Posts from ‘Fine Art’
Kuhn, Bob (1920-2007) – Lookout Rock Cougar
More phenomenal, important works are coming in to the Jackson Hole Art Auction, taking place on Saturday, September 14th, 2013 at Jackson Hole’s Center for the Arts. The auction, produced jointly by Trailside Galleries of Jackson, WY and Scottsdale, AZ, and the Gerald Peters Gallery of Santa Fe, NM, will be presenting the seventh annual Jackson Hole Art Auction this year. The auction is a “grand finale” to Jackson’s annual Fall Arts Festival.
Highlights for the 2013 auction include significant works by Roy Andersen, William de la Montagne Cary, John Clymer, Maynard Dixon, Henry Farny, E. Martin Hennings, Thomas Hill, W.H.D. Koerner, Bob Kuhn, Wilhelm Kuhnert, Frank McCarthy, Kenneth Riley, Carl Rungius, Richard Schmid, Charles Schreyvogel, Olaf Wieghorst, Henriette Wyeth, Eustace Paul Ziegler, and more. The images in this post are just a few of recently consigned works up for sale.
Hill, Thomas (1829-1908), Yosemite
And, rumor has it that there will be some exciting new dynamics in motion at this year’s event, so be sure to check in with auction headquarters! In Jackson, auction headquarters are upstairs at Trailside Galleries, 130 East Broadway, just a block off Town Square. Enter the gallery (look around, it’s beautiful!) then head up the stairs and to the rear of the second floor to view many works that will be up for sale. You can also speak with auction representatives about auction details.
The Jackson Hole Art Auction is currently accepting quality consignments for 2013. Whether you have an extensive collection or a few rarities, call their office at 866-549-9278, or visit their website at www.jacksonholeartauction.com.
“I asked the earth. I asked the sea and the deeps, among the living animals, the things that creep. I asked the winds that blow. I asked the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars, and to all things that stand at the doors of my flesh…My question was the gaze I turned to them. Their answer was their beauty.” ~ St. Augustine
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Public Art is thriving here in Jackson Hole. Installations spring up all over town. But what about non-public arts initiatives? To an extent all art is public; people can go see it or hear it. True public art is free for us to enjoy—by definition a public service. But other art projects and exhibitions, theatrical plays, music experiences, children’s art projects and even arts curriculum rely in part — sometimes fully—on turnstile dollars and funding. Art access is not always free, and arts groups need money to make projects happen: to create costumes, rent space, purchase materials, advertise, provide refreshments, update websites, create curriculum, pay talent, staff and travel costs….the list goes on.
The Jackson Hole Cultural Council’s “Arts for All” program has received limited funding dollars from the Town and County. How the amount is arrived at is unclear. I assume the amount would be part of a budget request from the Town and County, available in pubic records. Given the number of non-profit arts groups and individuals requesting grants, it stands to reason that amounts the Cultural Council receives from a limited fund would leave arts organizations a bit hog-tied.
Anyone requesting grant money from any source must be aware grants are evaluated in multiple ways. Usually there are clear rules about submission processes. Hence, all requests should be submitted only when they are as polished and thorough as possible. We do have an astounding number of arts organizations for a town our size. The message of how much the Town of Jackson’s arts scene means to its profile is clearer each year.
The Cultural Council of Jackson Hole plans to go before Town and County officials on Tuesday, May 14, at 9:40 am, to defend this year’s “Arts for All” funding application. Whatever amount the Council is requesting (I don’t have that number) your voice (here is mine!) matters. Attend the meeting that day and help the Council get their message across. The meeting takes place at County Commissioner Chambers on Simpson Street. For information contact Alissa Davies at culturalcounciljh@gmail.com.
A. Warhol – Plains Indian Shield. Serigraph, 36×36″
“The American West has given rise to myths and legends. Warhol, with [his series] ‘Cowboys and Indians’ has deftly tapped in to that vast resevoir of powerful images that somehow relate to reality, but also mystify it.” ~ MoMa
Altamira Fine Art has unveiled an impressive and exciting assembly of recent aquisitions. The lion’s share of new works come from Altamira’s exceptional roster of Contemporary Western artists; a few are exquisite works by deceased masters. Artists with new work in the gallery are Rocky Hawkins, Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), R. Tom Gilleon, Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Duke Beardsley, Bill Schenck, Jared Sanders, Dan Namingha (sublime), Harvey Thomas Dunn (1884-1952) and Ed Mell.
I’ll be writing about all these artists as the season progresses, but today I’ll tell you a bit about Warhol, Schenck and Namhinga.
