Make no mistake about it, art does not sell itself. Gone are the days of oil tycoons coming into a Western show and buying cowboy artwork sight unseen. The dealers, the museums, the artists, the auction houses…everyone has to be savvier to sell art in the 21st century.
The Cowboy Artists of America at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art.
I mention this because it was a risky maneuver for the members of the Cowboy Artists of America to blaze their own trail after many years at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma. The group shared a show, Cowboy Crossings, with the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association, but in 2018 the CAA announced they were going to leave the museum and hold their own show, one not affiliated with another group or museum. The members would have to not only create artwork for the exhibition, but also organize the event, from the catering and ticketing to the parking and the lighting on the paintings. It would be difficult work, and would stretch the organization in ways it hadn’t been before.
But with great risk comes great reward: On November 1 and 2, the group held the 54th annual Cowboys Artists of America Sale & Exhibition at the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibit Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, and any fears, hesitations or misgivings about striking out on their own quickly dissipated as the group presented one of its best shows in years. Not only did art sales surpass $934,000, but more than 76 percent of the artwork was sold.
Bruce Greene with his best-of-show winner, While Ridin’ the Canyon Rim.
“I think it’s going fantastic. The energy here in the crowd, the numbers we have here…Fort Worth has given us a wonderful reception,” Jason Rich said during the two-day event. “We’re excited about the numbers we’re seeing, and we’re looking forward to building on what we’ve started here.”
Rich, who was at that time president of the CAA, added: “Moving out of the museum space, we realized how much they’ve done for us in the past. We’ve enjoyed this independence, but with independence comes more work—and it has been work, I won’t deny that. But we’re seeing the payoff here tonight.”
Many of the features that were present in Oklahoma were still fixtures of this year’s show, including an opening night reception, an autograph party and the fixed-price, by-draw sale. But many aspects of the show also skewed in new exciting directions. The art demonstrations, for instance, were held on-site—Martin Grelle and Bruce Greene set up impromptu studios side by side in the exhibit hall’s concourse area—but other artists were posted at nearby museums such as the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame and the Sid Richardson Museum. Other museums nearby, including the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and the Kimbell Art Museum, were within walking distance for visitors to enjoy between events.
Another unique little addition was the friends and family of the artists who were stationed at the bid boxes during the sale. At a museum show these tasks—helping guests make bids, answering questions, pulling bids from the box during the draw and collecting information from buyers—would usually be done by volunteers or docents. But without a museum, these jobs landed within the CAA itself, which resulted in a more personal experience. Bidders were working directly with Valerie Dudash, wife of painter C. Michael Dudash; Joyce Grelle, wife of painter Martin Grelle; jeweler Bo Joe, son of sculptor and painter Oreland Joe; and many others. Even Kari Rich, Jason Rich’s wife, who was hired to organize the entire event from the ground up, was checking in collectors at the ticketing table.
1. Martin Grelle paints with a live audience. 2. The 54th annual Cowboy Artists of America show. 3. Harold Holden, left, and Grant Redden during the by-draw sale. 4. Bill Nebeker, second from right, and Merry Nebeker, far left, with guests. 5. Bruce Greene accepts the award for best of show near Red Steagall. 6. Painter Tom Browning flanked by InSight Gallery owners Stephen and Elizabeth Harris. 7. Briscoe Western Art Museum president and CEO Michael Duchemin with artist Donna Howell-Sickles. 8. Reagan Stephens, winner of the youth Cowboy Art Contest. 9. Joyce Hopkins and John Coleman. 10. Bids fill a box for a John Coleman painting. 11. Paul Moore, left, Dustin Payne and Bill Nebeker. 12. Martin Grelle, left, and Mike Fox, director and CEO at Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West. 13. Oreland Joe, right, with his son Bo Joe. Top sellers at this year show included Grelle, who sold all five of his submitted paintings; Phil Epp, who sold five of seven, all of them large paintings; Tyler Crow, who sold all seven of his submitted drawings and paintings; and Chad Poppleton, Clark Kelley Price and Teal Blake, who all sold well and had significant interest from bidders. But if you had to pick a star of the night, it would most certainly go to Mikel Donahue, who not only sold all seven of his works, but also was awarded gold medals in the mixed media and drawing categories, as well as a silver medal in the water soluble category. Other gold medal winners were Epp in the water soluble catagory, Bruce Greene in sculpture and Grant Redden in oil painting. The Ray Swanson Memorial Award went to Harold Holden, while the award for the best body of work went to Price. The best of show went to Greene for his 38-inch-tall bronze While Ridin’ the Canyon Rim.
Phil Epp, Hilltop View, acrylic on board, 30 x 40”
One other highlight from exhibition was the sale itself. Not only were pieces selling, but they were selling at each phase of the draw, offering consistent action from the first bell to the last. When collectors weren’t drawn on the first round, they meandered through the gallery to put their names down on something else. In several instances, second- and third-drawn bidders eagerly waited for the sale to proceed before they could claim their works. It created an exciting mood from within the exhibition.
Dan Corazzi, Western art collector and prominent voice within the Western art community, called the show a success for the CAA. “I think it bodes very well for the future. It’s definitely a positive for them and for all of Western art when we see the final numbers—over 70 percent sell-through and more than $900,000 in sales—that they had,” says Corazzi, who’s the chair of the Prix de West committee at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. “Also, beyond the actual artwork, putting on a show like that is much more complex than anyone can imagine. In the past, the museums would put on the shows for them; but at their new venue, they had to manage the entire show. As a result, they were responsible for all the behind-the-scenes aspects—from marketing, managing the show’s website, planning for the schedule of events, hanging the show and then handling the actual sale on the night of the show. And finally, when it all ended, they had to oversee taking down, crating and shipping out all of the artwork. So, all in all, what they accomplished this year was quite impressive.”
The show was such as success it has already been decided that it will get a sequel later this year in Fort Worth, and Blake will lead the group to that point as the new CAA president. “Honestly, I was quite nervous going into the show. I was familiar with Fort Worth, but Fort Worth wasn’t familiar with the CA. It was my biggest concern, but even after the first night I knew we came to the right place,” the Texas painter says. “It was a banner year for us and a big step forward. And it had one of the largest percentages of young and new collectors we’ve ever seen. It’s the next generation of collector who wants to get involved, and that’s giving us a ton of momentum as we move into the future.” —
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