Show Preview | Masters of the American West

Los Angeles, CA
Autry Museum of the American West, February 9-March 24

Mark Maggioi, Purple Haze, oil, 40 x 60.

This story was featured in the February 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art February 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

Every year for the past two decades, the Autry Museum of the American West has presented the best of the best in western fine art at its widely respected Masters of the American West Art Exhibition and Sale. While many of the contemporary masters in this prestigious show follow in the footsteps of 19th-century icons like C.M. Russell and Frederic Remington, many others have increasingly been turning to 20th-century influences like Maynard Dixon, Frank Tenney Johnson, the Taos Society of Artists, and even Picasso and Monet, notes Autry’s chief curator Amy Scott. “The artists in Masters are choosing which historic precedents they are inspired by and pushing them forward with their own unique vision,” she says.

: Kim Wiggins, Big Medicine, oil, 48 x 72.

: Tony Abeyta, A Quiet Day in the Village, oil, 46 x 60.

: Len Chmiel, Flash in the Platte, oil, 28 x 36.

The highly anticipated show, now in its 22nd year, opens to the public on Saturday, February 9, but sponsors and collectors are invited to an exclusive gathering the night before that includes an artists’ dinner and exhibition preview. The ticketed opening-day program kicks off with a presentation by sculptor Sandy Scott, followed by a chuck wagon-style luncheon, an awards presentation, and an afternoon panel discussion on trends in western art. Rounding out the all-day lineup is a cocktail reception and art sale that evening at 5 p.m., where 250 works—all of which the artists consider to be their very best creations—are sold in a fixed-price drawing.

Given this year’s roster of 64 top-billed names, the art sale is sure to impress. In addition to new participants like Eric Bowman, G. Russell Case, and Howard Post, numerous sought-after artists return to the show, including Len Chmiel, Dennis Doheny, Bonnie Marris, Dean Mitchell, Daniel W. Pinkham, Billy Schenck, and Tim Solliday. As always, Masters continues to celebrate works inspired by the historic American West, but it also continues to expand into, and embrace, more contemporary western visions, says Scott. “The historical narrative is still there, with artists like Z.S. Liang and Morgan Weistling contributing classic frontier narratives,” she says. “And the landscape component is still there, too. Len Chmiel and George Carlson are both artists who honor those traditional views of wide-open spaces.”

: Bonnie Marris, Eye to Eye, oil, 24 x 48.

: Eric Bowman, There She Is, oil, 28 x 28.

: George Carlson, Waves of Snowdrifts, oil, 42 x 42.

But Masters strives for balance and diversity, adds Scott. Thus, visitors to the show can find many examples of modernism in varying degrees. “The color, the light, and the pop-art quality of some of these artists’ works resonate with them and with our audience,” she notes. “Billy Schenck is the progenitor of that whole group and has been around for ages.”

: G. Russell Case, Blue Shirt and Sage, oil, 24 x 30.

: Dennis Doheny, Dawn on the Mammoth Crest–Crystal Lake, oil, 32 x 34.

: Logan Maxwell Hagege, Secret Garden, oil, 50 x 30.

There are also vibrant contributions from artists like contemporary Navajo painter Tony Abeyta, who “looks to the Taos Society, but also to European modernism, so you get some Cubist influences from Tony,” adds Scott. Similarly, New Mexico painter Kim Wiggins has drawn upon diverse artistic movements for inspiration. Now in his 21st year of Masters, Wiggins was mentored by such esteemed artists as Henriette Wyeth, Alexandre Hogue, and William Lumpkins, but he also spent some time exploring impressionism, expressionism, magical realism, and modernism. “The range of historical traditions that serve as inspirations for these artists is expanding,” observes Scott. “But they’re also innovating on a lot of those historical examples. As artists, it’s their role and their gift to do what they want, and what they can, with this history. And that’s why we love what they do.”

All artwork remains on view through Sunday, March 24. —Kim Agricola

contact information
323.667.2000
www.theautry.org/masters