Editor’s Letter | A Season of Shows

Autumn is chock-full of events for art lovers

By Kristin Hoerth

This story was featured in the November 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art November 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

Without question, fall is my favorite season in the art world. There are so many top-notch shows in wonderful locations with terrific art to see. Consider this sampling of events that take place on consecutive weekends, beginning in mid-September: Quest for the West, Western Visions, the Buffalo Bill Art Show, the American Impressionist Society exhibition, the Cowboy Artists of America show, and the Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational. And that’s not even a complete list! It would be wonderful to attend them all, but since that’s not possible for most of us, here are a few highlights from events that have already taken place as we go to press.

At the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, IN, the 13th annual Quest for the West show brought together 50 top artists and 300 collectors for its opening weekend, and nearly $1 million in art was sold. Krystii Melaine won the Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award, and her painting WITHIN LIFE’S CIRCLE becomes part of the museum’s permanent collection; she also won the Patrons’ Choice Award. David Wright won the Artist of Distinction Award and will be featured in a solo exhibition next fall. Other awards went to Scott Rogers for best sculpture, Glenn Dean for best painting, Josh Elliott for best display of work, and Mark Kelso for artists’ choice.

At the 31st annual Western Visions show at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, WY, which I was lucky enough to attend, more than $700,000 worth of artwork was sold. The show featured a wide spectrum of traditional and contemporary wildlife art by over 100 artists, most of whom contributed both large works and smaller sketches; the latter were a huge hit with collectors. Artist William Alther won the Red Smith Award, which is the artists’ choice honor; John Seerey-Lester won the people’s choice award for the second year in a row; Robert Glen won the purchase award; and George Boorujy won the Bob Kuhn Sketch Award.

Finally, the 12th annual Jackson Hole Art Auction hosted by Trailside Galleries and Gerald Peters Gallery realized over $8.4 million in sales, a substantial increase over last year’s $5 million tally. The star of the show was an iconic portrait of John Wayne by Norman Rockwell, which reached its high estimate of $1,496,000. A SLIGHT CHANCE by Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, which graced the cover of the auction catalog, sold for $456,300. Other top sales included TERRITORIAL DISPUTE by John Clymer and LAGUNA, NEW MEXICO LOOKING FROM THE EAST by Thomas Moran, both of which sold for $339,300.

This story was featured in the November 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art November 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

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