Taking Center Stage

Collector’s Focus: Women Artists

By John O’Hern

Frances Flora (Fanny) Bond Palmer (1812-1876) produced more than 200 images for the 19th-century lithographers Currier & Ives and helped popularize the West. Palmer, however, never travelled farther west than her home in New Jersey. One of the first women artists in the West was Eliza Griffin Johnston (1821-1896) who moved to Texas and later to California after her husband, a general, was killed in the Civil War.

Elizabeth Sage, Anticipation… what will tomorrow bring..., oil on canvas, 30 x 48"

San Francisco became a locus for art in California. In 1885 it was the site of the First Annual Exhibition of Lady Artists of San Francisco featuring work by 81 artists, many of whom demonstrated that they were more than Sunday painters. Although few of the paintings depicted scenes of the West, women artists from the Rockies were painting its landscapes and people.

The vastness of the West is depicted in a contemporary painting by Elizabeth Sage in a sunset scene with the iconic saguaro cactus of the Sonoran Desert. The low horizon of Anticipation…what will tomorrow bring… emphasizes the big sky, the setting sun illuminating the low clouds beneath the darkening blue sky.

Sage worked in corporate graphic design and was senior designer at Texas Instruments before she turned full time to fine art—from drawings to oil paintings. She says, “Having grown up on a working ranch in Northern California where ranching and showing horses were an integral part of my life, I began drawing ranch imagery since I was old enough to hold a pencil. Graphite is still a favorite medium.” She is fond of saying, “There is magic everywhere you look.”

Top: Vanessa Rusczyk, Moonflower Sunrise, oil on linen, 36 x 24”; Manitou Galleries, The Healer, bronze ed. of 10, 34 x 21½ x 12”, by Liz Wolf. Bottom: Manitou Galleries, Keep Hope Alive!, acrylic on panel, 48 x 60”, by Sushe Felix; Gallery Wild, Eldredge, oil on canvas, 84 x 60”, by Patricia A. Griffin.

Beneath the endless skies and with the featureless desert and dramatic mountains, there is abundant magic. Some of the Western flora is small and visually unremarkable unlike the saguaro and the abundant, showy, ephemeral blossoms of datura.

Vanessa Rusczyk writes, “What’s in a name? Datura wrightii, Toloachè, Belladonna, Jimsonweed, Thorn Apple, Devil’s Weed, Angel’s Trumpet, Sacred Datura…These names give us an idea of humans’ view of this plant—beautiful, frightening, holy, unkempt.” She continues to comment on “the reverence I feel towards the plants that have evolved to fill special needs in the natural world. Several moths with appropriately descriptive names like sphinx moth and hawk moth are pollinators for this beautiful flower. Plant and insect rely on each other for the survival of their species. The pleasure we receive at the sight and fragrant smell of this plant is irrelevant to them, but not to us.”

Gallery Wild, Spring Dessert, acrylic and gold leaf on panel, 30 x 60", by Nealy Riley.

In Moonflower Sunrise, Rusczyk paints a blossom and a bud against a background reminiscent of the morning sun in which she usually sees them. She revels in painting the colorful shadows of the graceful, white blossom which began opening in the early evening and will begin to wilt in the sunlight.

Rusczyk studied engineering at Princeton but after moving to Southern California, and telling her husband that she wanted to be an artist, he gifted her with a workshop at the San Diego Watercolor Society, and a new career began.

Patricia A. Griffin grew up in Philadelphia and now lives in rural Pennsylvania. She makes frequent trips to the Jackson Hole area to observe, photograph and sketch. She says, “I am devoted to creating images with the intent of stirring stewardship of our natural world. The time I spend in the habitat of my subjects is critical to my process, and I draw from my experiences and the moments of shared existence. As I paint, the colors I choose and their application create a luminosity, a vibration of the pigments next to one another that brings the animal to life. My goal is to captivate the viewer in a moment of presence, inviting them into a timeless space, through the illusion of color.”

Gallery Wild, Rendezvous in Color Fifty One.0, acrylic and gold leaf on canvas, 60 x 48”, by Carrie Wild.

Eldredge is a lone elk striding majestically out of the picture frame from a featureless background as if to meet its fellow traveler. What we may experience as a large, brown mammal, comes alive in the painting with Griffin’s use of abundant, vibrant color.

Continue reading to hear more from women artists that are passionate about depicting the West, and the galleries that represent them.

