Explorations of Inuit history, a celebration of Black quilting pioneers, and an interactive look at Tejanos artists — check out some of the Western art events May has to offer.
As spring kicks into full gear, galleries across the West are celebrating the heritage and artistry of the West. Ring in the new season with these May art events.
Texas Masters of Fine Art and Craft Invitational Exhibition
May 24 – 26
This 21st annual event showcases 25 award-winning Texas artists displaying their original artwork. Known as the Texas Masters, the sale is produced and managed by the artists themselves.
Y.O. Ranch Hotel
Kerrville, Texas
469.223.4162
texasmasters.com
Native Treasures Art Market
May 25 – 26
Touted as Santa Fe’s only museum-quality art show and sale, this event put on by the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture presents more than 150 invitation-only Native American artists. The show features a wide range of art forms from traditional to contemporary and from emerging artists to masters.
Santa Fe Community Convention Center
Santa Fe, New Mexico
505.372.4508
museumfoundation.org
Western Art Show & Sale
May 25 – 27
This Phippen Museum Memorial Day weekend tradition celebrates its 50th anniversary and features some of the country’s most outstanding Western artists, quick-draw challenges, live art auctions, a “Hometown Hoedown,” and much more.
Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza
Prescott, Arizona
928.778.1385
phippenartmuseum.org
Seeing a World That Blind Lemon Jefferson Never Saw
Through May 30
Photographs by award-winning writer, poet, photographer, and filmmaker Alan Govenar depict rural East Texas and the early Dallas neighborhoods traversed by legendary blues singer Blind Lemon Jefferson. Characterized with chromatic elegance and depth, the images encapsulate the spectrum of human experience.
African American Museum
Dallas, Texas
214.565.9026
aamdallas.org
Corn Mothers
Through May 30
This exhibition is based on the Pueblo story of the Corn Mothers, who are said to have sung in the essence of creation, including the sacred Kachinas. The photo exhibition features multi-cultural and multi-generational women from Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas, who are known for their community activism and creative endeavors.
A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art
Trinidad, Colorado
719.846.4224
armitchellmuseum.com
Andy Warhol: Cowboys and Indians
Through June 1
Warhol’s 1986 portfolio of “Cowboys and Indians” features 14 prints that portray a fantasy vision of the American West. The iconic artist mixed historical figures and mass media interpretations of the past. The series includes portraits of actor John Wayne, sharpshooter Annie Oakley, President Teddy Roosevelt, Apache leader Geronimo, and military general George Custer.
Museum of the Big Bend
Alpine, Texas
432.837.8730
museumofthebigbend.com
Horizons: Weaving Between the Lines with Diné Textiles
Through June 2
This exhibit showcases more than 30 textiles and related items that reveal the material traces of artistic innovation and creative expression based on Diné history, lifeways, and cultural practices.
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
Santa Fe, New Mexico
505.476.1269
indianartsandculture.org
In Conversation: Will Wilson
Through June 2
This exhibition features works from Diné (Navajo) photographer Will Wilson‘s ongoing Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange project in tandem with photographs by Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868–1952). Wilson explores the relationship of science, identity, agency, and representation in photography. Curtis is best known for his 20-volume The North American Indian (1907–1930), which was created to help shape public perception of Native peoples.
Yellowstone Art Museum
Billings, Montana
406.256.6804
artmuseum.org
The Eddie Basha Collection
Through June 8
Eddie Basha’s passion for art combined his interest in American West history and his admiration of Native Americans. This exhibition features 93 pieces from his collection, one of the largest private collections of contemporary Western American and Native American art in the world.
Booth Western Art Museum
Cartersville, Georgia
770.387.1300
boothmuseum.org
Dorothea Lange & Pirkle Jones: Death of a Valley
Through June 9
Completed in 1956 for Life magazine by Dorothea Lange and Pirkle Jones, Death of a Valley was a collaborative photo essay documenting the final year of the Berryessa Valley in Napa County, California, as the area was becoming a lake with the construction of the Monticello Dam. The exhibition comprises historical and cultural documents as well as 20th-century photographs printed in vintage silver gelatin.
Booth Western Art Museum
Cartersville, Georgia
770.387.1300
boothmuseum.org
Master Glass: The Collaborative Spirit of Tony Jojola
Through September 21
This exhibition features the works of the late Tony Jojola (Isleta Pueblo), who worked through vibrantly hued blown and sculpted glass to express his perspective on Pueblo culture.
