta sculpture of an Aboriginal at
the age of 11, to bronzes of longhorn steer,
European red stag, Alaskan moose and an
African black rhino, Doellinger’s subjects span
the globe and show his varied interests. The
artist’s entire life has been spent working with
animals in some capacity; and this life-long
accumulation of “hands-on knowledge” has
given him unique insights into the anatomy,
movements and behavior of his subjects. He
believes his time in the field, studying the
subjects and environments they occupy, is
critical to his creative process. “My earlier Mick Doellinger in his studio with K-9 Service in clay.
work was much more literal, but over time
I’ve preferred to not ‘overwork’ the clay. With
this looser style, collectors of my work will
continue to notice something they hadn’t seen
before, even if it’s just a partial fingerprint or
smudge. These slight ‘imperfections’ are a
reminder of the hands-on sculpting process,
kept frozen in the finished bronze,” says
Doellinger. “It’s less about creating a perfect
replica of the animal and more about sculpting
a narrative or moment in time.”

Mick Doellinger, The Knight,

bronze, ed. of 22, 15 x 8 x 11"

Mick Doellinger, Incoming, bronze,

ed. of 25, 29½ x 17½ x 13½"

84
 State of the Art: TEXAS
Guests browse works during the STAMPEDE Awards Party & Sale in 2018.

EnPleinAirTEXAS
San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts
1 Love Street, San Angelo, TX 76903
(325) 656-2500, paint@enpleinairtexas.com
www.enpleinairtexas.com
The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts presents
the sixth annual EnPleinAirTEXAS competition
October 19 through 26. The event is recognized
as one of the top out of hundreds of plein air
competitions held throughout the country, and
each year award-winning artists apply in the
hopes of becoming one of the 34 selected.
The juror for 2019 is Tim Newton,
acclaimed art collector and CEO/chairman Charlie Hunter, Milk Barns, Mims Ranch, oil, 12 x 24"
of the board of the notable Salmagundi Club
in New York City. Competition artists paint
on historic private ranches during the week,
capturing the substance of West Texas on
canvas. The public can watch, meet and learn
as the artists paint downtown, Fort Concho,
the international water lily gardens, during free
talks and at the San Angelo World Champion
Roping Fiesta. On Friday, October 26, the
STAMPEDE Awards Party & Sale showcases
around 300 paintings from the week and
awards more than $20,000 in cash prizes.
Donald Demers, a celebrated marine artist
and Signature Member of Plein Air Painters
of America, is the awards judge for 2019.
The exhibit and sale continues through the
weekend, capped off with a Chuck Wagon
lunch at Fort Concho on October 28 just
outside the exhibit. Inside, Demers will
talk about his awards choices, and visitors
will have one last opportunity to purchase
paintings of authentic Texas by some of the
best artists around. Thomas Jefferson Kitts, Remains of the Day, oil, 20 x 24"

85
State of the Art: TEXAS

Kathy Tate
(254) 968-4275
kathy@kathytate.com
www.kathytate.com
Sixth-generation Texan Kathy Tate began
drawing and painting at an early age and
later studied drafting and architectural design
in college. With a love of family history and
antiques, much of her still life work contains
objects in her collection of antiques. Some of
these items came with her family to Texas as
members of Stephen F. Austin’s Old 300 in the
early 1800s. Tate’s work also reflects her love
of old and abandoned home sites and other
structures. A recent trip to Egypt has also been
a major influence in her newest works.
Upcoming shows include the Bosque Arts
Center Online Fine Art Auction; The Russell
Exhibition and Sale; Looking West: An Exhibition
Highlighting Works by American Women Artists
at the Steamboat Art Museum, in Steamboat
Springs, Colorado; and Miniatures by the Lake
at Coeur d’Alene Galleries in Idaho.
Recently Tate’s painting Once Someone’s
Dream was awarded the prestigious John
Steven Jones Award at the Bosque Art Classic.
Her work has been featured in Small Works,
Great Wonders at the National Cowboy
& Western Heritage Museum, The Russell
Exhibition & Sale at the C.M. Russell Museum,
Briscoe Western Art Museum’s Night of
Artists, Mountain Oyster Club, Oil Painters of
Kathy Tate, Peaches, oil, 14 x 15"
America and many shows throughout the U.S.

Kathy Tate, Gone to Texas, oil, 18 x 24"

Kathy Tate, Abandoned, oil, 16 x 20"

86
 State of the Art: TEXAS
National Ranching
Heritage Center
3121 Fourth Street, Lubbock, TX 79409
(806) 742-0498, ranchhc@ttu.edu
www.nrhc.ttu.edu
Western art and gear collectors will have
an opportunity not only to purchase new
artwork but also meet the artists at the Sixth
Annual Summer Stampede Western Art and
Gear Show on June 1 from 6 to 11 p.m.
at the National Ranching Heritage Center
(NRHC) in Lubbock, Texas. The annual event
will include more than 100 pieces of art by
more than 30 Western artists and craftsmen.
Summer Stampede provides a unique mix of
art that combines Western paintings, jewelry
and gear such as spurs, stirrups, bits and belt
buckles. A portion of the proceeds benefits
the educational and restoration programs of
the NRHC, a unique 27-acre museum and
historical park established to preserve and

interpret the history of ranching. Top of page: The

Although the NRHC only sells art once a year National Ranching
Heritage Center is a
in June, Western art is on exhibit in the museum
museum and outdoor
galleries throughout the year. “Western art and park with structures
museum artifacts complement each other,” says dating back to the
Dr. Scott White, Helen DeVitt Jones Endowed 18th century.
Director of Collections, Exhibits and Research. Above: National
“Our galleries depict the ranching life. You can Ranching Heritage
see the art and then walk into the historic park Center, Fresh
Mounts, oil, 18 x
and see authentic ranch structures like those
24”, by Wayne Baize.
in the paintings.” Supported by Texas Tech
University and the Ranching Heritage Association Left: National
Ranching Heritage
(RHA), the center features a 44,000-square-foot Center, Lesson # 2,
museum with seven galleries and a 19-acre bronze, ed. 5 of 10,
historical park with 50 authentic ranch structures 5 x 8 x 7”, by T.D.
from some of the nation’s most historic ranches. Kelsey.

87
State of the Art: TEXAS
Museum of the Big Bend, Ledger Art, watercolor,
10 x 8", by Teal Blake.
Museum of the Big Bend
400 N. Harrison Street, Alpine, TX 79832
(432) 837-8143, maryb@sulross.edu
www.museumofthebigbend.com
The Museum of the Big Bend hosts four
rotating exhibits each year. The museum’s
major exhibit Trappings of Texas enters its
33rd year beginning April 11. The longest-
running exhibit of its kind, Trappings
combines contemporary Western art with
custom cowboy gear against the majestic
backdrop of the Davis Mountains in
the cattle country of Big Bend. Up-and-
coming artists show their works alongside
established artists who are members of the
Cowboy Artists of America and Traditional
Cowboy Arts Association. Trappings
88
The exterior of the Museum of the Big Bend in Alpine, Texas. Photo by Wilson Photographs.
opening weekend, April 11 to 13, includes
numerous ticketed events like the Thursday
Preview and After Preview Parties, Friday
Meet the Artists Luncheon and Grand
Opening Exhibit, Reception and Sale and
the exclusive Saturday Ranch Round Up
Party. The summer photography one-man
show showcases works by Burton Pritzker
of San Marcos, Texas. Five Centuries of
Mexican Maps opens on September 20,
which highlights maps from the Museum
of the Big Bend’s Yana and Marty Davis
Map Collection, one of the premier map
collections in the state. On Saturday,
September 21, noted cartographic scholars
from Texas and Mexico will headline a
speakers’ series.
Bosque Arts Center
215 S. College Hill Drive, Clifton, TX 76634
(254) 386-6049, (254) 675-3724
art@bosqueartscenter.org
www.bosqueartscenter.org
Entries have opened for the 34th Annual Bosque
Art Classic at the Bosque Arts Center in Clifton,
Texas. The national juried art exhibition and
sale, sponsored by the BAC Art Council, awards
more than $15,000 to outstanding realistic and
representational art in the categories of drawing,
oil/acrylic, pastel, sculpture and water media.
The judge for this year’s Classic is Oreland Joe.
A member of the Cowboy Artists of America
since 1993, Joe is recognized as a master of
stone and bronze whose expertise extends to
the two-dimensional realm as well. In its 30-
plus years, the Classic has built an impressive
permanent collection in the Jones Gallery of the
Bosque Arts Center. Each year the show adds two
pieces to the collection with the Jones and art
patrons purchase awards. Kathy Tate garnered
the John Steven Jones Award with her oil Once
Someone’s Dream, while Jeff Rechin’s Tupelo
wood sculpture Spring won the Art Patrons
Purchase Award in 2018. The Art Classic is one
of many activities at the arts center, which plays
host to all forms of the visual and performing
arts. Spring 2019 added two online auctions,
one featuring art by nationally acclaimed artists
and another offering trip packages, jewelry and
more. In April, the BAC holds its annual Big
Event fundraiser and celebration, which will
feature dinner, a live band and a silent auction
with a variety of fabulous items.
Bosque Arts Center, Once Someone’s Dream, oil,
16 x 20", by Kathy Tate.

