Show Preview | Quest for the West - Southwest Art Magazine

Indianapolis, IN
Eiteljorg Museum, September 8-October 8

Robert Griffing, On the Banks of the Alleghenies, oil, 24 x 40.

This story was featured in the September 2017 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art September 2017 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

Dramatic landscapes, iconic cowboy scenes, wildlife paintings, and more fill the Eiteljorg Museum this month, thanks to the 12th annual Quest for the West show. Starting Friday, September 8, the show connects artists with both new and longtime art collectors during one of the leading western art shows in the nation.

“Our museum’s Western Art Society was visionary in advocating for creating Quest for the West in 2006 to bring compelling new works to the museum,” Eiteljorg president and CEO John Vanausdall says of the major fundraising event. “To see what it has become on a national scale, and what it means to the Eiteljorg, is special.” Nearly 50 artists display more than 200 new works of art through October 8.

: Tim Cherry, Wise Guy, stainless steel, 16 x 6 x 5.

: Heide Presse, Home is at the End of the Trail, oil, 36 x 27.

: John Moyers, Dakota Badlands Study, oil, 12 x 12.

A new addition to this year’s events is a miniatures sale. Seeking to serve new art collectors looking for affordably priced works, or longtime collectors who no longer have space to hang large paintings, the sale begins on Friday evening in the museum’s Eagle Commons. The festivities continue on Saturday, September 9, when collectors can attend an artists’ reception and submit intent-to-purchase slips for any works they desire. Then the luck-of-the-draw lottery begins for collectors hopeful to purchase the pieces on display. The gala banquet concludes Saturday night with an awards ceremony.

Western artist Krystii Melaine has participated in the show for nine years, saying she loves the connections and friendships made between artists and collectors and, of course, displaying her artwork. “The drive to paint is an internal force that I can’t deny,” Melaine says. “The ability to create something new and unique every day is a gift I make the most of.” Inspiration for her historic scenes comes “from the beauty I see in each face, the emotions in each person’s story, and from my real-life models, who contribute their own stories as a layer within my historical paintings,” she says.

: Krystii Melaine, Leaving by Mud Wagon, oil, 26 x 24.

: P.A. Nisbet, Prairie Star, oil, 27 x 34.

: Daniel Smith, Deep Forest Descent, acrylic, 20 x 20.

Other longtime participants in the invitational include C. Michael Dudash, Curt Mattson, Robert Griffing, and Roseta Santiago. Six new artists participate this year: Rox Corbett, G. Russell Case, Deborah Copenhaver Fellows, David Grossmann, Mark Maggiori, and Tim Solliday.

P.A. Nisbet won the prestigious 2016 Artist of Distinction award and is returning to the show for the 10th year. In conjunction with Quest for the West, the museum is also featuring a retrospective of Nisbet’s work called Light, Space, and Power: The Art of P.A. Nisbet, opening Sunday, September 10. More than 20 of Nisbet’s striking cloud formations, seascapes, and other landscapes capturing the drama of the West are on display through November 19. —Katie Askew

contact information
317.636.9378
www.eiteljorg.org