Here’s a roundup of art exhibitions, sales, and happenings on view and opening throughout June, July, and August.
Through July 14
Horseplay
Illustrator Tom Lovell’s work took many forms, from covers and illustrations for pulp fiction magazines to historical drawings for National Geographic. This exhibition features Lovell’s rarely seen horse sketches and studies, and reveals how he developed ideas and practiced rendering equine movement, anatomy, proportion, and personality. National Cowboy Museum & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, 405.478.2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org
Through July 19
John Hoskin | J.L. Grief Western Photography
Documenting the American and Canadian ranch lifestyle, self-taught Canadian-born photographer John Hoskin captures the essence and grandeur of the West on both sides of the border with a unique and artistic eye. A new exhibition of his work, running in conjunction with the Sheridan WYO Rodeo, comprises roughly 25 traditional ranch, horse, rodeo, and Western landscape photographs. Meet the artist at a reception on June 13. SAGE Community Arts, Sheridan, Wyoming, 307.674.1970, artinsheridan.com
Through August 18
The Art of the Brick
Touted as the largest, most elaborate display of artwork constructed using only LEGO bricks, this exhibit by contemporary artist Nathan Sawaya features original pieces as well as LEGO reproductions of such famous masterpieces as Michelangelo’s David, van Gogh’s Starry Night, da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, and Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring. Other highlights include a hands-on creative space, 20-foot-long T. Rex skeleton, giant LEGO skull, and an original interpretation of Dallas’ signature red winged horse, Pegasus. Perot Museum, Dallas, 214.428.5555, perotmuseum.org
Click on the image above to view the slideshow for Day to Night: In the Field with Stephen Wilkes.
Through August 18
Day to Night: In the Field with Stephen Wilkes
National Geographic photographer Stephen Wilkes’ avian-themed exhibition was birthed in 2017 while on assignment for an article documenting bird migrations. Featuring four bird species — black-browed albatrosses in the Falkland Islands; northern gannets on Bass Rock, off the coast of Scotland; sandhill cranes on Nebraska’s Platte River; and lesser flamingos on Kenya’s Lake Bogoria —the beautiful images belie the effort and patience it took to produce them. Crafting each picture by shooting up to 2,000 images from a fixed camera angle continuously for up to 36 hours, Wilkes then selects approximately 50 of the images and blends them into a final photograph that seamlessly captures one location as it transitions from day to night. The intricate detail of the mega-prints — each measuring roughly 7 feet tall and 12 feet wide — reveals details and encourages lingering. National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, Wyoming, 307.733.5771, wildlifeart.org
Click on the image above to view the slideshow for Rungius Sesquicentennial — Rungius Reunited and Rarely Seen Rungius.
Through August 25
Rungius Sesquicentennial — Rungius Reunited and Rarely Seen Rungius
Dual exhibitions celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of renowned wildlife artist Carl Rungius. Rungius Reunited features eight large-scale paintings that once hung in the Jackson Lake Lodge in the 1960s. Rarely Seen Rungius comprises more than 40 works, including watercolors, drypoint prints, landscape studies, and archival materials that are rarely on view. National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, Wyoming, 307.733.5771, wildlifeart.org
Through September 2
Looking West: An Exhibition Highlighting Works by American Women Artists
The fourth show in American Women Artists’ 25 in 25 campaign, this juried show and sale features 150 paintings and sculptures by AWA members. A free artists reception is scheduled June 28, followed on June 29 by a free Symposium on Women in the Arts with artists Heide Presse, Carol Carter, and Donna Howell-Sickles, and author Jann Gilmore. Steamboat Art Museum, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, 970.870.1755, steamboatartmuseum.org
July 5 – 7
Cherry Creek Arts Festival
Consistently ranked among the nation’s top arts festivals, this event transforms Denver’s Cherry Creek North neighborhood into a juried fine art and fine craft market. This year’s festival features artworks by 260 artists and five emerging artists working across 13 different mediums, artist demos, interactive family-friendly art projects, food, live entertainment, plus a ticketed concert. Cherry Creek North Shopping District, Denver, 303.335.2787, cherrycreekartsfestival.org
