Show Preview | Bighorn Rendezvous

Big Horn, WY
The Brinton Museum, August 5-September 5

Veryl Goodnight, The Bachelor Band, bronze, 20 x 36 x 8.

This story was featured in the August 2016 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art August 2016 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

The opening weekend of the Bighorn Rendezvous Art Show & Sale, held at the Brinton Museum by the Northwest Rendezvous Group of Artists, represents a return to the show’s roots—even though the gathering that began in the early 1970s hasn’t taken place since 2012, and this year represents not only its premiere appearance at the Brinton but also the first time it’s had the word “Bighorn” in its name. “The museum is the perfect fit for our group, based as it is on a historic ranch in Big Horn, WY, an area of great ranches dating back to before the turn of the last century,” explains painter Tom Saubert, a Rendezvous member and show organizer.

Though the venue has changed since the group’s previous shows at the Montana Historical Society in Helena and other places, the substance of the event remains the same. Up to three works plus one miniature piece may be submitted by each of the 37 participating members—among them such top artists as Greg Beecham, Sandy Scott, Quang Ho, Veryl Goodnight, Carolyn Anderson, and Josh Elliott—as well as nine guest artists. The vast majority of them are on hand to mingle with guests at the reception and preview on Friday, August 5. On Saturday morning, the artists participate in a Quick Draw on the Brinton’s beautiful grounds, with the resulting works auctioned following brunch under a tent on the lawn. An outdoor banquet, awards ceremony, and sale by drawing wrap up festivities that evening, with the art continuing on view through September 5.

Tom Saubert, Work Ready, oil, 22 x 28.

“We think the Northwest Rendezvous, with its wide breadth of artists, is a great fit for the Brinton,” says the museum’s director and chief curator, Ken Schuster. He first learned that the group was seeking a new home for its annual show during a chance social meeting with sculptor Veryl Good-
night, who was visiting the area with her husband. She and several fellow members then met with Brinton board members, she says, “and everybody wanted to come together. It was a marriage made in heaven.”

Indeed, talking with Rendezvous members, you can feel the inspiration resulting from this new partnership. Goodnight, for example, is bringing THE BACHELOR BAND, a large-scale bronze of three mustang stallions based on steeds she has seen in the nearby Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range, as well as two sled-dog paintings linked to the Wyoming’s Stage Stop Pedigree Sled Dog Race. “All of us are putting forth pieces we’re really proud of,” she says.

Saubert’s piece WORK READY captures an iconic ranching scene with a saddled-up gray horse and a cattle dog poised in front of a barn. He notes, “We’re hoping to create some exciting relationships with the longtime ranching community there.” And he believes that he and his fellow members of the Northwest Rendezvous Group are the perfect ambassadors to make such connections: “It’s quite a group of artistic talent, as well as one heck of a good bunch of people.” —Norman Kolpas

contact information
307.672.3173
www.thebrintonmuseum.org