San Antonio, TX
Briscoe Western Art Museum, March 27-July 26
**Update: Opening events for Night of Artists have been cancelled, and the exhibition and sale have moved to an online-only platform. Collectors can find more information about the sale and view the full catalog and art gallery on Briscoe Western Art Museum’s website.
Jeremy Winborg, A Light to Her People, oil, 38 x 36.
This story was featured in the March/April 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art March/April 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
THE TITLE Night of Artists may at first seem a misnomer for an annual art exhibition and sale that attracts visitors to San Antonio’s Briscoe Western Art Museum not just for one night but, in fact, for six entire weeks. Yet, the show takes both its name and its impetus from a signature one-night event happening this year on Saturday, March 28, when art aficionados and collectors gather at the museum for live music, fine food and libations, and a luck-of-the-draw sale of about 245 paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media works by 80 well-established and rising western artists.
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- Kim Wiggins, Flowing With Milk & Honey, oil, 36 x 48.
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- Xiang Zhang, Headin’ South, oil, 45 x 28.
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- Z.S. Liang, The Lookout, oil, 32 x 24.
“We try to focus on the idea that the West, from the starter herds of all the great ranches to the immigrant trail that stretched across the Southwest, started here in south Texas,” says Michael Duchemin, museum president and CEO, explaining the unique position of the show among other marquee western art events. Even a brief overview of the show’s highlights bears out how
seriously—and enjoyably—it aims to fulfill that promise.
To kick things off, art sales actually begin one day before the official gala opening, with an elegant exhibition preview and a live auction of 30 jury-selected works separate from those in the sale. A key part of the evening’s entertainment is the high-energy style of widely respected auctioneer Troy Black. “He’s a really good showman,” notes Duchemin.
Many bidders also attend the third annual Briscoe Bison Society Collectors Summit, held during the day on Friday and Saturday at the nearby Westin Riverwalk. Open to everyone interested in collecting western art, the summit features expert panelists in two sessions: “Headin’ In,” which explores the changing nature of the market for longtime collectors, and “Headin’ Out,” focusing on the journeys of newer, often younger buyers as they transform into serious collectors.
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- Teresa Elliott, Canyon Thunder, oil, 20 x 16.
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- Mark Maggiori, Father’s Daughter, oil, 38 x 38.
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- Stefan Savides, Tres Pescadores, bronze, 6 x 23 x 8.
Veteran and novice collectors alike find much to tempt them in the offerings of both the Friday-night auction and the Saturday-night sale. Re-turning artists include Teresa Elliott, prized for her realist bovine portraits; Martin Grelle, respected for historical cowboy and Indian scenes; Mark Maggiori, with his cinematic landscapes of the West; cowboy and animal painter and sculptor Jan Mapes; and Billy Schenck and Kim Wiggins, both known for pop art-tinged takes on the West and its history. Among notable artists new to the event are wildlife painter William Alther; Mian Situ, who paints intimate realist scenes of life in the old West; wildlife sculptor Walter Matia; and Jason Rich, who captures action-packed images of contemporary cowboy life.
This show represents Duchemin’s third year since arriving at the Briscoe, but he quickly notes that Night of Artists is in fact celebrating its 19th year—even though the museum only opened in 2013. “It says something special,” he concludes, “when the show existed even before the museum it supports.” —Norman Kolpas
contact information
210.299.4499
www.briscoemuseum.org
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- Billy Schenck, Sarah’s Blanket, oil, 40 x 50.
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- Michael Ome Untiedt, Rangers on the Guadalupe, oil, 16 x 20.
This story was featured in the March/April 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art March/April 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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