February 2007 | News Beat

"Indian Summer" by Deborah Chapin
“Indian Summer” by Deborah Chapin

Out & About
Maryland artist Deborah Chapin won the $5,000 Grand Prize Purchase Award in PaintAmerica’s Top 100 Art Competition for her plein-air painting indian summer…. Leslie Levy Fine Art in Scottsdale, AZ, celebrates 30 years in business with a reception on February 1. All gallery artists are creating new works for the event…. Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art in San Antonio, TX, marks its silver anniversary this month, celebrating 25 years with an all-day open house on February 17…. Rob Pitzer, who previously owned galleries in Corpus Christi, TX, and Carmel, CA, recently opened Pitzer’s Fine Art in Wimberley, TX, representing artists such as Thomas William Jones, Laurie Kersey, Robert Peters, and Kent Ullberg…. Long Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ, closed its doors in December after 18 years in business.

"Violet" by Sarah J. Webber
“Violet” by Sarah J. Webber

Mountain Oyster Show Results
Top-selling artists at the 37th annual Mountain Oyster Club Western Art Show in Tucson, AZ, included Deborah Fellows, Buck McCain, Tom Dorr, and Bill Moomey. Nearly 400 works were submitted by 225 artists for the November show, which tallied more than $738,000 in sales. Named in honor of Olaf Wieghorst—the Danish-born artist who has been called the “dean of western painters”—the best of show award went to James N. Muir for his bronze one man–one war, el fuego baca, 1884. The Mountain Oyster Club art committee purchased two paintings for its own collection: tumacacori sunset by Robert Daughters and violet by emerging artist Sarah J. Webber.

Great American West Sale Tops $2 Million
Settlers West Galleries’ Great American West show brought in $2.3 million, exceeding last year’s sales figures by more than $1 million. The top seller at the November sale was the horse doctor and his medicine bag at rendezvous by Arizona painter Howard Terpning, which pulled in $1.3 million in a live auction. The rest of the sale was a fixed-price drawing, with 72 of 102 works purchased. Bob Kuhn’s painting slowly, slowly sold for $60,000 and his the sound of autumn was bought for $53,333.

Record Price for Kuhn Painting
jaguar and cattle egrets by wildlife artist Bob Kuhn sold at Sotheby’s-New York in November for $441,600, a record-breaking price for the artist. His painting hit & miss sold for $360,000 at the same auction. The previous record for a Kuhn painting was $228,000, set last year at Sotheby’s.

American Academy of Women Artists
El Presidio Gallery in Tucson, AZ, hosted the American Academy of Women Artists’ Signature Show “Visions of America” in November. first snow by Connie Morse won Best of Show and Best Painting. Best Sculpture went to eagle head by Catherine Ferrell. Jurors’ Choice awards went to Nancy Howe for her oil painting renovation and to Sheila Rieman for her pastel autumn grizzly.

High-Def Art
Some of the world’s best-known masterpieces are now on view in living rooms throughout the country. Comcast’s new GalleryPlayer On Demand transforms high-definition televisions into digital canvases with just a click of the remote control. Exhibiting artwork from many of the country’s top museums, the revolving gallery displays a different painting each minute—including works by Monet, Rousseau, Klimt, and da Vinci. Customers can select from themed collections licensed from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as well as from art museums in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, and Seattle. The feature is free for Comcast HDTV customers.