Susan Temple Neumann, Dreams of the Ancient, oil on linen, 30 x 24"
Susan Temple Neumann
Rowlett, TX
susantemp@tx.rr.com
www.susantempleneumannfineart.com
Native Texan artist Susan Temple Neumann
finds inspiration in the spirit of the
Southwest—the landscape, its history and the
people. A life-long fascination with Native
Americans, cowboys, horses, wildlife and
the Western landscape fuel the passion she
has for painting her Western art. Neumann’s
oil paintings adopt a more painterly style
of realism, which helps to keep the
subject matter fresh and “alive.” Her
goal is to capture the emotions
or mood of a particular scene
or character and hopefully
make that connection with the
viewer. The artist has just begun a
series of almost life-size figures—Native
Americans so far, but other subjects will
be added as the series expands. Neumann’s
art has received many awards over the years
along with her best of show at the 2018
American Plains Artists exhibition.
Neumann will have 12 or more of her
paintings displayed at the American
State of the Art: TEXAS
Susan Temple Neumann, Noble Quest, oil on linen, 36 x 24"
Plains Artists exhibition award winners’ show dimensional computer artist/animator right
June 27 to August 4 in San Angelo, Texas, at out of school with a degree in commercial
Fort Concho. arts and has been creating three- and
two-dimensional motion animation for
Todd “Tex” Mueller the cable and television industry for more
Combine, TX than 30 years. He loves the Old West and
(214) 232-2958 all it offers, so living in the Dallas-Fort
www.texasmadesculptures.com
Worth area is a dream come true, the artist
Todd “Tex” Mueller became a digital three- says. Going to all the Western museums,
observing the history and various historical
locations across the great state has only
served to increase his passion for the
West. Texas Made Sculptures specializes
in bronze Western art, with longhorns and
American bison being Mueller’s
focus. Mueller has just started
to scratch the surface and has
several limited bronze statues
completed and available. His
work can be seen and purchased at
the Adobe Western Art Gallery in Fort
Worth, Texas, and on his website,
www.texasmadesculptures.com.
Todd “Tex” Mueller, High Plains
Thunder, bronze, ed. of 10,
13 x 14 x 10"
89
State of the Art: TEXAS

Fama Fine Art, In His Domain, acrylic, 14 x 18", by Bob Kuhn. Fame Fine Art, Tea Time in Boston, oil, 16 x 12", by G. Harvey.

Fama Fine Art
3637 W. Alabama, Suite 470, Houston,
TX 77027, (713) 626-9449, (800) 659-9449
alanfama@aol.com, www.famafineart.com
Fama Fine Art, established in 1982, has
provided guidance and an ability to find
quality artwork for serious investors or
collectors who decorate in Western and
wildlife art. “We have always presented our
gallery different from others. We purchase
the majority of our artwork displayed in our
gallery, hopefully giving our clients confidence
in their purchases,” says owner Alan Fama.
People who have experienced Fama Fine Art
believe it has one of the best inventories in the
industry. The gallery has more Bob Kuhn works
than any other gallery, as well as paintings
by Ken Carlson, James Reynolds, Martin
Grelle, G. Harvey, David Shepherd, Robert
Abbett, Julian Onderdonk, Tucker Smith,
Luke Frazier, Richard Schmid, John Cowan,
Robert Bateman, William Acheff and others,
as well as sculptures by Mick Doellinger, John
Coleman, Tim Shinabarger and more.

MISSING AN ISSUE?
VISIT WESTERNARTCOLLECTOR.COM/PASTISSUES OR CALL 1 877 9470792 TO PURCHASE PAST ISSUES

Create a library of fine Western art in your home by purchasing past issues of Western Art Collector. Enjoy timeless works of art, follow artists’
careers, and explore gallery and museum exhibitions and coast-to-coast art destinations that continue to define the nation’s Western art market.
Collectors of Western art rely upon Western Art Collector to stay informed on the latest works from the country’s top contemporary Western artists
as well as artwork from historic Western masters.

Our magazine allows collectors to get a real sense of Western art that is coming available for sale—and opportunity to buy it right off our pages.

Stay informed on the latest exhibits across the country, subscribe today online at

WWW.WESTERNARTCOLLECTOR.COM

90
 SAT ISF Y YOUR
PALETTE

An exclusive look inside the studios Covering the entire market for The only monthly resource dedicated to Showcasing new work by today’s best
of the world’s best artists. historic American art. the entire western art market. artists at galleries across the country.
www.InternationalArtist.com www.AmericanFineArtMagazine.com www.WesternArtCollector.com www.AmericanArtCollector.com

A d ve r t i s i n g ( 8 6 6 ) 6 1 9 - 0 8 4 1 • S u b s c r i p t i o n s ( 8 7 7 ) 9 4 7 - 0 7 9 2
COLLECTOR'S FOCUS

PAINTING THE OLD WEST

GLORY DAYS
By John O’Hern
1. Cowboy Artists of America, Quiet and Lonely, oil, 24 x 36", by Grant Redden.

93

G
enerations of cowboys and ranch hands
have maintained the fences and barns
that keep order in their lives. Weathered
and warped, they continue to function as they
were built. In Howard Post’s Ranch Refuge,
the walled enclosure serves its purpose
while providing shade for a jackrabbit—an
unexpected symbiotic relationship. Post has
said, “Higher perspective takes the subject
out of literal demands. People and animals
become shapes and patterns, more abstract
rather than being just a certain number of
94
COLLECTOR'S FOCUS
PAINTING THE OLD WEST
2 3
cows.” In this painting he takes the perspective
of the jack rabbit’s eye level, making it more
than incidental to the composition.
The Firehole River in Wyoming is a favorite
spot for fly fishermen. In the Old West it was an
obstacle to be crossed. Clark Kelley Price grew
up in a log cabin in Montana, observing and
absorbing the subtleties of the environment.
Painting fulltime since 1973, Price paints
both the old and modern west. Crossing the
Fire Hole depicts trappers riding to their next
encampment, taking a moment to look at the
geysers in the distance. Their burro and pack
horse are laden with camping supplies and
their cache of furs. He says, “Detail is relatively
important to me, but is secondary to the
‘mood.’ Life and circumstances create so many
moods that I am captivated by.”
Known for his historical accuracy in
addition to his painting skills, David Wright
says, “The history of our country has always
fascinated me. I paint people in the historical
environment—creating an atmosphere, rather
than detailing the event itself. In this way,
 5 6

7 8

2. Cowboy Artists of America, Ever Watchful, oil on linen, 32 x 32", by Martin Grelle. 3. Cowboy Artists of America, Crossing Toward Home, oil, 30 x 40",
by Jason Rich. 4. Howard Post, Ranch Refuge, oil, 24 x 48". Courtesy, Maxwell Alexander Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. 5. David Wright, Waiting For His Fur
Tally, oil, 36 x 24". Courtesy the Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ, and Jackson, WY. 6. Clark Kelley Price, Crossing the Fire Hole, oil on canvas, 20 x 30".
Courtesy Trailside Galleries, Jackson, WY. 7. Trailside Galleries, Monterey Mission School, Point Alones, CA 1885, oil on canvas, 45½ x 68½", by Mian Situ.
8. Brad Price, Bell Gate Hollyhocks, oil, 36 x 24". Courtesy Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.

you can see and understand—even feel—that
essential moment in history that shows our
heroes as they were—as explorers, hunters,
trappers, settlers, soldiers and Indians.”
In Waiting For His Fur Tally, a trapper
dressed in fringed buckskins, sits in the shade
cradling his long rifle with his powder horn and
hat nearby, waiting to see what his catch will
bet him in cash or trade. Copied from Native
American garments, the fringe on the shirt and
pants helps the rain to run off and wicks the
water from the wet rawhide. The trapper exudes
the quiet confidence of a loner ready to saddle
up and return to the wilderness.
The old adobe buildings of the Southwest take
on softer shapes as years of fresh adobe are
applied to their walls. Brad Price’s brightly
colored impressionistic paintings of the
Southwest are inspired by the New Mexico
artists who came before him. Bell Gate
Hollyhocks is a common scene in northern
New Mexico, a surprise to visitors from the
East. Hollyhocks bring a burst of color to
the dry soil and soft adobe buildings. Price’s
response to the landscape and its details is
often emotional and is expressed in his bold
brush strokes. He says, “Art is experience
and the sharing of experience. It is creating
something new and beautiful for the world,
and then sharing that moment with others.”
In the pages of this collector’s focus,
readers will find works from some of the West’s
most talented painters of the Old West, as well
as from the galleries that represent them.
Den Schofield has always admired the
work of Winslow Homer, Frederic Remington
and N.C. Wyeth. “All of these artists were
excellent draftsmen and made graphic,
well-designed pictures and were wonderful
storytellers,” says Schofield. “They were also
both illustrators and fine art painters, as am I.”
Schofield adds that when it comes to

95

collecting art, two simple rules should be
followed. The first rule, he says, is to buy art
you like. “Since I like my work, I assume
others will also like it,” he adds. The second
rule Schofield says collectors should follow is
to buy art that will increase in value with time.
“The value of art is usually determined by the
reputation of the artists,” he says. He jokes,
“Because I have little reputation at this time,
there is much room for an increase in value.”
Jerry Crandall has been a professional
artist for more than 40 years. Crandall’s love of
history, fascination for artifacts and dedication
to research help him bring reality into each
of his paintings. His creations—which are
painstakingly rendered—sparkle with clear
realism and possess both technical accuracy
96
COLLECTOR'S FOCUS
PAINTING THE OLD WEST
9 10
11
and historical authenticity. Most importantly,
his work celebrates the uncommon union
between historical authenticity and fine art.
“I am constantly formulating paintings that
not only tell stories, but capture the essence
of leading historical personalities,” Crandall
says. “I honestly enjoy bringing the historical
Old West to life through my artwork. A
technically well executed piece that tells a
story and is historically accurate is my goal
for each painting.”
Trailside Galleries has long set the standard
of excellence in providing collectors with
important works of art that chronicle the
historic and contemporary West.
“The images captured by our many
Western painters and sculptors are truly
12
timeless, as they preserve the past, bring us
into the present, and, in many ways, provide
us with a sense of what the future holds for
the American West,” says Joan M. Griffith,
the director of Trailside Galleries. “We always
endeavor to offer works that are rich and
diverse, with each artist bringing their own
unique vision and artistic interpretation of the
West. It is truly wonderful that 50 years on, we
continue to have strong working relationships
with clients who eagerly continue to add to
their ever expanding Western art collections!”
Recently, Trailside Galleries has been
working with a younger group of art buyers
who show a strong interest in both traditional
Western art as well as more contemporary
“new West” artwork, which Griffith says is
 13 14

becoming a major genre for collectors.