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
Santa Fe, New Mexico
505.982.4636
wheelwright.org
Women Artists of the West: 54th National Dreamweavers Show
Through June 23
Featuring 130 original paintings and sculptures, this exhibition presented by Women Artists of the West also includes tribute banners with historic materials and artwork created by its members.
Phippen Museum
Prescott, Arizona
928.778.1385
phippenartmuseum.org
Jean Olliver Potter, White Feathers, oil, 14" x 18" oil. On view at the Phippen Museum, Prescott, Arizona.
The Russells in Denver, 1921
Through June 30
An examination of Charles M. Russell’s historic solo show in Denver, this exhibition features some of the artworks from the original show that are considered among Russell’s masterpieces. It also highlights the role of Russell’s wife, Nancy, who organized the 1921 show and, as his manager, business partner, and publicist, was instrumental in helping him become one of the most prominent narrative artists of the American West.
Denver Art Museum
Denver, Colorado
720.865.5000
denverartmuseum.org
Lucho Soler Fine Pottery Art
Through June 30
Blending of old, new, Peruvian, and Southwest techniques and designs, Lucho Soler’s work has been showcased in galleries across the United States and in his native Peru. This exhibit features 40 of his finest handcrafted pieces that employ various techniques, such as fine gold appliqué, carving, and all-natural pigment paints and slips.
Amerind Museum
Dragoon, Arizona
520.586.3666
amerind.org
Raven Chacon: Three Songs
Through July 7
Featuring the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, performer, and installation Diné artist Raven Chacon, this show—the artist’s first in 10 years—includes projects that pay tribute to Indigenous women through sound, video, and visual work.
Harwood Museum of Art
Taos, New Mexico
575.758.9826
harwoodmuseum.org
Tejanos of Revolutionary Texas
Through July 7
This interactive exhibit tells the stories of Juan Seguin, José Antonio Navarro, and other Texans of Mexican descent during the state’s most volatile era. It concludes by examining how Tejanos were treated after independence and American statehood, and how Tejano communities survived and thrived in the face of adversity and racism.
The Bryan Museum
Galveston, Texas
409.632.7685
thebryanmuseum.org
Character in Context
Through July 27
Billed as “the largest show of illustration in the American West,” this show is curated by Elliot Lang and features the process of America’s preeminent illustrators and work from the A.R. Mitchell Museum collection that has not previously been displayed.
A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art
Trinidad, Colorado
719.846.4224
armitchellmuseum.com
Sagebrush and Solitude: Maynard Dixon in Nevada
Through July 28
The first comprehensive exhibition to document the early wandering and extended visits of Maynard Dixon to Nevada, Lake Tahoe, and the Eastern Sierra, this exhibit presents more than 100 paintings, drawings, poems, and printed ephemera created by the artist between 1901 and 1934.
Nevada Museum of Art
Reno, Nevada
775.329.3333
nevadaart.org
Steers to Market, 1936, Oil on canvas, 30 x 36 inches. Private Collection.
Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West
Through August 3
The Women of Color Quilters Network created quilts exploring the path of Black history in the West. The exhibition’s timeline of their original pictorial quilts begins in 1528, marking the arrival of Africans in the American West, and continues through the Civil Rights Movement.
Stark Museum of Art
Orange, Texas
409.886.2787
starkmuseum.org
Capturing the West: Timothy O’Sullivan, Pioneer Photographer
Through August 25
Timothy O’Sullivan, one of the first to document the Western landscape, has been hailed by Ansel Adams as one of the most important photographers of the 19th century and touted as a precursor to modernist photographers. This exhibit showcases photographs from O’Sullivan’s landmark Geographical Explorations and Surveys West of the 100th Meridian.
Speed Art Museum
Louisville, Kentucky
502.634.2700
speedmuseum.org
Out of Site: Survey Science and the Hidden West
May 18 – January 5
More than 90 works of art, including videos, photography, and archival materials from the mid-19th century to the present are featured in this exhibition. The show is broken up into three sections, which seek to revisit and revise visual technologies as applied to remote Western lands and places.
Autry Museum of the American West
Los Angeles, California
323.667.2000
theautry.org
HEADER IMAGE: Cowboy and Packhorse, 1934, Oil on canvas, 25 x 30 inches. Ray and Kay Harvey Collection
