Posts from ‘Art History’
Robert Kuhn, Flat Out, 1985. Acrylic on Board. 14 x 18 inches. JKM Collection®, National Museum of Wildlife Art.
Talk about a party! Here in Jackson, we’re proud to know our cultural treasure, the National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA), is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
“From a private collector’s dream and a rented Jackson Hole storefront to a landmark building, national museum designation, and more than 5,000 artworks boasting familiar names from Audubon to Warhol, the National Museum of Wildlife Art has come a long way in 25 years,” says the museum. “In addition to its quarter-century anniversary, 2012 also marks the fall completion of the museum’s new Walter Hood-designed Sculpture Trail and the spearheading of a national exhibition providing a visual record of the American West as seen through the eyes of National Geographic’s legendary photographers opening in October.”
The museum’s collection began inauspiciously in 1962 with a small painting titled “Favorite Panfish” by Les Kouba given to Bill Kerr by his wife, Joffa. Two years later the couple bought a Carl Rungius piece, “Wanderers Above Timberline” on layaway, and by 1987 they had amassed one of the finest collections of wildlife and sporting art in the country. Together with several others, on May 17, 1987, they opened the then “Wildlife of the American West Art Museum” in a 5,000-square-foot space on Jackson’s Town Square.
Get a “Sneak Peek” at the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s (NMWA) upcoming exhibition, Rugged Impressionism: The Masterful Field Studies of Carl Rungius, on Monday, April 30, at 11:30 am. Adam Duncan Harris, NMWA’s Curator of Art, will be on hand for a special preview of this show that takes an in-depth look at Rungius’ intriguing artistic process. The talk takes place in the Museum’s Kuhn Gallery, and participants will get a first, special look at Rungius’ spectacular landscapes before the show opens to the public. NMWA is home to this country’s largest public collection of Rungius’ work.
The Museum’s artist biography tells us that “Rungius’ ability to capture the heart-stopping chance encounter between man and animal sets him apart from many of his talented colleagues. Equally accomplished as a painter of wildlife and landscapes, Rungius quickly developed an enthusiastic following among fellow artists and patrons.” The talk is free for members, or with Museum admission. www.wildlifeart.org
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Visiting artist Ricki Arno wants kids and parents to know that she will be teaching a special class at the Art Association this summer. June 25 – 28, join Arno as she takes you on an artistic, humorous creative journey: Cirque Des Tetons Workshop! The class is for kids in grades 6 and up, and parents, aunts, uncles, even grandparents are encouraged to sign up along with the kids.
The class will create a “dazzling mixed media CIRQUE DES TETONS, complete with weird side show characters, daring high wire and trapeze artists, a handsome or beautiful Ring Master, ferocious wild animals, amazing jugglers, a supernatural magician, colorful clowns, and whatever else tickles and delights our fancies,” says Arno. “A collaborative, ongoing “Circus Street Art Wall” will capture the excitement.”
To find out more, and to sign up, contact the Art Association at (307) 733-6379. Those interested in the class are also welcome to contact Arno at rarno@nyc.rr.com, or phone (917) 741-4834. http://www.artassociation.org/education/childrens/s12-69-Cirque.html
Russell, Charles M., (1864-1926), Unbranded, ca. 1897, oil on canvas, 13.125 x 20.25
Russell, Remington, Paxson, Grelle.
The public has the opportunity to collect works by any or all of these great Western Masters on Saturday, September 15, 2012, when Trailside Galleries, in conjunction with the Gerald Peters Gallery of Santa Fe, NM, presents the sixth annual Jackson Hole Art Auction at the Center for the Arts in downtown Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Paxson-E.S.-1852-1919-Crow-Village-1904-oil-on-canvas-22.25-x-27.25-inches.
Five plus months out from auction day, a number of superb consignments are already arriving at auction headquarters. If you’re an auction groupie (guilty as charged) you’re aware that last year’s auction broke all previous records, realizing $9.5 million in sales. Over 90% of 250 lots offered sold “well into and above their estimates.” The auction is currently accepting consignments for this year’s auction; deadline for submitting consignments is June 1, 2012.
This coming summer, Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) and Grand Teton Association (GTA) are bringing the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters (RMPAP) to Grand Teton National Park, for a two-week plein air paint-out. The event celebrates GTA’s 75th anniversary and the Park’s storied tradition of plein air painting. The paint-out and its accompanying exhibition take place July 1-15, 2012 at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor’s Center, the “focal point for GTA’s educational and interpretive efforts.” RMPAP’s show will be on display at the Craig Thomas Center, home to the Park’s permanent art collection.
