Work and play, story and cinema, landscape and legends—they all layer together to shape our view of the American West. Both the real and romanticized West is the center of Maura Allen’s work.
My West is Kodachrome, acrylic on panel, 36 x 24”
Each piece begins on location with the artist looking directly into the sun. With details obscured, Allen looks for strong, iconic silhouettes. As a black-and-white photographer for 40-plus years, she’s drawn to shape, gesture and graphic forms. In her studio in Prescott, Arizona, she creates original mixed media pieces on wood, glass and steel. “My work has a distinct, contemporary feel, but also a sense the past is present,” she says.
The Light of Western Stars, framed in steel, mixed media on panel, 36”
Allen studied Latin/classical studies at Stanford University, learning how iconic figures, myth and moments define a culture. “With ranchers and wranglers as my trusted guides, I realized the same cultural forces were at play in the West—history, hard work and heroes,” shared the artist. 
One Fine Day, acrylic on panel, 40 x 40”
Allen has shown and sold her work in top galleries for more than 15 years, and upcoming shows include Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West (her 10th year) and at Mountain Trails Gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for the start of the summer season. —
WANT TO SEE MORE?
www.mauraallen.com
art@mauraallen.com
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