The Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale returns for the 41st edition in celebrating prestigious art works that depict life in the West, while raising money for the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce. Every year patrons flock to the esteemed event hosted at the Buffalo Bill Center in Cody, Wyoming, along with participating artists, making for what the Buffalo Bill director Kathy Thompson calls “a big reunion” and a “fun party.”
Mark McKenna, Embrace, oil, 40 x 40”
“We’re very successful for a small town of 10,000,” Thompson says. “Our guests come because they haven’t seen people in person in awhile, and they’re all bonded by the Center of the West. They’re more relaxed when they get here due, in part, by the natural beauty of Cody.”
Like many years before, the show and sale will be no different, in that there will be many traditional and contemporary Western styles in a variety of mediums by prominent artists, both new and returning. While there are many events scheduled during the week-long show, like the popular quickdraw and sale to follow on Saturday, September 24, the main attraction happens on Friday, September 23, during the live auction.
Campbell Dosch, Wisdom in the Wind, bronze, 43 x 36 x 16”
Approximately 100 artists will be featured in the fast-paced sale, presenting masterpieces like Mark McKenna’s oil painting Embrace, a special piece for the artist and for people who live in the Cody area. “These are two wild horses from the McCullough Peaks Herd Management Area, just east of Cody. When choosing this composition, I was first moved by the interaction between the animals. I love the way that horses groom and care for each other…When you’re in a herd, you take care of each other. I also love the rugged beauty of these animals—the mud, the scars, the matted and twisted hair. They are survivors and they’ve been through a lot.”
Joseph McGurl, Morning Light – Glen Canyon, oil, 18 x 24”
Terry Donahue, Locked In, pastel, 26 x 39½”
Newcomer Joe McGurl will feature his epic landscape painting Morning Light – Glen Canyon. “[This piece] was derived from field studies painted on location in Glen Canyon, [Utah],” the artist explains. One of the themes that has fascinated me for some time is sunlight reflecting on the surface of water. It’s such an elusive phenomenon because in a way it doesn’t exist…The reflection is in constant motion, is incredibly bright and it can obscure solid objects in its path…It’s a challenge to recreate the sensation with paint…I found this view of the canyon with the water reflecting the sunlight, and I was excited because this was a whole new scenario to explore in the theme.I had to find new ways to modify the warm, pale colors of the surrounding landscape to make the reflection appear to glow.”
Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming.
Additional works include Campbell Dosch’s Native American themes found in bronze sculpture Wisdom in the Wind; Terry Donahue’s pastel bear depiction Locked In; Thomas Kegler’s darkened landscape By the Light, Psalms 75: 15-17; and Jeremy Bradshaw’s bronze Fox Trot. There will be plenty of opportunities to purchase works besides the Live Auction Event, like the Scout’s Miniature Sale, the Buy it Now donation sale and pieces created from the quickdraw. There will also be an award ceremony where the coveted Spirit of the Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale is given to one stand-out artist. Patrons are encouraged to visit the show website to see the full list and details of events. —
Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale
September 19-24, 2022
Scout’s Miniature Sale, June 3-Sept. 12
Live Auction Event, Sept. 23, 5-10 p.m.
Quick Draw & Brunch, Sept. 24, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Buffalo Bill Center of the West, 720 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, WY 82414
(307) 587-5002, www.buffalobillartshow.org
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