Now in its 54th year, Cowboy Artists of
America is the longest running artists group
in the country. Since 1965, the invitation-only
organization, comprised of the top Western
artists in the country, has ensured that cowboy
history and culture lives on through education,
investigation and art.
“We are a brotherhood of artists
committed to preserving Western culture with
representational art,” says the group. “The work
produced by CA artists has a significant value
of collectability because of our legacy, quality
and authenticity. Trends in art may come and
go, but our group was founded on a sense
of duty to exemplify traditional characters,
landscapes and trades of the West with artistry,
which makes it timeless and precious. To own
CA art is to own a piece of history.”

FEATURED
ARTISTS &
GALLERIES
Den Schofield
(307) 240-1673, www.denschofield.com

Jerry Crandall
(406) 363-5415, oldwest@eagle-editions.com
www.eagle-editions.com

Trailside Galleries
130 E. Broadway, Jackson Hole, WY 83001
15 (480) 945-7751, www.trailsidegalleries.com
9. Trailside Galleries, Cottonwood Camouflage, oil on canvas, 16 x 22", by Michael Desatnick.
10. Jerry Crandall, Crazy Horse’s Magic Dust, oil, 30 x 40". © Jerry Crandall. 11. Jerry Crandall,
No Water Yet, oil, 24 x 36". © Jerry Crandall. 12. Jerry Crandall, Son of the Wolf, oil, 40 x 28". © Jerry
Cowboy Artists
Crandall. 13. Jerry Crandall, Blessing the Bonnet, oil, 22 x 28". © Jerry Crandall. 14. Den Schofield, of America
The Trail Boss, oil on canvas, 20 x 16" 15. Den Schofield, The Westerner, oil on canvas, 16 x 20" cowboyartistsofamerica@yahoo.com
www.cowboyartistsofamerica.com

97
 UPCOMING SHOW S HOW LO C AT ION PHOE N I X , A Z
Up to 15 works
March 23-April 6, 2019
Ed Mell Gallery, 2337 N. 10th
Street, Phoenix, AZ 85006
(602) 359-7333
www.edmellgallery.com
ED MELL

Witness to the light

P
ink skies, yellow-green sunsets, orange
clouds glowing over bronze rock
faces—Arizona light is rarely subtle.
The colors are so vibrant, almost to the point of
otherworldly, that visitors who have never seen
it firsthand sometimes think that Arizona artists
just exaggerate it in paintings.
“I have a friend who has a Mexican
food restaurant in London, and in the early
days he would get my posters to hang on
the walls. People would come in and think
I invented it. They just couldn’t grasp that the
colors I was painting were real. They would
say I was making it all up,” says Phoenix-
based artist Ed Mell. “But of course, people
visit for the first time and there’s that moment
when the light and color matches up to the
painting, and you can kind of see their mind
get blown right in front of you. It still blows
my mind even.”
Mell, who’s devoted his career to the
desert light, will be showing 15 new works,
including a new bronze, at a show opening
March 23 at his Ed Mell Gallery in Phoenix.
The show will offer Mell’s iconic realist
interpretations and his compelling modernist
works with geometric forms and abstractions,
and everything in between.
The artist was born in Arizona, but moved
to New York to pursue an illustration career,
only returning to Arizona in 1970 after taking
a teaching position in Northern Arizona on
the Hopi reservation. Like all great figures
in history, Mell was in the right place at the
right time. Returning to Arizona a year before
or a year later might have produced different
results. “I was starting to lose interest in New
York and the commercial world. I went there
and I did it and I survived, which I consider a
success in New York,” he says. “I had a pretty
good time for a while, but I missed the West, so
I moved to Northern Arizona. I went from a city
of 12 million, or whatever it was at the time, to
a village of 200 people on top of a mesa. For
me, it was the perfect time to do that. That’s
when it all started for me.”
In the half century since then, Mell has
become a fixture in the Arizona art scene—as
well as the classic car scene, of which he is a
notable contributor—and a prominent voice
of support to modernist depictions of the
Southwest, a tradition that dates back to the

Sonoran Kings, oil on linen, 40 x 30”

98
Low Light Storm, oil on linen, 15 x 30”
Camelhead Storm I, oil on linen board, 14 x 14”
early 20th century in places like Taos and Santa
Fe, New Mexico.
The new show will feature works such
as Low Light Storm, showing a mountain
range framed by dramatic storm clouds but
bathed in sunlight that makes the white
cliffs glow, and Late Storm, which depicts
pockets of rain that drench the desert floor
in columns that seem to support the clouds
from which they came. In other works, such
Late Storm, oil on linen, 18 x 24”
as Long Shadow, Sedona I and Camelhead
Storm I, Mell segments the land and sky into
magnificent forms, as if shattering a pane
of glass and reassembling it into a pleasing
scene of desert color.
One of the more personal pieces in the
show is Sonoran Kings, which shows two
saguaros standing tall in the Arizona desert.
They are resolute and determined, witnesses
to the light and shadow of the golden sunset.
The artist views himself as one cactus and
the other as his son, filmmaker Carson Mell,
who was given a study of this painting. When
asked which cactus he was, Mell thought for a
second. “Well, he’s taller than me, but I’m older
than him,” he laughed. “So you tell me.”
Fo r a d i re c t l i n k to t he
ex h i b it i n g g a l l e r y g o to
w w w. we ste r n a r tc o l l e c to r. c o m
99
 UPCOMING SHOW S HOW LO C AT ION F R E DE R IC K S BU RG , T X
Up to 20 works
April 5-26, 2019
InSight Gallery
214 W. Main Street
Fredericksburg, TX 78624
(830) 997-9920
www.insightgallery.com

Honoring ancestry

Mary Ross Buchholz, Place of Honor, Goat Skull, charcoal, 15 x 25"

renders the different textures and

O
ften artists are drawn to depict subject
matter they know intimately, which
creates personal narratives in their
artwork. April 5 through 26, InSight Gallery
in Fredericksburg, Texas, will mount a three-
artist exhibition that touches on family history
and culture. Heritage of My Home, featuring
the work of Mary Ross Buchholz, Oreland
Joe and Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, will see
ancestry unfold in images of ranch life, the
Native American people and scenes focusing
on Hispanic/Latin heritage.
Buchholz is a sixth-generation rancher who
continues that way of life today with her
husband and their family. “My choice of subject
matter naturally reflects my love of the land and
my experiences around animals and of growing
up on a ranch,” she shares. “The animals and
people that I encounter every day are often my
subjects; and I am grateful to witness their true
character and hope to portray them honestly.”
Using charcoal and graphite, Buchholz
characteristics of her subjects to create
timeless black-and-white imagery, such as
She's Starting Well, which was inspired by
her filly Little Bit. “I often pack around my
camera hoping to capture those moments
of inspiration,” she explains. “My husband
breaks and trains our own horses. As you
can imagine, there can be some fleeting
moments when he is starting colts. This filly
named Little Bit traveled smoothly and had a

100
 Oreland Joe, Medicine of Blackhorse,
oil, 30 x 20"

beautifully flexed head early on in her training.

When sorting through my reference photos, I just
had to capture the dazzling highlights glinting off
her mane and coat as well as how the light and
shadows filtered across Bob’s leggings. All of the
scuffs and cracks in his leggings could actually tell
a story on their own.”
Joe says that he is a historian at heart and all of
his stone sculptures and paintings are reflections of
his upbringing. “I have been around traditions all
of my life, so it’s not very hard to look for subject
matter,” Joe says. “I am Southern Ute and Navajo.
My influence is period time events and history that
had an impact on the Plains Indians, 1800s to 1900.
[This includes] trade, battles, hunting, courting,
change of lifestyles, ceremony and songs.”
Each one of Joe’s pieces has a narrative,
allowing him to share his knowledge through
various mediums. One of his pieces for the show is
Medicine of Blackhorse, depicting Blackhorse who
escaped Darlington Agency in 1875. “He was to be
sent to Fort Marion in Florida. Instead, he escaped
along with a handful of rebel Cheyenne who
were responsible for the Sand Springs battle,” Joe
explains. “Despite a wound, Blackhorse managed
to make it back to Montana to the Northern
Cheyenne and participated in many more battles.”
Roldan-de-Moras has painted pieces for the
exhibition that reflect her upbringing in Monterrey,
Mexico, as well as the Hispanic/Latin heritage that
is represented in her current city of San Antonio,
Texas. “The festivities, the landscape and some
famous architectural elements of this area of Texas
are what I have chosen to represent,” she says.
Many of Roldan-de-Moras’ paintings depict the
“Mexican escaramuzas riding horses sidesaddle

Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, Escaramuza Charra, oil, 36 x 48"

Mary Ross Buchholz, She’s Starting Well, charcoal, 20 x 19"

101
 Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, Into the Light, oil, 40 x 32"

102

in rodeo-style festivals, their vibrant costumes
works of art in themselves,” the gallery
explains. Her paintings Escaramuza Charra and
Getting Ready at the Parade are two examples
depicting these women.
“Escaramuza Charra is the moment when
a team of escaramuzas, and their families, are
asked to enter the arena and present themselves
before the competition or exhibition starts,”
she explains. “Because I am so attracted to
painting sunlight, I chose a hot summer day
when the wind was blowing, and the ladies
were preparing themselves to enter the lienzo
charro (rodeo). You can see a young girl holding
the banner that has the name of her team, and
you can see a young mother, who has her child
Oreland Joe,
War Drums
Across the
Solomon River,
oil, 18 x 14"
dressed up in the same outfit waiting to be called
to make the entrance. This is the only time when
youngsters can ride with their family members.”
Heritage of My Home opens with a reception
for the artists on April 5 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Fo r a d i re c t l i n k to t he
ex h i b it i n g g a l l e r y g o to
w w w. we ste r n a r tc o l l e c to r. c o m
103
 UPCOMING SHOW S HOW LO C AT ION LO S A NG E L E S
Up to 6 works
April 6-27, 2019
Maxwell Alexander Gallery
406 W. Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles,
CA 90015, (213) 275-1060
www.maxwellalexandergallery.com
GRANT REDDEN

