Show Preview | Fall Shows in the Tetons

Jackson, WY
Various locations, September 5-15

Bob Kuhn, Lookout Rock—Cougar, acrylic, 8 x 14.

This story was featured in the September 2013 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art September 2013 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story!

In Jackson, WY, September signals the change of seasons—aspen leaves start changing from green to gold, temperatures cool, and it’s time for the popular Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival in this scenic mountain town. As part of the arts celebration, more than 25 galleries host shows appealing to a wide variety of artistic tastes, ranging from the traditional to the avant garde. Museum exhibits, concerts, cowboy poetry readings, and more are all part of the 10-day event.

Z.S. Liang, Lakota Holy Man, oil, 12 x 16.

The annual Western Visions: Miniatures and More Show & Sale at the National Museum of Wildlife Art is considered one of the highlights of the festival. This year the show opens on Friday, September 13, with paintings, sculptures, and drawings by 160 top artists on view. Among the artists selected for the 2013 show are John Fawcett, Bill Sawczuk, Z.S. Liang, and Lindsay Scott. This year’s featured artists are painter Mark Eberhard and sculptor Veryl Goodnight.

Wildlife artist Timothy David Mayhew, who has participated in the show for 10 years, considers the exhibit the “triple crown” of the art world: Not only is it a critically acclaimed event with works by the top artists, but also it takes place in a museum that is a treasure trove of artworks depicting wildlife and man’s relationship to nature. Another plus for Mayhew is that the town is en route to the nearby Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, two of the few remaining areas in the country where abundant wildlife still roams free.

Maynard Dixon, Remuda, oil, 25 x 30.

Daniel Smith, who has participated in the show for 25 years, agrees, adding, “I started attending the show after moving to Montana and discovered what I had been missing—fantastic autumn scenery plus great food, hospitality, and art,” Smith says. “The museum itself is an architectural work of art, and I’m honored to exhibit in such a prestigious venue.”

On Saturday, September 14, at 9:30 a.m. the public is invited to the town square to watch artists as they create paintings and sculptures in the much-loved Jackson Hole Quick Draw Art Sale & Auction. The family-friendly event is followed by an auction of the artwork.

Later that day, art lovers gather at the Center for the Arts for the annual Jackson Hole Art Auction, presented by Trailside Galleries and Gerald Peters Gallery. Last year’s auction garnered a whopping $8 million in sales. “This year’s sale has a large offering from an Arizona estate as well as a Wyoming estate, and many of the paintings are coming on the market for the first time,” says Roxanne Hofmann, the auction’s managing partner. “We have only one sale a year, and our vetting committee is committed to assuring our collectors that they will be bidding on the very best in the marketplace.”

As usual, the auction features paintings and sculptures by both living and deceased masters. Collectors can bid on work by today’s award-winning artists such as Clyde Aspevig, Martin Grelle, Mian Situ, Howard Terpning, and Morgan Weistling. And the auction offers important works by the legendary Taos Society of Artists as well as other historically important artists who captured the spirit and landscape of the American West, including Maynard Dixon, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Remington, and Charles M. Russell. —Bonnie Gangelhoff

contact information
www.wildlifeart.org
www.jacksonholeartauction.com
www.jacksonholechamber.com

Featured in the September 2013 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art September 2013 print issue or digital download
Or subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss a story!