Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Wickenburg, AZ
March 25-September 4
Naomi Brown, Moon Rising Over Joshua Tree, oil/acrylic, 30 x 48.
For its 17th annual edition, what is arguably the largest and best-known exhibition of works by western women artists has much to celebrate this year. Cowgirl Up! closed to the public halfway through its scheduled 2020 run, and 2021 saw a version that began as an online-live hybrid event and later opened fully to visitors. “We’re delighted to be returning to our traditional show,” says Dan Finley, executive director of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg, AZ, the show’s birthplace and home.
Indeed, Cowgirl Up! comes galloping back with an extensive opening weekend of live events. Friday, March 25, features afternoon and evening previews of the show for ticketed guests, who get the first chance to admire more than 300 artworks from about 60 participating artists. At least 125 of those pieces are miniatures, sold that day through a ballot-box drawing. Previews continue on Saturday, which also brings an 11 a.m. “Cultural Conversation”; the sale by draw for the larger artworks in the main show; and the Bash & Bid awards dinner and live auction of a dozen additional artworks. The weekend wraps up on Sunday with a chuckwagon breakfast and an open-air Quick Draw, the still-wet results of which are auctioned off immediately afterward.
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- Veryl Goodnight, The Sage, bronze, 12 x 14 x 14.
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- Linda Glover Gooch, Sundial Dreams, oil, 16 x 16.
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- Julie Nighswonger, Mother’s Comfort, oil, 23 x 27.
The nearly 200 paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media artworks in the main show remain on view for museum visitors to admire through September 4. One of the works certain to draw attention is THE SAGE by revered sculptor Veryl Goodnight. “She’s a giant amongst western artists,” says Finley, adding that “she’d been out of the show for several years, and we’re thrilled she’s coming back.” Her bronze depicting a mighty bison is rendered with such dynamic energy that viewers might easily imagine hearing the pounding of the animal’s hooves.
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- Harper Henry, Horse in Gold II, oil/gold leaf, 36 x 36.
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- Kwani Povi Winder, Enlightened, oil/metal leaf, 28 x 20.
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- L.J. McLoughlin, Odd Gal Out, oil, 18 x 36.
Another work Finley finds particularly exciting is HORSE IN GOLD II by Harper Henry, who’s based in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. The painter finds inspiration in the Golden Phase artworks of Austrian symbolist Gustav Klimt, famous for his figurative portraits rendered in a kaleidoscopic style featuring gold leaf. “She’s become one of our most sought-after artists,” Finley says. Noting the wide range of art on view, he also cites ENLIGHTENED by Kwani Povi Winder, a young artist from Utah whose realistic, jewel-tone portraits of women are steeped in the colors and symbols of her native Santa Clara Pueblo.
These and the many other works make for an important year for Cowgirl Up! and its museum’s home in the small town of Wickenburg. “It’s a real western town,” says Caesar Chaves, the museum’s marketing director. “Being able to showcase the amazing talents of these women is a real source of pride for the museum and for Wickenburg itself.” —Norman Kolpas
contact information
928.684.2272
www.westernmuseum.org
This story appeared in the February/March 2022 issue of Southwest Art magazine.