Classic cowboys
M
axwell Alexander Gallery in Los
Angeles will present new works from
Cowboy Artists of America member
Grant Redden beginning April 6. Redden, who
frequently explores less-traveled areas of the
West such as sheepherding and farming, will
focus entirely on classic cowboy material for
this new show, his first solo exhibition at the
gallery.
“These will be signature paintings, paintings
with subject matter that is very familiar to me,”
he says. “I’ll also be informed by historical
painters for these works. I’m never consciously
trying to make my work like theirs, but they
certainly inspire me, especially when I’m going
through depression and doubt—something all
painters feel at some point in the studio—with
every brushstroke. That may sound like it’s
miserable to be an artist, but it’s not. It’s actually
a lot of fun, but artists doubt everything they do
sometimes. It’s part of the process.”
Redden will be turning much of his
attention to cowboys from the early 1900s,
particularly the 1920s and 1930s. William
Herbert “Buck” Dunton and Frank Tenney
Johnson are two artists who speak to the time
period he’s painting. In one new painting, The

Old Unreliable, oil, 22 x 28"

104
The Call of the Night Bird, oil, 24 x 30"
Call of the Night Bird, Redden seems to call out
to Johnson with a nocturne scene. But where
Johnson would use looser brushstrokes and
more primal paint application, Redden paints
a tighter picture with more detail and more
nuance in the light. It creates a wonderful call-
and-response aspect with Johnson, one of the
great cowboy painters.
The Wyoming artist says that he did not
use a photo reference for the painting, simply
because it’s nearly impossible to capture
moonlight in a photograph or even a sketch.
“Paintings like this are almost entirely from
imagination, because once you’re out there in
the moonlight there is not much information
to record. You have to invent and imagine
it all in the studio,” he says. “It’s kind of a
theatrical production with the nocturne. Some
are successful, and some aren’t. But when
they’re successful it’s a reward because it’s all
you, every piece of it.”
In the piece the horse is white, mostly
because white horses are more fascinating for
the artist and the viewer. “A white horse has so
much reflection that it can make things around
it more interesting. They’re like aspen trees in
that way,” he adds. “As for black horses, just hit
me in the back of the head. They just absorb all
the light around them. If you can successfully
paint a black horse you deserve a medal.”
Another work in the show is Old Unreliable,
a painting of the timeless image of a rider
on a bucking horse. The painting has a
pleasing convergence of lines—from distant
mountain ridges and rocky cliff faces to closer
outcroppings carved into the desert soil—that
guide the eye toward the leaping horse and
its cool, collected rider who clings to its back.
Redden’s first solo show at Maxwell Alexander
Gallery will continue through April 27.
Fo r a d i re c t l i n k to t he
ex h i b it i n g g a l l e r y g o to
w w w. we ste r n a r tc o l l e c to r. c o m
105
 UPCOMING SHOW S HOW LO C AT ION T UC S ON, A Z
Up to 20 works
March 23-July 7, 2019
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
2021 N. Kinney Road, Tucson,
AZ 85743, (520) 883-2702
www.desertmuseum.org
CHRIS MAYNARD

Feathers

Hummingstar, ocellated turkey feather,

15 x 12”

C
hris Maynard makes us look more
closely at birds. The extraordinary colors
and textures of individual feathers are
the basis for his intricate shadowbox art
featuring deftly cut feathers shed in the wild
and collected from local aviaries. He refers
admiringly to an argus pheasant that has given
him molts for over 10 years. The Migratory
Bird Treaty Act protects waterfowl, raptors
and songbirds so their feathers never appear
in his work. Trance, male red-tail cockatoo tail feathers, 15 x 14”
Maynard’s father was an eye surgeon and
his mother was an artist. He pursued a career
as an entomologist and a hydrology biologist tools he cuts animals, most often birds, from tail feathers are the medium for Heron Mirror
but has had a fascination with feathers since the feathers and mounts them in shadowboxes which depicts a heron and its reflection in the
he was 12. When his father died, he inherited in complex tableaux. Respecting the birds water where it is feeding.
his precision surgery tools. When his mother and their freedom he raises the feathers His purpose, he says, is “to highlight that
died he began to think about art being more a and cutouts from the background rather we share the world with other beings.” He
part of his life. He pursued his biology career than gluing them in place. Raised above the explains, “I often show a playful element in
while making art with feathers and, in 2008, surface, they create shadows as if they were my work. Playfulness allows me to learn new
turned to art full time. He keeps sketchbooks flying outdoors in the sunlight. things and skills without being too tense,
of ideas only a few of which become realized In Trance, he used the tail feather of a like the second brood of swallows today
in his work. male red-tail cockatoo with its red band in that were just off the nest learning to fly.
Using magnifiers and his father’s surgery the middle of the black feather. Two turkey I watched these young ones playing with a

106
 Eternity (Raven
Round) (detail),
heritage turkey
feather, 21 x 15”
feather, catching it in their beaks, dropping it
and picking it up again and again. I bet they
were enjoying improving their flying and bug
catching skills.”
Throughout history, feathers have been
deeply symbolic. Among native peoples they
represent trust, honor, strength, wisdom,
power and freedom and a spiritual connection
to the creator through the birds from which
the feathers came.
Feathers, an exhibition of his most recent
work is at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
in Tucson, through July 7.

Fo r a d i re c t l i n k to t he Eternity (Raven
ex h i b it i n g g a l l e r y g o to Round), heritage
turkey feather,
w w w. we ste r n a r tc o l l e c to r. c o m
21 x 15”

107
 UPCOMING SHOW S HOW LO C AT ION DU N E DI N, F L
Up to 75 works
April 13-May 11, 2019
Plainsmen Gallery,
2141 Main Street, Suite H
Dunedin, FL 34698
(727) 734-8200, www.plainsmen.com

Visions of the West

E
very year, Plainsmen Gallery in
Dunedin, Florida, hosts its Wildlife
& Western Visions show, exhibiting
some of the top Western artists in the country
depicting wildlife and subject matter evocative
of the West. Displaying approximately 75
works from 25 artists, the show is a celebration
of both wildlife and Western art, as well as the
camaraderie of the artists behind the work.
“When we go, it’s wonderful to see some
of the same people, but they’re always putting
new people in the show...allowing them to
spread their wings,” says Suzie Seerey-Lester,
who will be exhibiting works in this year’s show
along with her husband, John Seerey-Lester.
“As we celebrate our 37th year in business,
we continue to appreciate the outstanding
artists that have been with us for many years,”
says Jill Berry and Betty Brown, mother-
daughter team and co-owners of Plainsmen
Gallery. “We’re also excited about the talented
new artists who are featured in this show! We’d
like to thank our wonderful clients who have

Clockwise from above:

Steven Lang, Early

Evening Smoke, oil,
24 x 30”

John DeMott, Many

Shot At, oil, 16 x 12”

Ed Natiya, Red Cloud,

bronze, ed. of 25, 21”

108

also become our friends.”
Among the 25 artists whose work will be
featured in the 2019 show include David Yorke,
Ed Natiya, Steven Lang, Deborah Copenhaver
Fellows, Dennis Logsdon, John DeMott, Chris
Navarro, Dustin Payne, Grant Hacking, Grant
Redden, Lynn Wade and Mark Kelso.
“My work is inspired by nature and time
spent in the outdoors. I find more and more that
people have an appreciation for the beauty of the
world around us if we can just take a moment to
look and see it. If I can help inspire that moment
through my art and experiences, then I am doing
something right,” says Trevor Swanson. The artist
brings two avian pieces to the show, Opportune
Light, depicting a horned owl perched on a sturdy
branch, and Spring Visitors, in which a pair of
hummingbirds delight in a bushel of flowers.
Seerey-Lester brings ornithological works to
the exhibition as well, including an acrylic of
a wood stork standing in a tree. Although she
describes the creature as one of “the ugliest birds
in the world,” she says she also finds it beautiful
in many ways. They have beautiful white feathers
with black tips on them, the artist explains, and
they are “designed” that way because white
feathers deteriorate very quickly. She uses acrylic
paint to highlight the transparency of the white
feathers. She adds that her husband will likely
bring a few of his “Teddy Roosevelt” paintings
to the show, including a piece called Teddy’s
Teddy. The painting was inspired by a trip the
couple took to Sagamore Hill in New York, home
of the 26th president, in which they were able to
Trevor
Swanson,
Spring
Visitors,
oil,
14 x 11”
see the original stuffed teddy bear born out of
the classic story of Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot a
defenseless black bear.
“I have always been intrigued by faces of
the Plains people. The interesting face of this
Blackfoot man with a slight tilt of his head caught
my eye,” says DeMott of his oil Many Shot At.
“The hat with an eagle feather, the touch of soft
blue on his blanket as well as the silver hair piece
and earring all made for a strong design element.”
The exhibition runs April 13 to May 11,
with an opening reception the first day from 1
to 4 p.m.
Fo r a d i re c t l i n k to t he
ex h i b it i n g g a l l e r y g o to
w w w. we ste r n a r tc o l l e c to r. co m
109

