The Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale comes packaged as a combo with the National Western Stock Show every year in Denver. But with the pandemic still in full force this past winter, the National Western Stock Show was canceled, which left the Coors show locked out in the cold. 
Foster Grissim, Hitching Post, oil on linen, 36 x 60"
So the show organizers improvised. Rather than cancel the show altogether, Coors switched to a virtual format and rallied its artists and collectors together in a difficult year. The result was a $516,000 sale. It was down from $859,000 the year before, but organizers were pleased with the sales, response and virtual turnout. The show, which opened in December, ran through January 31. Proceeds from the sale supported the National Western Scholarship Trust.
Dan Sprick, Christ and the Devil, oil on panel, 60 x 60"
“We’ve sought creative ways to bring our National Western community together this season with the cancelation of the 2021 National Western Stock Show,” says National Western Scholarship Trust president and CEO Paul Andrews. “Since the Coors Art Show is always one of the highlights of the Stock Show, this virtual show allowed both artists and art buyers the outlet to come together and honor the Western way of life.” 
Maeve Eichelberger, Hollyhock, hand-etched and formed Plexiglass, 22 x 15 x12"
Coors curator, Rose Fredrick, adds, “What an amazing surprise to see so many patrons come out to support us in such a strange and crazy year. I’m so very grateful and truly hope we can all be back together in person next year.”
Award winners included Foster Grissim, who was given Best of Show for his work Hitching Post; Daniel Sprick, who won the artist’s choice award for his landscape Christ and the Devil; and the Coors Show Advisory Committee’s Centennial Award was given to Maeve Eichelberger for Hollyhock, a hand-etched and formed Plexiglass saddle.
For more information about the show visit www.coorswesternart.com. —
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