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Steve Kestrel (b. 1948)

Vanishin! / Gila

2014, Granophyric obsidian and sandstone,

t3l/2x13x9 t/4in.0n view at the 2014 Prix de West

, ,..n Oklahoma City, the National Cowboy.,"' & Western Heritage Museum will soon

host its annual Prix de West invitational, on viewto the public ]une l3-August 3. Historically, thisexhibition's opening weekend (June 13-14) is

among the liveliest and best attended in West-ern art, with all eyes focused on the fixed-pricesale of its more than 300 paintings and sculp-tures, made by the field's leading artists.

The commercial failure of the Hollywoodremake of The Lone Ranger (2013) exemplifiesyounger Americans' rapidly dissipating interestin "cowboys and Indians," once the most popu-lar markers of the fascinatingly complex evolu-tion of the American West. The public's gradualshift in focus to different Western themes will

'surely be evident through the sheer diversity ofsubjects in this summer's exhibition: they willrange from the customary rodeos and reserva-

tions to landscapes, wildlife, figures, and his-torical scenes both epic and intimate. Moreover,these will be depicted in a surprisingly broadarray of sryles and media; it is revealing that, lastyear, the prestigious Prix de West award entail-ing the museum's purchase of the winning art-work went to Steve Kestrel's stone sculpture ofa snake writhing against a landscape. (Not sur-prisingly, the list of artists who have won prizeshere reads like a whot who in Western art.)

Founded in 1955 as a Cowboy Hall ofFame, the renamed National Cowboy & West-

ern Heritage Museum has evolved into aworld-aware institution that preserves, exhibits, andinterprets its rich collections ofart, artifacts, andarchir.al materials. Regularly on view in its gal-

leries and grounds are works of historical andcontemporary art - made by both Natives andnon-Natives - as well as books, photographs,firearms, and experiential displays devoted tofrontier life, cattle towns, and the rodeo.

The sawiestvisitors knowto visit the muse-um's Sam Noble Special Events Center, whichcontains an efiraordinary decorative scheme

executed by the painter Wilson Hurley (1924-

FineArtconnoisseulcom I May/June 2014 97

Scott Burdick (b. 1967)

Navajo Mother and Daughter

2014, Oil on linen,30 x 30 in.

0n view at the 2074 Prix de West

Former 0klahoma Governor

Frank Keating with his wife, Cathy,

attending last year's Prix de West

opening celebration

98 May/ June 2O\4

Jeremy Lipking (b. 1975)

Silence and Sagebrusfi

2U4,On on linen, 58 x 36 in.

0n view at the 2014 Prix de West

2008) between 1991 and 1996. Wndows to the

Wesf is a group of five "suites" (actually triptychsmeasuring 16 feet high) evoking the confluenceof slgz and land at sunset in New Mexico, Cali-fornia, Arizona, Utah, and \t/yoming.

Hurley's journey to this very permanenthonor was unusual. Born in Tulsa to the manwho would become President Herbert Hoo-ver's secretary of war, Hurley succeeded as a

lawyer in Albuquerque and flew fighter jets

in Vietnam before teaching himsell to paint.Though his father disinherited him and hiswife divorced him, he followed through on hisdream of pursuing art full-time at the age of 41,

and ultimately found success with luminousand atmospheric scenes of nature inspired bysuch l9th-century masters as Bierstadt andMoran, who had also painted the West.

Unlike his forerunners, Hurley drew uponhis visual experience as a pilot to capture theeffects of light hitting cloud formations and cliffs,

as well as the ever-changing impact of weather,

hour, and season on our perception of these

sublime vistas. Although a similarly huge Hurleycycle hangs at the Oklahoma State Capitol, this

set is especially appropriate in viett of the Prix de

West award he won here in 1984, only two dec-

ades after he took the plunge into fine art."I'm not a Western artist, reai11.," Hurley

once said. "I just live in the \Alest." His words

must be heard by those who *'ould still mar-ginalize art from the West. It's Americanart first, and the best of it deserves attentionnationalll,, no less than the best art from any

other region.

Information: Advance reservatiotls are required for the

opening x,eekend o/ Prix de \\'est, r'fuich itrcltLdes semi-

nars, receptions, the awards baluluet, o11d the fixed-pricesale. 1700 NE 63rd Street, Oklahottrl Cit)', OK 73111,

405. 47 8, 22 50, nationalcowb o), n1 use a t 1. o rg

Kelly Compton is a contributing \rriter to Fine ArtConnoisseur.

Len Chmiel (b.1942)A Congregation of Murmurs, Taylor River

2U4,On on linen,40 x 54 in.

0n view at the 2014 Prix de West

Prx de West Committee Chairman Greg

Simon with Board Director Greg Braddock

at last year's opening celebration

I May/June 2o!4 99