National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
May 31-August 4
One of the most eagerly anticipated events on the Western art calendar, this year’s Prix de West opens the weekend of June 7 and 8 at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. With 90 artists expected to attend, the 52nd annual event, on view to the public from May 31 to August 4, offers treasures and treasured memories for collectors and aficionados alike. During Art Sale Weekend, the museum will host artist seminars, workshops, a cocktail reception, a live auction and an awards dinner on Saturday, June 8.
Glenn Dean, Land of the Navajo People, oil, 30 x 30.
From historic scenes to landscapes and wildlife depictions, to impressionistic and modern interpretations, the art of the Prix de West celebrates the land and people who comprise the rich tapestry of the American West. New exhibiting artists include Tony Abeyta, Dan Friday, Abigail Gutting, Jerry Jordan, Mary Whyte and Kim Wiggins.
George Carlson, Eagle Creek, oil on linen, 28 x 35.
George Carlson, who has participated in the Prix for over 40 years, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award this June. Only the fourth artist to be the recipient of this prestigious award, Carlson has had a profound influence on the field. His restless search for new ways to convey the manifold forms in nature and the cultures of the West has resulted in an unparalleled career. Within a single work such as EAGLE CREEK, Carlson’s art investigates entire worlds—the aquatic, the avian, the lapidary, the riparian.
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- Howard Post, Hillside Pens, oil, 24 x 30.
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- Don Oelze, In Uncharted Territory, oil on linen canvas, 44 x 46.
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- Ralph Oberg, Evening Elk Encounter, oil on linen, 24 x 36 in.
Many other contemporary masterworks will be exhibited and offered at this year’s show. Through the skillful handling of color, light, and especially shadow, Glenn Dean’s LAND OF THE NAVAJO puts an epic spin on three Diné racing under the spires of their desert home. Dean Mitchell’s elegiac portrait A MOMENT OF SILENCE sets a soldier’s reflection on war against a solid gray background of grief. Capturing a moment of cooperation in Western history, Don Oelze’s Native American guides direct two members of the U.S. Cavalry in the finely detailed oil IN UNCHARTED TERRITORY, while Ralph Oberg’s atmospheric painting EVENING ELK ENCOUNTER finds a bull elk and two cows leaping as a pack train startles them.
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- Terri Kelly Moyers, Dinner Time, Oil on gessobord, 24 x 36.
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- Dean Mitchell, A Moment of Silence, acrylic, 15 x 10.
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- Brett Allen Johnson, Arid Forms, oil on linen, 40 x 50.
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- Gerald Balciar, Cruising, 11 x 32.75 x 11.
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- Len Chmiel, Room with a View, Oil, 24 x 30.
Among the newcomers, Brett Allen Johnson’s modernist flair for the geological geometries of the West is on full display in ARID FORMS. Finally, artist T.D. Kelsey will design this year’s commemorative bolo, which will be available at Persimmon Hill Store. The Prix de West bolo is a tradition among attendees who proudly wear it throughout the weekend. —James D. Balestrieri
contact information
pdw.nationalcowboymuseum.org
This story appeared in the June/July 2024 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Subscribe today to read every issue in its entirety.