RISE & SHINE
I
n 1929, René Magritte (1898-1967)
painted his (in)famous image The
Treachery of Images (This is Not a Pipe).
Obviously, it’s not a pipe. It’s a painting
of a pipe. But what’s a pipe? It’s a device
through which you can smoke tobacco that at
some point was named “pipe.”
Surrealism appears in Josh Gibson’s
illustrations and animations as well as in his
realistic paintings of the desert Southwest. A
2016 graduate of the California College of
the Arts, he says, “With a perception forged
by the surreal qualities of the Sonoran Desert,
I find myself preoccupied by the magical
dance of reality and continually impressed
by nature and the human brain. Many of my
COLLECTOR'S FOCUS
EMERGING ARTISTS
BY JOHN O’HERN
projects are conceived in a process that is
almost alchemical, consisting of a merging of
previously unrelated ideas and themes. I feel
as though knowledge is an ever-expanding
tool belt with pockets that are infinitely deep.
The contents of these pockets can be used to
relay both contemporary and eternal themes.”
This is Not a Horse is a painting of a horse
bridled and saddled in the middle of the desert
awaiting his rider who has gotten off to paint
a picture of him—a paint. The paint’s coloring
matches that of the clouds making it one with
the cosmos.
Robin Cole writes, “My work explores an
inner wilderness by way of an outer one;
I believe that the natural world is not only
an inherent part of us as human beings (and
we of it), but that it is the original, exquisitely
sensitive mirror in which we find our own inner
terrain and wildness reflected. My work has
always been an act of reverence for the natural
world. There is an element of science in it, in
the desire to study and observe. But there is an
element of spirit, too, in the continual reaching
for something just beyond the visible.”
The Uncertainty Principle is a scene
city dwellers can only imagine. Away from
aberrant light sources, the firmament reveals
itself in bands of heavenly bodies reflecting
the light of the sun. In her painting, a rocky
outcrop grounds the image as the universe
expands above it. One blue bird stands on

the rock as another flies off—referring to
Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle which states
that it is impossible to know the exact position
and momentum of a particle (here a blue bird)
at the same time. He theorized that the more
precisely the position is determined, the less is
known about the momentum, and vice versa.
David Meikle brings us back to terra firma,
but not too firma, with his painting of Wotans
Throne in the Grand Canyon, eroded over
millennia by wind and water. Meikle sells
everything he paints but is perhaps the most
well-known unrecognized artist in Utah.
He is art director of the University of Utah’s
marketing and communications department
and, since 1994, has been a professional
1. Patrick Kramer, Desert Skyscape I, oil on board, 20 x 45". Courtesy Gallery 1261, Denver, CO.
painter of landscapes. Millions of people have
seen his paintings on 29 welcome signs at
entry points to Utah. His Tucson dealer, Mark
Sublette of Medicine Man Gallery, said he’s
“not been found quite yet but we can’t keep his
work. He’s terrific and deserves recognition.”
Wotans Throne is a softly atmospheric
painting, a graphically strong image of the
majestic formation lit by the sunset, with its
summit rising just above the horizon line of
the canyon’s rim. Geologist Clarence Dutton
published his study of the Grand Canyon
in 1882, naming many of the formations in
the canyon after names in mythologies and
legends from around the world.
Photography and Photoshop lie behind
Patrick Kramer’s intricately detailed still lifes,
portraits and landscapes. In the process of
building up layer after layer of paint, the energy
of his passion for his work becomes part of the
paint—the result being more than photorealistic.
The paintings are as “visually captivating” as the
original object or scene was to him.
In Desert Skyscape I he approaches
the vastness of the desert and the sky with
the same curiosity for the nuances of the
landscape as he does the subtleties of
iridescent butterfly wings or the texture of a
sitter’s skin.
“Emerging” is always a difficult word to
apply to artists who might be at any stage in
their careers. In this section we show artists
111

2. Robin Cole, The Uncertainty Principle, oil on panel, 32 x 48". Courtesy Gallery 1261, Denver, CO. 3. Josh Gibson, This is Not a Horse, 2019, oil on
canvas, 30 x 40" Courtesy of the artist and Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ. 4. Tanner Loren, Between Two Worlds, bronze, 13½ x 7 x 8½"
5. Joni Jurek, Evening Light, oil, 11 x 14”
deserving of more recognition.
In the pages of this special collector’s
focus, readers will find works from some of the
West’s rising stars, as well as the galleries that
represent them.
Sculptor Tanner Loren does most, if not
all, of his own foundry work on bronzes—
from wax chasing to pouring the bronze, to
welding the bronze back together. “I am and
always have been a storyteller at heart,” he
says. “So, my goal with sculpture is to capture
a story that can bring life to the West, and
immortalize that story in bronze.”
Capturing a moment to freeze in time
112
COLLECTOR'S FOCUS
EMERGING ARTISTS
2 3
4 5
invites the viewer to stop, breathe, and
allow Joni Jurek’s artwork to evoke emotion
and nostalgia. Subtle colors and intricate
FEATURED
compositions presented to us through the ARTISTS &
GALLERIES
natural world every day are her muse, as
illustrated in her oil painting Evening Light.
Working directly from life with Mother Nature
as her guide allows the spirit of the subject Joni Jurek
to infuse life into Jurek’s artwork. Influences (651) 338-1153, joni@jonijurek.com,
of the natural world and countless hours of www.jonijurek.com
training with contemporary masters have
allowed her work to evolve into its own Tanner Loren
distinctive appearance, sure to exude pure Cody, WY, (307) 578-6068
tannerlorenbronzeart@gmail.com
serenity anywhere it’s displayed.
www.tannerloren.com

One Eyed Jack, oil on linen panel, 24 x 18"
Chip Brock
L
iving in Alaska, Chip Brock is often
provoked by the natural world. “Sighting
dall rams while hiking above barren
slopes and craggy rocks, watching a giant
moose sway to a challenging rival, watching
caribou bulls prance across the red autumn
tundra…these are memories that inspire my
creativity,” he says. “Wildlife grabs everyone’s
imagination at one time or another. Ask anyone
visiting Alaska what they hope to see and
you will get an answer that includes wildlife
sightings. As a representational oil painter
whose primary focus is North American
wildlife, I work hard to share the animals and
my experiences in the wild through my art.”
Since childhood Brock has had a
ARTIST FOCUS
Misty Morning Encounter, oil on linen panel,
Into the World, oil on linen panel, 20½ x 31"
passion for art, which is often sparked by
his fascination with wildlife and a sporting
lifestyle. His experiences in the field are
combined with reference material obtained
from his photography and outdoor sketches.
“Wildlife is not conducive to life painting;
therefore reference gathering is taken
seriously. Putting forth great effort, time and
travel to place myself in position to observe
and photograph my subjects in the wild is
a labor of love and crucial to my work,” he
says. “Once I decide to pursue an idea and
have the required reference, the hard work of
designing and creating the visual story I want
to tell begins. The goal is to convey that story
in a thoughtful and beautiful way that will
16 x 12"
‘read’ correctly to the casual observer but be a
rich, visual experience for those who observe
with a more critical eye.”
Brock is represented by West Lives On
Gallery in Jackson, Wyoming; Samarah Fine
Art in Whitefish, Montana; and Turnagain
Gallery in Bird Creek, Alaska.
Want to See More?
Wasilla, AK
(907) 631-9149 | chip@chipbrock.com
www.chipbrock.com
/chipbrockartist
@chip.brock
 AUCTION PREVIEW
Crossover Appeal
Western, wildlife and sporting art returns to the
Scottsdale Art Auction April 6 in Arizona.
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), Pony Dance, watercolor, 10 x 14¾” Estimate: $250/350,000
T
he most thrilling part about Western auctions—other than the
exhilaration of bidding on and winning a piece of art—is just
beholding the variety of Western material that can be accumulated
in one spot. For one weekend, it all comes together: 19th-century landscapes
of towering buttes and river valleys, cowboy scenes with dusty cattle and
bucking broncs, Native Americans living in harmony with the land and
its wildlife, anglers wading in trout-filled streams, cavalry soldiers, pioneer
quilters, oil towns, grazing bison, stagecoach chases and gun-toting outlaws.
Stand back just a little and a picture emerges: this is the American West.
Scottsdale Art Auction will bring the West to bidders with an
impressive lineup of 346 lots on April 6 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Once
again, it’s the variety and quality of artwork that will excite bidders.
“We’re always happy with the variety of work we offer,” says auction
partner Brad Richardson. “It’s enjoyable for us to see it all come together.”
Highlights from this year’s sale include two landscape works from
Hudson River School painters Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran, artists
114
whose works are revered and collected widely outside of Western circles,
as well as within. Their inclusion in the sale offers some crossover appeal.
“We love having those sorts of crossovers come to us—whether it’s a
Bierstadt or a Moran, or even a Nicolai Fechin—because they attract a
different kind of buyer, a buyer that may not be familiar with the rest of
our Western offerings,” Richardson says. “The auction brings many kinds of
buyers together, which is great for us and great for Western art.”
The Moran that will be offered is Castle Rock, Green River, WY, a 1907
oil measuring 20 by 30 inches that depicts one of the artist’s most famous
subjects. “We think it’s beautiful. Castle Rock was one of the great subjects
he painted. It’s very difficult to get one of these Green River paintings,
especially one from this masterful period that he was painting in, and
especially with figures in the water like he has painted,” auction partner
Michael Frost says. “There are a lot of things that are desirable here.” The
work is estimated to sell between $3.5 million to $4.5 million.
Bierstadt, who was also painting the West around the same time as
 AUCTION PREVIEW
Philip R. Goodwin
(1881-1935), Men of
Mettle, oil on canvas,
24 x 33” Estimate:
$60/90,000