“While women have been and continue to be fundamental in the art world, many women artists have found opposition in the traditional narrative of art history, despite being engaged with the art world in every way,” says Cyndi Hall, associate director for Manitou Galleries. “Because women artists are often marginalized and excluded from important museum and gallery exhibitions throughout their careers, simply because of their gender, highlighting women artists allows an opportunity to honor their work and their contribution to their craft.”

Top: Manitou Galleries, Ghost Dance Lady – Southern Arapaho, oil on canvas, 60 x 40”, by Ethelinda; Mountain Trails Gallery, Singin’ in the Rain, oil, 30 x 40”, by Marcia Molnar. Bottom: Betty Jean Billups, Afternoon Gathering, oil, 36 x 48”; Mountain Trails Gallery, Infused with Light, oil, 30 x 24”, by Sue Krzyston.

Represented by Manitou are three impressive bodies of work in bronze, oil and acrylic by female artists Liz Wolf, Ethelinda and Sushe Felix.

Claggett/Rey Gallery co-owner Margaret DeDecker continues the discussion in stating that “the creative force of women artists has been continually taking center stage in the art world with their thought provoking and innovative creations. Despite a continuous uphill climb, the merit and recognition for their work in the hearts and minds of art collectors and museum collections continues to unfold.” With the focus this month recognizing women in the arts, Claggett/Rey Gallery is honored to represent three artists that are taking the art scene by storm: sculptor Jane DeDecker, painter Nancy Switzer and sculptor Gail Folwell. “Each are very different in their textures and approach, uniquely finding the thread of communication through their works of art to an awe-struck audience,” Margaret DeDecker says. “Their work will be the inspiration for the next generation of artists working beyond category—just damn good artists.”

Cindy Sorley-Keichinger, Roughed Grouse, acrylic, 9 x 12"

King Galleries is pleased to represent women artists Andrea Vargas, Mary Calengor and Marcia Molnar—three leading women artists each painting in their own genre. Andrea Vargas thickly paints the canvas with her plein air landscapes, while Mary Calengor is nearly photorealistic in her still-life paintings. Marica Molnar interprets the Southwest landscape through a modernist lens. “Each of these painters brings their own life experiences to the canvas,” says Charles S. King, gallery owner. “It is the brushstrokes that give the painting life. Look closely at the paintings of each of these prominent women, and it is the time and energy they invest on the canvas that makes their work collectable and exciting.”

Top: JaNeil Anderson, Where Have You Been All My Life?, oil, 30 x 24”; King Galleries, A Very Fine Day, oil, 48 x 24”, by Marica Molnar; Claggett/Rey Gallery, Tandem Tall Stack, oil, 48 x 24”, by Nancy Switzer. Bottom: King Galleries, Venerable Trio, oil, 24 x 36”, by Mary Calengor; Claggett/Rey Gallery, Kindred, bronze, 10½ x 16½ x 9”, by Jane DeDecker.

For more than 35 years, Mountain Trails Gallery in Sedona, Arizona, has featured fine art from the American West. Early in its formation, the gallery represented women artists who grew up on Western traditions and have been inspired by this way of life. As the gallery became a destination for sculpture, outstanding artists working in two-dimensional art were added, and now more than half the gallery’s traditional and contemporary artists just happen to be women.

Julie R. Williams, director of Mountain Trails, advises on collecting fine art by these award-winning artists: “Choose work that is authentic with a passionate story to tell. Discover the background of these artists and learn about their strengths, determination and successes. Consider their own unique expressions and remember to check with your favorite gallery as you watch for that perfect piece that speaks to what it takes to become a remarkable artist from the American West.”

Pokey Park, Tiger Salamander, bronze, 2½ x 9½ x 4”

Represented at Legacy Gallery are yet even more prominent female artists—Terri Kelly Moyers, Kathy Anderson and Gayle Nason—upholding the gallery’s impressive reputation in showcasing Western art. Anderson is best known for her unique interpretation of flowers and gardens, and intimate scenes of landscape. Working in oils and painting mostly from life, her focus is on a strong design and movement in the painting, keeping the subject as naturally as you would find it. Whether painting a portrait or a landscape, Moyers’ subjects are things that are beautiful and that move her. “I enjoy painting women,” she says. “I feel women had a major role to play in the West, and maybe that hasn’t been recognized as much as it could be.”

