Great American West Sale Tops $1 Million
Settlers West Galleries’ Great American West show earned total sales of more than $1.1 million, finding buyers for 75 of the 109 available works. The top lot of the sale, which was held in Tucson, AZ, in November, was Arizona painter Howard Terpning’s protectors of the cheyenne people, which fetched $478,000 in a live auction. The rest of the works were sold in a fixed-price drawing. Highlights included Robert Griffing’s at the river’s edge at $42,000; distant smoke by Roy Andersen at $35,000; and Bob Kuhn’s curiosity fed the cat at $21,000.
Iams Wins Best of Show
A portrait of a young cowgirl by Richard Iams called seventh generation received the Olaf Wieghorst Best of Show award at the Mountain Oyster Club Contemporary Western Art Show in Tucson, AZ, in November. Bill Moomey earned second-place honors for his painting coyotes at the den, and the club purchased Deborah Copenhaver-Fellows’ bronze youth was in the saddle there with half a world to ride. The show featured more than 350 pieces by 206 artists, and total sales reached $496,000.
In Memoriam
Montana painter Paco Young died in December after a yearlong battle with leukemia. He was 47. Inspired by frequent visits to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier national parks, Young captured wildlife and landscapes en plein air. He participated in shows across the West, including the Western Rendezvous of Art and exhibitions at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, the C.M. Russell Museum, and others. Young’s images have been used in fund-raising efforts by conservation organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, the Ruffed Grouse Society, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Hundreds of emerging artists have been inspired through workshops conducted by Young and his wife, Toni.
Out & About
Wildlife artist Bob Kuhn received the Los Olivos, CA-based Wildling Art Museum’s Wilderness Spirit Award in October…. Pioneer Courage Sculpture Park in Omaha, NE, was dedicated in September. The park features work by Kent Ullberg, Blair Buswell, and Edward Fraughton…. Knowlton Fine Art & Jewelry recently opened in Lodi, CA. The gallery represents artists such as Gil Dellinger, Dan Peterson, and Jeanne Vodden…. The Best of Show award at the Bayou City Art Festival in Houston, TX, in October went to gourd artist John Gibson…. A 9/11 memorial sculpture by Sassona Norton was unveiled in Norristown, PA, in September…. Michael McClure earned Best of Show honors for his painting morning—lily pond at a plein-air show at Keyes Gallery in Springfield, MO, in October.
Auction Results
Total sales at the Santa Fe Art Auction, held at the Eldorado Hotel in November, added up to $3,327,100. Featuring 286 lots, the auction found buyers for approximately 90 percent of the works. The top seller was Charles M. Russell’s painting blackfeet and shoshone, which went for $370,000. Other highlights included Joseph Henry Sharp’s indian encampment (in winter’s embrace) and R. Brownell McGrew’s rebecca in summer, both fetching $170,000.
New Technology
Museums across the country are jumping on the podcasting bandwagon, offering visitors to their websites free downloads of educational audio presentations—generally accessible with an iPod, MP3 player, or computer software such as Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, or QuickTime. Most podcasts feature audio tours of exhibitions or commentary by curators, artists, critics, and conservators. Among the institutions currently providing podcasts are the Museum of Modern Art in New York, NY; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in California; the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, TX; and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, IN.
Featured in February 2006