Scottsdale

Nicolai Fechin (1881-

1955), Taos Pueblo
House, oil on canvas,
19 x 31” Estimate:
$200/300,000

115
 Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), Sunset – Salt Lake, oil on board, 5⅝ x 8⅞”
Estimate: $150/250,000
E. Martin Hennings (1886-1956), Across the Valley, oil on canvas,
25 x 30” Estimate: $20/40,000
Moran, will be represented by Sunset – Salt Lake, a postcard-sized oil
painting estimated at $150,000 to $250,000. The work was likely painted
in 1863, which makes it significant because it comes from an early trip
Bierstadt took West. “It’s a small painting, but it is very tight and the detail
is crisp,” Frost says of the work. Sunset – Salt Lake will join three other
Bierstadt works in the April sale: Hunter’s Camp (est. $125/175,000),
Western Landscape (est. $100/150,000) and Clouds Over the Mountains
(est. $12/18,000).
Gerard Curtis Delano, whose work regularly appears at the Scottsdale
Art Auction, will be represented by six works, including the 48-inch-
wide masterwork The Council (est. $300/500,000). The piece feature
more than 20 figures, including a dozen prominently arranged in the
116
immediate foreground.
One noteworthy cowboy work is Frank Tenney Johnson’s Smoke of
a .45, estimated at $600,000 to $900,000. Johnson, who was known for
his cowboy scenes and nocturnes, added another element to the title by
painting the work on a canvas measuring 45 by 45 inches. “If you need
action, this has it all. This one came from later in Johnson’s life, in 1937,
within two years of his death. Some of his best works come from this
period of his career,” Frost adds. “This was after he became a full member
of the National Academy of Design. It was very unusual at the time for a
Western artist to be included, which speaks to the importance of his work.”
Other important works include Charles M. Russell’s watercolor Pony
Dance (est. $250/350,000), an action scene that shows Russell’s delicate

touch with the medium; Nicolai Fechin’s Taos Pueblo House (est.
$200/300,000), featuring a desirable subject matter for his Southwest
period of painting; and John Clymer’s Pursuit (est. $80/120,000),
showing a buffalo hunt on the prairie.
Several major Frederic Remington works will be available, including
the ink wash and gouache painting At the Mouth of Rapid Creek—
General Carr Receiving the Report of a Scout, estimated at $75,000 to
$125,000. Other works by the iconic Western artist include four bronzes:
Bronco Buster (est. $75/125,000), The Sergeant (est. $20/30,000), The
Savage (est. $25/35,000) and an important casting of The Rattlesnake (est.
$200/300,000). “What makes the Remington so exciting is this particular
cast, which is cast No. 35. It has great color, as well as a sharpness to
AUCTION PREVIEW
Melvin Warren (1920-1995), Remnants of the Herd, oil on canvas,
36 x 60” Estimate: $100/150,000
the features. This is one I would certainly want in my house,” Frost says,
adding that only 103 original casts were made. “Only four or five were
made during Remington’s lifetime, with the rest being made by the artist’s
wife, Eva Remington. And when she died all the molds were broken.”
Remington also figures prominently in a separate lot, the bronze
Elk Buffalo by Henry Shrady. Both artists used Roman Bronze Works
as the foundry for their sculpture works. Remington saw Elk Buffalo
Scottsdale
being cast while he was at Roman Bronze Works to check on one of
his own pieces. Smitten by the work, Remington later bought one of
the bronzes and it is now part of the artist’s collection at the Frederic
Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg, New York. The cast of Elk
Buffalo that is being offered at Scottsdale Art Auction is estimated at
117
 Kyle Polzin, Strength and Honor, oil on canvas, 28 x 24” Estimate: $40/60,000

118
 AUCTION PREVIEW
$200,000 to $300,000
Also offered in the sale will be Bob Kuhn’s bison scene
In Dakota Territory (est. $75/125,000); several action-packed
Frank McCarthy paintings, including When a Lever Action
Carbine Lowered the Odds (est. $25/35,000); E. Martin
Hennings’ Across the Valley (est. $20/40,000); William
Gollings’ Almost Home (est. $40/60,000); and seven works
from sporting artist and outdoorsman Philip R. Goodwin,
including the logging scene Men of Mettle (est. $60/90,000).
In addition to great historic lots, artwork by many of the
important contemporary Western painters and sculptors will
be available at the annual sale, including works by Glenn
Dean, John Coleman, C. Michael Dudash, Gordon Snidow,
Tim Cox, Bill Anton, Mark Maggiori, Jeremy Lipking, Richard
Schmid and Martin Grelle, who will have seven works in the
sale including a brand-new and still-untitled painting. One
Grelle highlight is Hands That Speak, which shows a trio of
Morgan Weistling, The Quilting Bee, 19th Century Americana, oil on canvas,
Native American figures in a wintery landscape scene. It’s 44 x 64” Estimate: $80/120,000
estimated at $100,000 to $150,000.
Five Kyle Polzin paintings will be available to bidders.
A Warrior’s Legacy (est. $45/65,000), shows a shield and
other Native American items, and Strength and Honor (est.
$40/60,000), which features a headdress with feathers.
Another contemporary artist with works available is Logan
Maxwell Hagege, whose pieces Breaking Through the Storm
(est. $50/75,000) and On the Mesa (est. $20/30,000) will be
crossing the auction block.
“The work we have from contemporary artists is really
amazing, and some of these are certainly auction highlights.
Artists like Z.S. Liang, Martin Grelle, Mark Maggiori, Kyle
Polzin…we have a really strong Logan Maxwell Hagage and
terrific Morgan Weistling,” Richardson says. “It’s about as
good of a collection as you can get. From my office I can see
many of them and they’re all 10s.”
Richardson says the market is in a good place for both
buyers and sellers, particularly for high-quality pieces. “The
great pieces that have come to auction have shown us that James Reynolds (1926-2010), Coming to Town, oil on canvas, 28 x 40”
there are buyers out there looking for the best pieces. They want Estimate: $25/45,000
those pieces and will pay for those pieces,” he says. “Overall,
I feel the market has been quite resilient, and we’re hoping the
economy holds and people keep feeling optimistic. If they’re
ready to add to their collection, or start a first collection, then
we think we have some artwork they need to see.”

Scottsdale Art Auction

April 6, 2019
• Session 1, 9:30 a.m.
• Session 2, 1 p.m.
7178 E. Main Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Scottsdale

(480) 945-0225, www.scottsdaleartauction.com

Frederic Remington (1861-1909), At the Mount of Rapic

Creek—General Carr Receiving the Report of a Scout, ink
wash and gouache, 19½ x 27½” Estimate: $75/125,000

119

No Reserves
Scottsdale Art Auction brings the popular no-reserve format
to its first session on April 6 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
A
uctions are filled with subtle nuance:
when to bid, how to bid, the volume
of the bid, where to sit in the room, the
frequency of the bids, the number of online or
telephone bidders, the lot’s placement within
the sale. To some bidders every detail matters,
which is why taking the auction reserve out of
the equation can be such a hit to buyers and
sellers—it’s one less thing to worry about.
Scottsdale Art Auction kicks off its 2019
120
AUCTION PREVIEW
sale on April 6, starting with the first session
at 9:30 a.m. All 119 lots in Session 1 will be
available at no reserve, meaning they can sell
for whatever the bidders in the room dictate.
“We’ve had tremendous success in these
no-reserve sales, and we look forward to that
once again this year in our first session,” says
Brad Richardson, partner with the Scottsdale
Art Auction. “We certainly see some exciting
bidding, which is always fun for us.”
While Session 1 lots do tend to be more
affordable than Session 2 artworks—many
estimates start at $1,000 or $2,000—the lots
are still magnificent works from many of the
Western greats, including artists such as Bob
Kuhn, James Boren, Joni Falk, Jim Norton,
Oreland Joe, Olaf Wieghorst, C. Michael
Dudash, Bill Anton and many others.
Noteworthy lots include two works showing
dramatic action from horse-riding figures:
Charlie Dye’s cowboy scene in Cutting Out
a Stray, estimated at $20,000 to $30,000, and
Andy Thomas’ Deadly Chase, also estimated at
$20,000 to $30,000. Another cowboy work is
Boren’s camp scene Five Card Stud, showing
five cowboys playing cards after a long day on
the range. The watercolor work is estimated at
$7,000 to $10,000.
G. Harvey, the late Texas painter who
immortalized the cowboy within his natural
surroundings, will be represented heavily in
Session 2 with major works, but in Session
1 bidders will have a chance to own three
important oils—Across Gentle Snow (est.
$30/50,000), Hackberry Crossing (est.
$35/50,000) and Bunkhouse Buddies (est.
$45/65,000)—as well as two bucking bronco
bronzes, both estimated to sell below $5,000.
Wildlife art will be heavily represented
with stunning examples from Nancy Glazier,
Daniel Smith, Gary Swanson and large bronzes
by Dan Ostermiller, including Indigo’s Dream
(est. $30,/60,000). Also available are a set of
Kuhn lion sketches, and several sketches and
an etching by Wilhelm Kuhnert, with estimates
that range from $1,000 to $4,000.
Landscape works available include
incredible pieces by Len Chmiel, Glenn Dean,
Matt Smith, G. Russell Case, Bruce Cheever
and David Wright, who offers a more historical
view of the landscape in his painting Moving
Through the Beartooths (est. $6/9,000).
Charlie Dye (1906-1972), Cutting Out a
Stray, oil on board, 24 x 20”
Estimate: $20/30,000
 AUCTION PREVIEW
Andy Thomas, Deadly Chase, oil on canvas, 26 x 38”
Estimate: $20/30,000

G. Harvey (1933-2017), Across Gentle Snow, oil on canvas, 24 x 20” Len Chmiel, A Precipitous Attitude, oil on board, 22 x 29”
Estimate: $30/50,000 Estimate: $6/8,000

Wieghorst, who has always had a strong

presence at Scottsdale Art Auction sales, will
have three works on paper, all pen and ink
with watercolor, each being sold separately
between $3,000 and $6,000.
For auction partner Michael Frost, it’s
this variety of artwork that makes the sale so
much fun. “…We really offer a wide range
of artwork, for every price point,” he says.
“There are pieces with starting bids of $300
and then we’ll have pieces that could sell for
more than $3 million.”