July 5 – 14
Calgary Stampede Art & Lifestyle Show
One of the major destination areas of the legendary Calgary Stampede, the Western Oasis offers multiple venues showcasing artwork from established as well as emerging artists working in everything from fine art, photography, and crafts to culinary and performing arts. Venues include the Artist Ranch Project, Maker Market, Kitchen Theatre, and Window on the West stages, photo gallery, and artist studios, BMO Centre, Halls A, D, and E, Calgary, Canada, 403.261.9251, westernshowcase.com
July 7 – August 31
Pageant of the Masters
Travel around the world past, present, and future with this year’s theme of “The Time Machine.” Art comes to life in tableaux that portray masterworks and master storytelling, including F.A. Bridgman’s Cleopatra on the Terraces of Philae, Georges Seurat’s Les Poseuses, Jake and Dinos Chapman’s Ubermensch, Johannes Vermeer’s The Music Lesson, a poster from 20th Century Fox’s The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. Irvine Bowl, Laguna Beach, California, 800.487.3378, foapom.com
July 11
Gold Palette ArtWalk Summer Spectacular
Scottsdale’s Art District takes on a Caribbean flavor as art enthusiasts are transported to the tropics with festive music and other entertainment. Cool off with fruit- and cucumber-infused ice water, flavored teas, and wine as participating galleries feature exhibits by national and international artists and serve cold refreshments. Along Main Street and Marshall Way, Scottsdale, Arizona, scottsdalegalleries.com
July 13 – 14
Prescott Indian Art Market
Directed by a council of seven Native artists, this juried Indian art market features traditional and contemporary artwork from about 110 artists representing 30 tribes and pueblos. You’ll find wood and stone carvings, traditionally made pottery, ceramics, sculpture, paintings, handwoven baskets, blankets, clothing, and jewelry as well as Native musicians, dancers, and storytellers. Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott, Arizona, 928.277.2013, sharlot.org/piam
July 13 – 15
International Folk Art Market Santa Fe
The world’s largest international folk art festival offers unique textiles, jewelry, basketry, rugs, and other wares by 150-plus brilliantly clad master artists from more than 50 countries around the world. More than just a treasure trove to explore, the event generates revenue that helps sustain entire communities. To date, market activities have touched an estimated 1.3 million lives worldwide. Museum Hill, Santa Fe, 505.992.7600, folkartmarket.org
July 20
Native POP: People of the Plains — A Gathering of Arts and Culture
This juried Native fine art show and cultural celebration features original work by Native visual artists focusing on Great Plains culture, as well as performing artists, a fashion show, and Native film showcase. You’ll need a ticket to preview the art and meet the artists at an awards presentation and reception at the Dahl Arts Center on July 19. Main Street Square, Rapid City, South Dakota, 605.394.4101, nativepop.org
July 19 – 31
Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show & Sale
Now in its 39th year, this annual event includes an opening-night ticketed reception at the governor’s residence, live auction, and dinner. The exhibit features artworks by 60 top Western artists such as Meagan and Michael Blessing, Joshua Tobey, and Carrie Wild, working in canvas, wood, alabaster, and bronze. All artwork remains on view through August 18. CDF Old West Museum, Cheyenne, Wyoming, 307.778.7289, cfdartshow.com
July 27
The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction
Frederic Remington, C.M. Russell, Howard Terpning, Edgar Payne, and John Clymer are among the featured artists in this year’s auction of high-end Western American paintings. For more than 30 years, the auction has represented past masters and outstanding contemporary artists. Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, Nevada, 208.772.9009, cdaartauction.com
August 2 – 4
Park City Kimball Arts Festival
All part of this year’s 50th anniversary fest: roughly 225 artists working in ceramics, drawing, digital art, fiber, glass, jewelry, painting, photography, sculpture, and wood; a kids’ activity area; drop-in art-making activities for adults — as well as a retrospective and activities celebrating the event’s 50-year milestone. Festival goers can also enjoy live music on three stages and food trucks. Historic Main Street, Park City, Utah, 435.649.8882, parkcitykimballartsfestival.org
August 2 – 4
Art on the Green
