A sweeping view of downtown Austin. Photo by Mitchell Kmetz.

Each of the artists, and many others, have blazed a trail and quite literally carved their names into the history of Texas art. So it’s no wonder we continue to see exceptional work coming from Texan artists to this day. Take Robert Pummill, for example. His soft, yet detailed oils capture the heart and diversity of the Texan landscape, from fields of wildflowers to cowboys wrangling steer to buffalo charging through a blazing prairie.

Roping cattle during the 2022 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Courtesy Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The Lone Star State is also home to several of the biggest institutions in the country dedicated to Western (and of course, Texas-based art). Among these are the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, the Museum of the Big Bend in Alpine, the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin and the Dallas Museum of Art. Clifton-based Bosque Arts Center holds its annual Bosque Art Classic every year, as does the Briscoe Western Art Museum with the anticipated Night of Artists exhibition in San Antonio. There’s really no shortage of Western art events to attend throughout the year, from gallery shows to museum events to auctions.

The Dallas Belo Garden, a nearly 2-acre park located in downtown Dallas, Texas. Courtesy Visit Dallas.

Enjoy diving into the many artists, museums, auction houses and art institutions that call this larger-than-life state home.

InSight Gallery, Farm Fresh, oil, 36 x 24", by Daniel Gerhartz.

InSight Gallery represents a select group of the finest painters and sculptors living and working today in landscape, figurative, impressionistic, still life, wildlife and Western art.  Located in charming Fredericksburg, Texas, a thriving tourist destination in the Hill Country, the gallery is housed in a beautifully restored building dating back to 1907. InSight Gallery boasts 8,000 square feet of open show space in an environment designed to feel like a museum. Home to numerous award-winning artists showing at Prix de West, Autry/Masters of the American West, Quest for the West and Briscoe's Night of Artists, as well as Cowboy Artists of America, American Impressionist Society Masters and Oil Painters of America signature members and master artists, InSight Gallery has a diverse body of work at any given time. Sixty of the most well recognized representational artists from throughout the United States and six overseas all housed under one roof make InSight Gallery a must-see destination for art lovers.

Heritage Auctions, Indian Drinking, Moonlight, ca. 1925, oil on board, 10 x 8", by Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936). Available in the American Art Signature Auction on May 12. Estimate: $20/30,000

Heritage Auctions is the third-largest auction house in the world with more than 40 different auction categories. It is headquartered in Dallas with offices in New York, Chicago, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong and other cities. Its art and design categories include American art, Western art, Texas art, California art, Asian art, ethnographic art (American Indian, pre-Columbian and tribal), modern and contemporary art, European art, illustration art and more.

Heritage Auctions, Spring in Hill Country, oil on canvas, 18 x 23", by Porfirio Salinas (1910-1973). Available in the Texas Art Signature Auction on June 17. Estimate: $20/30,000

Heritage is especially acclaimed for its work with American art.  Recent auctions have featured works by prominent names like Norman Rockwell, Mark Rothko, Maurice Sendak, Maynard Dixon, John Baldessari, Alexander Calder, David Hockney, Andy Warhol, Thomas Moran, Mary Cassatt and J.C. Leyendecker. In addition, auctions have offered works by Porfirio Salinas, the Onderdonk family, Alexandre Hogue, Dickson Reeder and George Grammer. “We embrace these names and their works because they’ve captured something timeless and crucial about our place on this land,” the auction house notes. “We yearn for the permanence that even contemporary Texas artists like David Bates and Benito Huerta find in their explorations of this frontier and its inhabitants.”

The Museum of Western Art, A Hard Day’s Work, monumental bronze, by Fred Fellows.

To celebrate the museum’s 40th anniversary—it opened April 23, 1983, as the Cowboy Artists of American Museum and changed to the Museum of Western Art in 2003—a weekend of activities is planned including the opening of 40 Years of Western Artexhibition featuring significant works from today’s top Western artists, a free day of Western-themed activities on Saturday, April 22, an invitational Founders and Benefactors Dinner that evening, and a champagne and mimosa toast to the actual opening day on Sunday, April 23.

The Museum of Western Art, Lookin’ for the Wagon, oil, 28 x 20", by Joe Beeler (1931-2006).

Visitors come from around the world to enjoy the priceless collection of Western art and artifacts that undoubtedly make this Texas Hill Country treasure worth a visit.

Hillside Beauty, oil on panel, 12 x 16"

Her impressionistic paintings are characterized by color. “I emphasize the color that I see, as a creative and emotional response to the landscape,” says the artist. She works with a limited palette and incorporates broken color to create more excitement.

Solitaire, oil on panel, 16 x 12"

Mauldin focuses her attention on the Texas landscape, especially on the prickly pear cactus, which is found throughout the Texas Hill Country. It has many interesting colors, and the orientation of the pads create a play of light and shadow, as well as a variety of cool and warm colors. During spring months cactus produce stunning blossoms of yellow and orange. She enjoys plein air, accepting the challenges of color, design and the environment. She and her husband plan painting trips to beautiful areas throughout Texas and adjoining states each year.