Scottsdale Art Auction

April 6, 2019
Scottsdale

• Session 1, 9:30 a.m.

• Session 2, 1 p.m.
7178 E. Main Street, Scottsdale,
AZ 85251, (480) 945-0225
www.scottsdaleartauction.com James Boren (1921-1990), Five Card Stub, watercolor, 31 x 44” Estimate: $7/10,000

121
 AUCTION REPORT

Historic
Collection
The McCubbin Collection
and other Western lots bring in
more than $3.1 million at Brian Lebel’s
Old West Show & Auction.

Original “Fort Worth Five” photo

of the Wild Bunch, 71/16 x 9"

B
rian Lebel’s Old West Events returned to Mesa, Arizona, on
January 25 for the annual Old West Show & Auction, which, for
the first time in its history, kicked off with a Friday night sale that
would complement the regular Saturday night sale. By the time the dust
cleared late into Saturday night, the two sales had realized more than
$3.1 million in sales.
About half of the total sales, $1.7 million, came from the sale of the
Robert G. McCubbin Collection, which included a magnificent array of
Western photographs. McCubbin had begun collecting photography and
other Western items in 1972, and since then had acquired pieces related
to nearly every major figure in the Old West, including
Billy the Kid, Jessie James, Bat Masterson, Geronimo,
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Wild Bill Hickock
and Calamity Jane.
“The auction surpassed expectations,” Brian Lebel
says. “We had lots of people in the room, lots on the
phone and the internet. There was a lot of interest in the
McCubbin Collection and our other lots as well.”
The top lot in the auction was the personal photo album
of John Wesley Hardin, which included two images of the
famous outlaw who was thought to have killed dozens of
men in the 1860s and 1870s. The photo album sold for
$129,800, just over its $125,000 high estimate.
The iconic photograph often called the “Fort
Worth Five,” sold for $118,000, within
estimates of $100,000 to $150,000. The
photo, a remarkably crisp image of five
Edward H. Bohlin (1895-1980),
show spurs in 10k, 14k, 18k and 22k gold
and sterling silver Estimate: $25/35,000
SOLD: $59,000
Estimate: $100/150,000 SOL
D: $118,000
men in suits and bowlers, featured the outlaws often called Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid. The photograph of the so-called Wild Bunch was
destined for the outlaws, but was retrieved by the Pinkerton Detective
Agency and used to help bring an end to the gang.
Also from the McCubbin Collection was a knife that was in Billy the
Kid’s possession when he was killed in 1881. The knife was estimated at
$800,000 to $1.2 million and sold for $118,000. Lebel says some lots,
such as the knife, were very difficult to put estimates on. “Some of the
pieces we were a little aggressive with on the estimates,
but only because these items are very hard to price.
They are one-of-a-kind pieces, and no one really
knows what the market will bear with them,” he
says. “In the end it didn’t hit our estimates, but it
still did very well and we’re happy with the results.”
Other important lots included a blood-stained
photograph of Ben Thompson that sold for $94,400,
well over its $35,000 high estimate; an image of trapper
James Beckwourth that sold for $70,800, over a high
estimate of $30,000; an ice mallet used to kill outlaw
Ben Kilpatrick that sold within estimates at $64,900;
a cabinet card of Pat Garrett, who killed Billy
the Kid, that sold for $59,000, clearing a
high estimate of $40,000; a photograph
of Doc Holliday from dental school
that sold for $59,000; and a pair
of Edward H. Bohlin show spurs
that sold for $59,000, over a high
estimate of $35,000.
“We were thrilled at the attendance,

TOP 10 Lots: Brian Lebel’s Old West Show 7 Auction, January 25-26, 2019 (with buyer’s premium)
Lot Low /High Estimate SOLD Lot Low /High Estimate SOLD
Photo album of John Wesley Hardin $75/125,000 $129,800 Ice mallet used to kill outlaw Ben Kilpatrick $50/80,000 $64,900
Original “Fort Worth Five” photo $100/150,000 $118,000 Cabinet card of Pat Garrett $30/40,000 $59,000
Billy the Kid knife $800/1,200,000 $118,000 Edward H. Bohlin show spurs $25/35,000 $59,000
Cabinet card of Ben Thompson $25/35,000 $94,400 Dental school CdV of Doc Holliday $70/90,000 $59,000
CdV of James Beckwourth $20/30,000 $70,800 Rare G.S. Garcia salesman sample saddle $10/15,000 $44,250

122

1 2
5
3 4
7 8
thrilled with the crowd at the show and thrilled
with the age of the crowd. In Mesa and at our
Santa Fe show, we’ve noticed a younger crowd
coming through, which is really phenomenal,”
Lebel says. “We just love having people come
out the way they did. At several points during
the weekend I couldn’t talk to people in their
booths because they had so many people in
them. Those are the problems I like to have.”
Even as the auction and show did well,
it was bittersweet at the event. On one
hand, collectors had a chance to bid on the
3
greatest Western photography collections ever
assembled, but on the other, Robert McCubbin
was relinquishing his collection to the world.
Collectors came from far and wide to place
bids, and many more just to see McCubbin,
who has Alzheimer’s but attended the show.
They came to thank him, shake his hand and
pat him on the back, and also to acknowledge
his role in preserving these materials for a
new generation. “He is truly an extraordinary
individual,” Lebel says. “We are honored to be
trusted with his collection.”
AUCTION REPORT
6
1. Guests with authentic Western outfits.
2. Native American textiles at Ranchfolks’
booth. 3. Attendees take a closer look at
an artifact. 4. A booth with bits and spurs.
5. Guests dressed as the Earp brothers.
6. Collector Robert McCubbin at Brian
Lebel’s Old West Show & Auction.
7. Manitou Galleries’ booth inside the Mesa
Convention Center. 8. Visitors browse Cliff
Logan’s booth.
Mesa
123
 AUCTION REPORT

Lasting Legacy
$8.4 million realized at Bonhams’ L.D. ‘Brink’ Brinkman
sale in Los Angeles on February 8.

T
he collection of the late Texas art collector
L.D. “Brink” Brinkman crossed the
auction block on February 8 at Bonhams
in Los Angeles. The sale brought in nearly $8.4
million in sales with an 89 percent sell-through
rate, a phenomenal result for one of the West’s
most colorful and endearing collectors.
“Bonhams is honored to have the
opportunity to sell such an exceptional
collection of Western art, carefully assembled
by L.D. Brinkman over the past 50 years,” says
Scot Levitt, Bonhams’ director of fine arts. “The
success of the sale cements the lasting legacy
of Mr. Brinkman as an astute collector and
patron of Western art and artists.”
Bidding was consistent throughout the
sale—in the room, on the phones and online.
Not only was there competitive bidding on
A Ken Carlson painting opens to bidders at the Bonhams’ L.D. “Brink” Brinkman
many pieces, in some instance bidders were sale in Los Angeles. Photo courtesy Amanda Rose.
seated next to each other in the room, creating
thrilling back-and-forth action as the bidders West, which did some cross-promotion with Terpning was E. Martin Hennings’ The Taos
rose their paddles, occasionally both being Bonhams for the two events. Twins, that sold for $1,032,500 on an estimate
beaten by a phone or online bidder that The top lot at the sale was Howard Terpning’s of $500,000 to $700,000. Rounding out the
swooped in after the initial onslaught of bids Coffee Coolers Meet the Hostiles, a 52-inch- top three lots was another Terpning, Blackfeet
was cast. The auction was held the same wide piece that was estimated at $600,000 to Spectators, that sold for $792,500, clearing a
weekend as the Masters of the American West $800,000, and sold for $1,392,500, Terpning’s $700,000 high estimate with room to spare.
at the nearby Autry Museum of the American sixth best auction finish. Not far behind the Elsewhere in the sale was Frank Tenney

John Clymer (1907-1989), Aspen Trail, 1976, oil on Masonite, 15 x 30” Gerard Curtis Delano (1890-1972), Menominee Hunter,
Estimate: $100/150,000 SOLD: $218,750 oil on canvas, 30 x 36”
Estimate: $150/250,000 SOLD: $300,000

124
 AUCTION REPORT
Howard Terpning, Coffee Coolers Meets the Hostiles, oil on canvas, 32 x 52” Estimate: $600/800,000 SOLD: $1,392,500

Johnson’s commission Alphonzo

Bell, that sold for $348,500, barely
missing its $350,000 high estimate;
and G. Harvey’s massive 98-inch-
wide Land of the Yosemite that
sold for $312,500 on estimates of
$300,000 to $500,000. Gerard Curtis
Delano’s canoe painting Menominee
Hunter sold for $300,000, well over
its $250,000 high estimate, and
William Gollings’ 1911 painting
Buying Buckskins sold for $225,000,
clobbering its $90,000 high estimate.
Two Taos works performed
well: Joseph Henry Sharp’s The
Peacemaker sold for $200,000,
well over a high estimate of
$160,000, and Eanger Irving Couse’s
Pictographs sold for $156,250, within
estimates of $120,000 and $160,000.
Other Taos works include pieces by
Ernest L. Blumenschein, William
Herbert “Buck” Dunton and Oscar
E. Burninghaus. The collection also
featured a number of terrific examples E. Martin Hennings (1886-1956), The Taos Twins, ca. 1924, oil on canvas, 45 x 50”
of Joe Beeler oils and bronzes. Estimate: $500/700,000 SOLD: $1,032,500
Los Angeles

Top 10 Lots: Bonhams’ L.D. “Brink” Brinkman Collection Sale, February 8, 2019 (with buyer’s premium)
Artist Title Low /High Estimate SOLD Artist Title Low /High Estimate SOLD
Howard Terpning Coffee Coolers Meets the Hostiles $600/800,000 $1,392,500 Gerard Curtis Delano Menominee Hunter $150/250,000 $300,000
E. Martin Hennings The Taos Twins $500/700,000 $1,032,500 William Gollings Buying Buckskins $70/90,000 $225,000
Howard Terpning Blackfeet Spectators $500/700,000 $792,500 John Clymer Aspen Trail $100/150,000 $218,750
Frank Tenney Johnson Alphonzo Bell $250/350,000 $348,500 Joseph Henry Sharp The Peacemaker $120/160,000 $200,000
G. Harvey Land of the Yosemite $300/500,000 $312,500 Eanger Irving Couse Pictographs $120/160,000 $156,250

125
 MUSEUM REPORT

Wild West Show

The Masters of the American West returns to the Autry
Museum of the American West in Los Angeles.