Celebrating its 51st year, this on-campus highlight of the summer is part marketplace for handcrafted works in glass, clay, leather, wood, metal, and fiber; part juried fine art show of paintings and sculpture; part performance space and gathering place. With 160 artist booths, a student art booth, and a clothesline for hanging newly created art, there’s art everywhere. Kids can create their own at hands-on areas, and grownups can try the new pottery and watercolor classes. Live music on two stages plus food and a beer and wine garden add to the festivities. North Idaho College, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, 208.667.9346, artonthegreencda.com
August 2 – 31
Star Liana York: Horses of History
An avid horsewoman based outside Abiquiú, New Mexico, this prolific artist will unveil three new pieces in a new exhibition of more than 100 of her artworks. Works include two monumental pieces, rock-art mares (based on ancient cave drawings), plus contemporary Western horses and mares. Sorrel Sky Gallery, Santa Fe, 505.501.6555, sorrelsky.com
August 3
Bighorn Rendezvous Quick Draw
Sixteen sculptors, pastelists, painters, watercolorists, and print and graphite artists are participating in a quick draw on The Brinton Museum grounds on the historic Quarter Circle A Ranch. The event is part of the museum’s American Indian Day celebration with Native music and dancing, and a dinner and auction in the evening. The Brinton Museum, Big Horn, Wyoming, 307.672.3173, thebrintonmuseum.org
Photography: (featured and slideshow 1: Day to Night: In the Field with Stephen Wilkes) Northern gannets/Bass Rock, Scotland. During breeding season, 150,000 gannets throng this island in the Firth of Forth. In winter the birds decamp south as far as West Africa. To make this image, Wilkes and an assistant lugged his gear 122 steps uphill and set up near the ruins of a church about six feet from the nesting birds. Standing on the rocky ground for 28 sleepless hours, he took 1,176 photos. “It’s like a meditative state,” he says. “I’m alert to everything. I’m seeing everything.” He selected about 150 photos to make this image. Photographed with permission of the Dalyrymple family and the Scottish Seabird Centre. Photo by Stephen Wilkes; Lesser flamingos/Lake Bogoria, Kenya. The lesser flamingos of Africa’s Great Rift Valley thrive in the extreme environment of high-altitude soda lakes, feeding on algal blooms that are toxic to many other creatures. The birds are not migratory but nomadic, traveling from one lake to another, wherever food is plentiful. Wilkes shot 1,742 photos over 36 hours from a 30-foot scaffolding wrapped in camouflage, capturing the endless movements of the flamingos and the marabou storks stalking them. He chose about 30 for this image. Photo by Stephen Wilkes/National Geographic; Black-browed albatrosses and southern rockhopper penguins. Steeple Jason, Falkland Islands. Albatrosses roost by the sea, sharing the grassy incline with penguins. While these albatrosses sit on their nests, warming and protecting their chicks, their partners soar above the ocean, swooping down to catch prey. The birds winter on the Patagonian Shelf and in estuaries in Argentina, and return to the same colony. To reach this remote location, Wilkes made his way through a phalanx of angry striated caracaras. Standing on a mound of tussac grass for a better vantage, he took 926 photos in 26 hours, using about 80 to make this image. Photographed with permission of the Wildlife Conservation Society. Photo by Stephen Wilkes/National Geographic; Stephen Wilkes. Photo by Chris Janjic; Day to Night: In the Field with Stephen Wilkes at the National Museum of Wildlife Art is organized and traveled by National Geographic Society; (Slideshow 2: Rungius Sesquicentennial — Rungius Reunited and Rarely Seen Rungius) Wolverine in a Rocky Mountain Landscape, Alberta, 1919. Oil on canvas, 33.858 x 44.094 inches. Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, WY. Gift of Jackson Hole Preserve, Inc. 16.93.3; Near Long Lake, 1926. Drypoint on Paper.7 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches. JKM Collection®, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Estate of Carl Rungius; Out of the Canyon, 1937. Drypoint on Paper. 7 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches. JKM Collection®, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Estate of Carl Rungius; American Black Bear, 1929. Oil on canvas. 61 ½ × 76 ½ inches. Jackson Hole Preserve, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Estate of Carl Rungius; Mule Deer in the Badlands, Dawson County, Montana, 1914. Oil on canvas, 59.625 x 75.25 inches. Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, WY. Gift of Jackson Hole Preserve, Inc. 16.93.2; Carl Rungius, from the Glenbow Archives NA-3466-54
