National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY
September 10-October 2
Thomas Blackshear, Cougar’s Song, oil, 32 x 53.
At 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 15, upwards of 250 art enthusiasts, hopeful buyers, and many of the more than 140 participating artists all gather at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, WY—as well as online—for the annual Western Visions show and sale, live auction, and after-party dessert celebration. During this evening event, they can experience both the enduring strength and a bold reimagining of wildlife art—a singular artistic phenomenon that, for 35 years now, has been the main fundraiser for the museum. The artworks go on view in the museum beginning September 10, and remain on display through October 2.
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- Missy Acker, Dare, watercolor/gouache, 14 x 14.
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- Dan Chen, Moon Song, bronze, 17 x 14 x 12.
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- Laney, Rabbitbrush, oil, 13 x 16.
Potential buyers in attendance for the sale receive an auction paddle printed with a personal QR code. Those scannable codes are used to bid on the 35 artworks featured in the live auction that begins at 6 p.m., with registered online viewers able to participate in the bidding as well. That same code is also used to submit intent-to-purchase “slips” for any of the 140 additional works sold in a fixed-price sale; those lucky buyers are selected via a computerized random drawing and announced beginning at 8 p.m.
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- Tim Shinabarger, The Chadwick Ram, bronze, 15 x 10 x 6.
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- Tom Gilleon, Fort Mountain, oil, 40 x 60.
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- Chad Poppleton, String Lake Society, oil, 24 x 36.
According to the museum’s director of programs and events, Michelle Dickson, such a fun and fair use of technology “makes the entire process a little more hip and appealing for a younger generation” of art aficionados and budding collectors—and it also comfortably safeguards everyone in light of any potential pandemic concerns. Any artworks unsold during the evening remain available for sale through the end of the exhibit.
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- Renso Tamse, The Ravens and the Wolf, watercolor, 13 x 26.
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- Chris Maynard, Wasp Nest Jay, mixed media, 12 x 15 x 2.
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- Donna Howell-Sickles, Trouble at Hand, mixed media, 44 x 30.
Western Visions offers a wealth of works across a wide range of subjects, styles, and media. In the live auction, which features larger pieces expected to go for higher prices, highlights include the dramatic, mystical COUGAR’S SONG by Thomas Blackshear; FORT MOUNTAIN, a vivid landscape by Tom Gilleon; and the mixed-media TROUBLE AT HAND by Donna Howell-Sickles, featuring one of the artist’s signature smiling cowgirls accompanied by some lively crows. Among the smaller pieces in the fixed-price sale are Missy Acker’s DARE, an up-close-and-personal look at a cinereous vulture; the peaceful snow scene RABBITBRUSH, an oil by Laney; Dan Chen’s beguiling coyote bronze MOON SONG; and WASP NEST JAY, one of Chris Maynard’s scenes intricately assembled from pieces he painstakingly cuts from actual bird feathers. As even that small sampling suggests, notes Dickson, “This is an art exhibition and event for everyone.” —Norman Kolpas
contact information
307.733.5771
www.wildlifeart.org
This story appeared in the August/September 2022 issue of Southwest Art magazine.