W
estern art of all varieties made
a splash at the annual Masters
of the American West exhibition
on February 9 at the Autry Museum of the
American West in Los Angeles. Landscapes,
portraits, bronzes, stone works, wildlife,
pioneer scenes, cowboys and Native
American themes—a stunning cross section
of the West—were unveiled to collectors
at the opening of the popular show and
exhibition. More than 60 artists participated
in the show, with many in attendance.
This year’s show continued to display
a shift toward more contemporary Western
art with the inclusion of artists such as Eric
Bowman and Howard Post, as well as returning
artists such as Logan Maxwell Hagege, Mark
Maggiori, Kim Wiggins, Oreland Joe, Kevin
Red Star and Tony Abeyta. “Masters in 2019
continues to expand its footprint in the world
of contemporary art of the American West,
a place as diverse as the artistic traditions
Thomas Blackshear, Wild West
Show, oil on canvas, 31 x 41”

represented throughout its long history,” says Amy Scott,

the museum’s Marilyn B. and Calvin B. Gross Curator of
Visual Arts. “Masters celebrates these histories through
images and narratives that speak to the exceptional
environment, cultural past and dynamic present of the
American West.”
Thomas Blackshear, in only his second Masters
appearance, won the museum purchase award for
his piece Wild West Show. The work will remain in
the permanent collection alongside works by Howard
Terpning, Thomas Moran, N.C. Wyeth and many others.
Other winners were Richard Greeves, who won the
sculpture award; Tim Shinabarger, who won the Bob
Kuhn Wildlife Award; JoAnn Peralta won the artists’
choice award; William Acheff won the John J. Geraghty
Award for the advancement of contemporary Western
art; and Terri Kelly Moyers won the patrons’ choice
award. Maggiori, who was still celebrating the birth of
his daughter the day before, won the Spirit of the West

George Carlson, Marsh Hawk, oil on linen, 42 x 38”

126
 MUSEUM REPORT
1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

1. Mark Maggiori in front of his work. Photo by Danielle Klebanow. 2. Masters first-timer Eric Bowman. 3. Morgan Weistling
with some of his work. 4. Dean Mitchell, left, with Thomas Blackshear and his award-winning work. Photo courtesy Kimberly
Fletcher. 5. Autry trustee James Parks, left, Richard Greeves, Tim Shinabarger, JoAnn Peralta, Mark Maggiori, Autry CEO Richard
West, Dean Mitchell and George Carlson. 6. John Moyers, left, with Curt Walters. 7. At the book signing with Logan Maxwell
Hagege. 8. Kaci Fouts and Shiloh Thurman with the Woolaroc Museum. 9. JoAnn Peralta, right, with the model for her painting.

Award for outstanding cowboy subject matter.
George Carlson won two top awards: the
Thomas Moran Memorial Award for Painting
and the Gene Autry Memorial Award in
The by-draw sale yielded exceptional
results for several artists, including Hagege,
Maggiori, Bowman, Denis Milhomme, G.
Russell Case and Morgan Weistling, all of
presentation made by sculptor Sandy Scott,
which was followed by a panel of art insiders
who spoke about trends and innovations
in the Western art market. One of the
Los Angeles

recognition of his body of submitted work.
Dean Mitchell won the watercolor award,
and noted in his acceptance speech that the
watercolor category was not a crowded field.
“Come on, guys, give it a shot,” he told his
fellow artists.
whom sold out. The miniature sale also
produced outstanding sales with more than
80 percent of the works sold during the
opening weekend.
The weekend also featured book signings
by Hagege and Weistling, as well as a
panelists was Western Art Collector editor
Joshua Rose, who spoke about the many
opportunities in Western art for both artists
and collectors.
The opening weekend is over, but the
exhibition will hang through March 24.

127
 Artists in this issue
Asher, Brian 44 Doellinger, Mick 84 Kitts, Thomas Jefferson 85 Quick, Marion 80
Baize, Wayne 87 Dorr, Tom 81 Knight, Buddy 44 Redden, Grant 92, 104
Baker, William Bliss 34 Duncanson, Robert Seldon 62 Kramer, Patrick 110 Remington, Frederic 58, 119
Bellows, George 62 Dye, Charlie 120 Kuhn, Bob 90 Reynolds, James 119
Bierstadt, Albert 60, 116 Eisenlohr, Edward 38 Lang, Steven 108 Rich, Jason 94
Blackshear, Thomas 126 Ethelbah, Upton (Greyshoes) Jr. 82 Lawson, T. Allen 52 Roldan-de-Moras, Gladys 101
Blake, Teal 88 Eubanks, Tony 81 Loren, Tanner 112 Russell, Charles M. 114
Bohlin, Edward H. 122 Fechin, Nicolai 115 Mackey, Kim 45 Schofield, Den 97
Boren, James 121 Fender, Erik 82 Mauldin, Barbara 83 Schwarz, Cary 39
Brock, Chip 113 Gibson, Josh 112 Maynard, Chris 106 Situ, Mian 95
Buchholz, Mary Ross 100 Goodwin, Philip R. 115 Mell, Ed 98 Smith, Susie Keef 36
Carlson, George 126 Grelle, Martin 94, 79 Moran, Thomas 68 Swanson, Trevor 109
Chmiel, Len 121 Hagege, Logan Maxwell 40, 43 Mueller, Todd “Tex” 89 Tate, Kathy 86, 88
Church, Frederic E. 34 Hallmark, George 78 Natiya, Ed 108 Terpning, Howard 125
Clymer, John 124 Hanna, John Austin 80 Neumann, Susan Temple 89 Thomas, Andy 121
Coe, Valeria 45 Hardy, Scott 39 Onderdonk, Julian 38 Warren, Melvin 116
Cole, Robin 112 Harvey, G. 79, 90, 121 Pleissner, Ogden M. 64 Weistling, Morgan 119
Crandall, Jerry 96 Hennings, E. Martin 116, 125 Polzin, Kyle 118 Wright, David 95
Delano, Gerard Curtis 124 Hunter, Charlie 85 Post, Howard 37, 94 Zhang, Xiang 81
DeMott, John 108 Joe, Oreland 101 Price, Brad 95
Desatnick, Michael 96 Jurek, Joni 112 Price, Clark Kelley 95
Dixon, Maynard 34 Kelsey, T.D. 87 Pummill, Robert 78

Advertisers in this issue

Altermann Galleries & Auctioneers (Santa Fe, NM) 35 Fine Art Publishing (Tucson, AZ) 18 Museum of the Big Bend (Alpine, TX) 22
Bosque Arts Center (Clifton, TX) 28 Great American West Gallery (Grapevine, TX) 3 National Ranching Heritage Center (Lubbock, TX) 12
Brock, Chip (Wasilla, AK) 20 Heritage Auctions (Dallas, TX) 5 Neumann, Susan Temple (Rowlett, TX) 22
Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, The (Hayden, ID) Cover 4 InSight Gallery (Fredericksburg, TX) 17 Plainsmen Gallery, The (Dunedin, FL) 28
Cowboy Artists of America (Oklahoma City, OK) 29 Jackson Hole Art Auction (Jackson, WY) Cover 3 RS Hanna Gallery (Fredericksburg, TX) 25
Crandall, Jerry (Hamilton, MT) 24 Jurek, Joni (Hudson, WI) 30 Santa Fe Art Auction (Santa Fe, NM) 7
Dancing Rabbit Gallery, The (Southlake, TX) 10 Leslie Hindman Auctioneers (Denver, CO) 2 Schofield, Den (Riverton, WY) 24
Desert Caballeros Western Museum Loren, Tanner (Cody, WY) 30 Scottsdale Art Auction (Scottsdale, AZ) Cover 2, 1, 23
(Wickenburg, AZ) 18
Manitou Galleries (Santa Fe, NM) 11 Scottsdale Gallery Association (Scottsdale, AZ) 30
Doellinger, Mick (Fort Worth, TX) 31
Mauldin, Chuck & Barbara (Fredericksburg, TX) 6 Southwest Gallery (Dallas, TX) 27
Eiteljorg Museum (Indianapolis, IN) 21
Maxwell Alexander Gallery (Los Angeles, CA) 9 SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market (Santa Fe, NM) 32
En Plein Air Texas (San Angelo, TX) 16
Medicine Man Gallery (Tucson, AZ) 13 Tate, Kathy (Stephenville, TX) 26
Fama Fine Art (Houston, TX) 28
Mell, Ed (Phoenix, AZ) 19 Todd Mueller Texas Made Sculptures (Combine, TX) 30

128
OSCAR E. BERNINGHAUS (1874-1952)
Riders - Taos, Early Spring
oil on board, 20 x 16 inches
Estimate: $70,000-$100,000

SEEKING QUALITY CONSIGNMENTS FOR

THE SEPTEMBER 2019 AUCTION!
EMAIL: COORDINATOR@JACKSONHOLEARTAUCTION.COM
CALL: 866-549-9278 | VISIT: JACKSONHOLEARTAUCTION.COM

PAST & PRESENT MASTERWORKS OF THE AMERICAN WEST JACKSON HOLE | SCOTTSDALE | SANTA FE | NEW YORK