A Pittsburgh native, Warhol built his fame in New York, and remains one of the world’s most influential artists. He’s considered by many to be the king of Pop Art; toward the end of his life he turned his attention to Western themes. I’ve often thought that his late-in-life interest in landscape, Western symbols and icons sprang from some unconscious knowledge that time was short. He’d also purchased land at the end of Long Island that was, in that era, remote. The natural setting affected the artist. Warhol’s “Plains Indian Shield” is pictured above, and is available at Altamira. Warhol’s Western themed work is relatively scarce, and for Western art collectors, very special.
A Pop artist of high reputation himself, Schenck is, in part, returning to one of his earlier styles. His flattened, pointillistic black and white images of a black-haired, almost unbuttoned, sunglassed cowgirl harkens back to Roy Lichtenstein’s cartoon-like “commentaries” on Pop. Interestingly, Lichtenstein was also interested in Western themes early on in his career. Schenck’s “True Romance State III” ( 60 x 50″, shown at left) is at once sexy, beckoning, and contains a touch of humor.
Paul Bransom (1885-1979) -Jackson Hole, Wyo- 13 x 17″ Oil
You think you’ve seen everything, and suddenly a gem crosses your path. This gem is an oldie, but it shines. It’s history, and a wonderful window into our valley’s arts and wilderness tradition. We are a plein air paradise. A few days ago I paid a visit to Astoria Fine Art and visited the collection of plein air paintings of the Tetons currently in house. The collection is not a true show, but viewed together these works afford an excellent “view” of the many ways artists have painted this valley.
For me, the most exciting find was a scene painted by Paul Bransom (1885-1979). Bransom, notes the gallery (and the gallery credits the National Museum of Wildlife Art), “was a prominent early-American illustrator, having completed covers for the Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, Country Gentleman and Good Housekeeping. Beginning in 1947, Bransom spent 16 summers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He met many other artists and illustrators in Jackson, and together they taught classes and started Teton Artists Associated.” Another source says Bransom’s commissions included illustrations for Kipling’s “Just So Stories” and Grahame’s “Wind in the Willows.”
Teton Artists Association, circa 1947, Jackson Hole.
Astoria’s Bart Monson was kind enough to provide an historic photograph of plein air artists painting in the valley; the photo dates circa 1947. The image, from the Archives of American Art, is assumed to be a photograph of Teton Artists Associated members painting en plein air. Phenomenal!
Astoria, says owner Greg Fulton, recently acquired four historical paintings depicting the Teton Range. Those and other contemporary works are available to see; artists include Conrad Schwiering, Scott Christensen, Carol Swinney, Jim Wilcox, romantic landscape painter Linda Tuma Robertson, and more. www.astoriafineart.com
Cross my heart and can’t wait to do it again, one of the great highlights of my 2012 arts summer was the culmination of the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters’ (RMPAP) “Plein Air for the Park” National Paint-Out & Show. Last July, approximately 40 plein air artists converged in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) and the Jackson Hole area, painting their hearts out for two weeks. All paintings completed were exhibited and sold in a three-day event at GTNP’s Craig Thomas Discovery Center (CTDC), in Moose, Wyoming.
The place was PACKED. And there are those who missed last year’s event still notifying me they wish they’d been there. Recently, a senior Park employee confided to me that the Park, as a collective, loved the event. It all went off so beautifully that RMPAP is returning this summer, July 8 – 21st, 2013. The event benefits GTNP and is hosted by the Park and the Grand Teton Association (GTA). This year’s opening reception, at the CTDC, takes place Thursday, July 18th, beginning at 7pm. Awards will be presented at 7:45 by this year’s Judge, Chris Moran.
A Quick Draw takes place Saturday, July 20th, beginning at 9:00am, at Menor’s Ferry in GTNP. The public can watch paintings being created from start to finish; they then may purchase paintings right off the easel at the fixed-price sale immediately following, 11am – 12 noon. Approximately 44 professional, recognized artists will participate in this, RMPAP’s 12th Annual National Show.
The GTA began collecting works of art on behalf of the Park over 50 years ago; the collection has become a valuable part of GTNP’s legacy. Last year, two works were purchased by GTA for the Park’s permanent collection; two more were purchased by patrons and donated to the Park. AND, last year’s event raised close to $21,000 for GTA!
“It is a thrill and a pleasure to be back in GTNP and working with Grand Teton Association again this year,” says RMPAP President (and participating artist) Stephen C. Datz. “We welcome the opportunity to continue the artistic tradition at the Park, expand public awareness and appreciation of plein-air painting, and in so doing benefit the exceptional efforts of the GTA on behalf of the Park.”