National Ranching Heritage Center, Under Oklahoma Skies, framed photo on canvas, 17 x 25", by Emily McCartney.

Each summer, the National Ranching Heritage Center hosts the Summer Stampede Western Art and Gear Show, exhibiting the artwork of more than 30 Western artists and craftsmen. While Western art and gear are on exhibit everyday at the National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech University, once a year the indoor/outdoor museum gives the public an opportunity to purchase art and meet contributing artists.

National Ranching Heritage Center, Taking the Lead, oil on linen, 15¾ x 14¾", by Julie Oriet.

Nearly 100 works of Western art and gear will be on sale at the show, which takes place from 6 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 3. The family-friendly event includes a sale followed by dining and dancing to live Western swing music. Those attending the show will have an opportunity to view the art, purchase pieces at a listed price and take the artwork home when they leave. The sale includes not only paintings and sculptures but also pieces by silversmiths, bit-and-spur makers, knife makers and other traditional cowboy artists.

National Ranching Heritage Center, They’re Supposed to Work, bronze, ed. 1 of 5, 10¼ x 7½ x 6¼", by T.D. Kelsey.

After the initial in-person sale, the remaining pieces will be available to buyers from remote locations by visiting www.summerstampede.com.

Museum of the Big Bend, Texas Longhorns, oil on canvas covered Masonite, 32 x 34", by Tom Lea (1945-1946). Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Life Magazine, 1950.34.

Located on the Sul Ross State University campus, the Museum of the Big Bend has announced that they are “expanding our ability to tell the story of this wonderful country with the opening of the second Emmett and Miriam McCoy Museum building on March 11, 2023.” This contemporary building will showcase art and opens with two highly anticipated exhibits: one features the series Western Beef Cattle, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE magazine, by the late El Paso artist Tom Lea; and the second exhibit consists of selected works from the John L. Nau III Collection of Texas Art. Curated by Christopher Beer, the Nau exhibit includes works by Xavier Gonzalez, William Lewis Lester and Juanita Lynn Montgomery. In the hallway will be murals by Gonzalez and Julius Woeltz along with recent acquisitions to the museum’s growing collection of early Texas art.

Georgia Carter, Hill Country Sunset, oil on canvas, 12 x 36"

“The air is dry and wonderful, full of the sweet smell of Mexican sycamore, Japonica juniper and limestone,” she says. “The spring is so full of flowers you can’t imagine. Summer is fabulous and hot hot hot with amazing and very lively thunderstorms. Fall is full of more birds and butterflies than you can imagine migrating here there and yon. Winter, well, let’s just stick to the old Texas saying, ‘in Texas, if you don’t like the weather wait five minutes and it will change.’ I love Texas.” Carter captures the ever-changing weather of the Lone Star State in her landscape oil paintings.

A view of the gallery at the Bosque Arts Center.

Last year Steven Lang’s oil Portrait of a Lakota captured the $5,000 John Steven Jones Award and was added to the permanent collection of the Bosque Arts Center, courtesy of award sponsors Roland and Joyce Jones. The other addition to the collection was Dama de Rojoby Patrick Saunders.

Bosque Arts Center, Portrait of a Lakota, oil, 24 x 18", by Steven Lang.

The Bosque Arts Center is known for the quality representational art in its gallery and exhibitions. In the spring, the BAC also hosts an online auction with original art by award-winning artists, including Martin Grelle, Bruce Greene, Kathy Tate and Linda Lucas Hardy. The Bosque Art Classic opens with a sale, dinner, and awards ceremony on September 9.  The free public exhibition runs September 10 to 23, with the online sale opening September 11. 

Sherry Harrington, Riding Grandmother’s Horse, oil, 20 x 16"

As she pursues new paintings, her focus remains on Native American subjects, particularly women and children. “[I also find] the occasional Native men that I have to been drawn to paint,” she adds. “I find the traditions in the Navajo culture fascinating. With friendships in the four corners area, I have been blessed to witness some of their traditions. For instance, seeing that they truly are keeping their Native language alive.”

Sherry Harrington, Long Ago, oil on panel, 20 x 16"

Harrington also does commissions and participates in a number of art shows throughout the year. Upcoming shows include the 2023 Night of Artists at the Briscoe Museum of Western Art in San Antonio, Texas. The show will include works by Harrington depicting the Navajo reservation as well as the Lakota tribe.

Vogt Auction, San Jose Mission, oil on canvas, 23 x 30”, by Porfirio Salinas (1910-1973). Estimate: $25/32,000 SOLD: $51,900

Located in what is arguably the heartland of the early Texas art movement, Vogt has naturally focused on Hill Country works from famous names including Julian Onderdonk, Porfirio Salinas, Jose Arpa and Dawson Dawson-Watson. More recently, Vogt has expanded into contemporary Western artists including John Nieto, Howard Post and David Pryor Adickes. In 2023, Vogt will conduct the auction for the personal estate of iconic Western writer Larry McMurtry, author of Lonesome Dove and Terms of Endearment, to include McMurtry’s books, typewriters, firearms and other personal effects.