Show Preview | Western Visions

Jackson, WY
National Museum of Wildlife Art, September 4-October 6

This story was featured in the September 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art September 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

EACH SEPTEMBER, MANY of the top living wildlife artists, along with fine-art collectors from around the world, gather at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, WY, for the annual Western Visions Show & Sale. Now in its 32nd year, Western Visions is a signature event of the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival, as well as the largest and longest-running fund-raiser for the museum.

“The show started the very first year the museum opened, in 1987,” explains Amy Goicoechea, the museum’s director of programs and events. “Over the years, the show has grown and evolved in tandem with the art and artists—but one of the things that makes our fundraiser so wonderful is that it has always been an event that’s not only an opportunity to raise money, it’s also directly tied to our mission and the work we do year-round,” she says, adding, “It really is the perfect way to celebrate exceptional wildlife artists and the collecting of their work.”

This year’s show features 105 painters and sculptors, several of whom have been in the show every single year since its inception, including Tucker Smith, Kent Ullberg, Ken Carlson, and Sandy Scott. The one and only new artist this year is wildlife painter and conservationist Allison Leigh Smith. There are also some artists who haven’t been in the show for a while and are returning this year, including Mick Doellinger and T. Allen Lawson. Among the many other notable returning artists are last year’s award-winners: sculptor Robert Glen and painters George Boorujy, John Seerey-Lester, and William Alther.

This year the show includes more than 200 works featuring a wide variety of wildlife subjects in styles ranging from traditional to contemporary. “We always have a nice array of wildlife subjects, from avian to aquatic, amphibian to mammalian, and insects to megafauna from all across North America and even globally,” says Goicoechea. “Each artist is invited to give us one or two pieces—a large piece for the main show, plus an optional sketch, study, or miniature piece, which about half of the artists decide to do,” she explains. “We really try to offer as much variety as possible, to appeal to any collector and wildlife art fan.”

The museum is a hub for art lovers and wildlife enthusiasts year-round, and even more so during the Fall Arts Festival. The week’s events draw an international crowd to the museum’s award-winning facility across from the National Elk Refuge. Some of the week’s signature and most popular ticketed events are the Jewelry & Artisan Luncheon, which takes place on September 4; the Artists Party, which is on Thursday, September 12; and the show and sale on Friday, September 13, when collectors have the final opportunity to place bids prior to the drawing that determines who is going home with beautiful new works of art. The show remains on view through October 6. —Lindsay Mitchell

contact information
www.wildlifeart.org

This story was featured in the September 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art September 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

MORE RESOURCES FOR ART COLLECTORS & ENTHUSIASTS
• Subscribe to Southwest Art magazine
• Learn how to paint & how to draw with downloads, books, videos & more from North Light Shop
• Sign up for your Southwest Art email newsletter & download a FREE ebook