Recently Jackson’s Cultural Council awarded its annual Award for Creativity to writer/filmmaker/conservationist Charlie Craighead. Craighead’s modesty and low profile belie his great contributions. Documentaries
and books such as “Artic Dance: The Mardy Murie Story,” “I’ll Meet You at the Wort,” and “Who Ate the Backyard?” touch lives, educate, entertain and, most importantly, their messages stay with us.
It’s what Craighead creates that matters; the fact that he does work within his means make his contributions that much more valuable. I’m thrilled he won, and I was also proud to nominate Jill Callaway. Jill’s contributions to Jackson’s community theatre history are extraordinary. I’d love to see the Cultural Council publish all nomination letters, so that the community can know more about the many people working to enrich our cultural scene. Here’s an excerpt from my letter:
“In 2000, Jill took it upon herself to form Jackson Community Theatre (JCT) because she believes deeply that communities need culturally based theatre. Jill does what she does because she knows Jackson is full of talent, and all talent deserves creative outlet. To that end, she insists JCT provide theatre experience for novices and seasoned actors. As the group’s leader, Jill has acted, directed, produced, stage managed, operated lights and sound, created costumes, props and sets. She oversees the company’s marketing and grants writing and manages the group’s accounting. All together, Jill has been involved in over 80 local productions….Her efforts are consistently on behalf of JCT as a whole….She is passionate about Jackson’s Western culture, its history, and family values. Many good people have lent their talents to community theatre, contributing to its longevity, but Jill provides the constant spirit, energy, and motivation propelling JCT….For 27 years, Jill has donated her time. She does not work for a performing arts company and has never received payment for her work in community theatre.”
The wave of the non-profit future must be to work within available means and facilities. Across the country, original missions have been unwittingly supplanted by underfunded real estate speculation, high salaries and high rents. There are instances, of course, of patrons and founders having deep enough pockets to build and maintain new buildings. As a friend on the West coast recently pointed out, at some point many non-profits concluded the best way to accomplish mission is to build grand facilities. Many of us were seduced. With the crash, pledges were not realized, donations slowed, costs accelerated. And although all the plans for beautiful buildings were well-meaning, these days too many original missions play secondary roles to a new mission of maintaining expensive real estate.
Hey, I have a room to rent as workspace! 250 square feet includes a full bath (two sinks!) and walk-in closet! I need help paying expenses, I’m in the same boat, ya’ll! Email me (tammy@jacksonholearttours.com) if you are interested! Seriously!
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Wednesday, October 26, at 7:00 pm, the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum opens its doors for a special program. The talk, Artist Archie ‘Teton’ Teater will be presented by Dr. Teddy Khteian Keeton, a long-time friend of Teater and his wife. Keeton’s talk will focus on Teater’s early life, passion for painting, and his journey to becoming a successful artist.
Archie Boyd Teater was a painter, and a legend in his own time. His life and times are testament to the independent and eccentric artistic character typical of Wyoming. Though his name doesn’t come immediately to mind when thinking of the Western masters, Teater’s paintings have hung alongside paintings by Frederic Remington, Charles Russell, Thomas Moran and Thomas Hart Benton. Teater often “worked alongside miners, trappers and lumberjacks who had little patience or understanding for the sensitive artist, and so he would often take his wagon into the mountains, where he enjoyed the solitude, to work for days on his landscapes.”
The landscapes most inspirational to Teater were Wyoming’s mountains. According to his biography, Teater found work as a trail blazer in the newly established Grand Teton National Park. Beginning in 1928, Teater visited the Tetons annually, set up camp at Jenny Lake, and sold paintings right at his campsite. Biographers note that whenever Teater left camp, “ a note requested that art buyers pin their payments to a bed blanket.”
Teater’s log cabin gallery still stands in downtown Jackson; his Jackson Hole Art Gallery is now home to J.C. Jewelers.
Another cool fact about Teater is that he and his wife, Patricia, commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design and build a custom home–that house is situated in Hagerman, Idaho. Boy, would I like to take a tour; if it’s anything like Fallingwater, I’ll swoon…….Wednesday evening, enjoy stories about the artist and view some of his works. Free for members, $3 for non-members. Refreshments served! 307-733-9605. www.jacksonholehistory.org
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Legacy Gallery has announced that artits David Mann, Merrill Mahaffey, Richard Hall, and Walt Wooten have joined the gallery. Legacy’s show Western Reflections is currently on display, and the gallery plans a Holiday Small Works Show, opening December 8, 2011. www.LegacyGallery.com