Since moving to Arizona from rural Iowa in 1968, Nason’s love for the Southwest and her fascination with the historical legacy of its Native people has added a new dimension to her still life paintings. Deeply moved by the spiritual heritage of the American Indian and led by her diligence for perfection, Nason’s realistic paintings feature the age-old beauty of beaded moccasins, Indian pottery and other Native American artifacts.

Top: Mountain Trails Gallery, Over the Hilltop, oil, 20 x 16”, by Shawn Cameron; JaNeil Anderson, Cowboy Pride, oil, 30 x 48”. Bottom: King Galleries, After the Storm, oil, 20 x 40”, by Andrea Vargas.

Carrie Wild, owner of Gallery Wild notes that “Western women artists are driven to break new ground and venture off of the beaten path with a vision to explore the West in a unique and enlightening way. They approach their subjects with empathy and tenderness with a focus towards the positive aspects that they see within their subjects. Their tendency to interpret an experience with a gentle vibrance and softer edges while still maintaining a feeling of confidence or strength, creates an inviting entrance into their work. This welcomes their audience to approach with a calmness and a sense of being interconnected. Art created by women doesn’t just portray a subject, it portrays the experience.”

When it comes to collecting, Wild says, “Women artists create work that’s meant to be lived with; work that is meant to evoke a moment of happiness or inspiration. Collectors should find a piece that ignites these feelings, encourages them to take a deep breath, provides comfort and helps create a sense of home.”

For artist Betty Jean Billups, landscapes are best captured on location or “en plein air.” So for her piece Afternoon Gathering, portraying two female figures, a child and some geese among a forested landscape, the artist says, “I drove my van to the bottom of my 400-foot dirt driveway, placed the 36-by-48-inch linen canvas on the tailgate of my van and proceeded to do the entire landscape. I had blocked out where the figures were to go, and when I returned to the studio, created the women and the geese from photo reference I had gathered.” Of her process, Billups notes that she’s always been fascinated with the color white, “because it can be every color in the rainbow!” She says. “However, as an artist, I have to work within the limits, so that my lightest colors still contain color…”

Pokey Park, Jambes, bronze, 22½ x 24 x 15"

JaNeil Anderson gets inspiration for her work from the life she loves and knows on cattle ranches in the Southwest. From a cowboy helping a little girl get on her horse to a momma helping her son rope, Anderson is always watching for a good story to paint about ranch life. “Let’s not overlook ranch romance,” the artist adds. In Where Have You Been All My Life?, we see a little romance at play between a cowgirl and cowboy. “A single cowboy will go from cattle ranch to cattle ranch for work, but this cowboy has met his reason to wander no more,” says Anderson. In Cowboy Pride, Anderson has depicted a lineage of cowboys. “A ranch owner is blessed to have kids that will work,” Anderson explains, “and this is known as ‘cowboy pride.’”

Painting is pure magic for artist Dawn Sutherland. “Starting with a blank canvas and a palette loaded with blobs of paint, I stir in inspiration and voila!—something exists that didn’t exist before,” she proclaims. “Paintings convey more than just a pretty scene. They bring to the viewer the intangible; a memory, a feeling, a desire. Paintings speak in different ways to different individuals, and that, too, is magic.”

Top: Claggett/Rey Gallery, Swimmer, stainless steel, 36 x 108 x 24”, by Gail Folwell; Dawn Sutherland, Santa Cruz Crossing, oil, 8 x 10”. Bottom: Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, Feria de Escaramuzas, oil on linen, 24 x 48”; Sarah Boston, Buffalo Mother, pastel, 20 x 16”.

When collecting, Sutherland says, “Owning original art is so much more than a purchase. It’s an investment that links the painter, the purchaser and the landscape.” Having lived in San Antonio for over 30 years, artist Gladys Roldan-de-Moras finds great inspiration in representing her love of the Spanish culture that was passed down by her maternal grandfather—a proud, lifelong charro who decades ago helped promote charreria as the official national sport in Mexico. Roldan-de-Moras desires to share charreria with contemporary Western art collectors. In her most recent work Siempre, a piece that’s part of the Prix de West Exhibition in June, the artist depicts the female performer or the escaramuza in charreria. Roldan-de-Moras says, “While a prayer is ceremoniously recited by each team of escaramuzas before the competition, this brave escaramuza rider visits the ancient, venerated Mission Church to faithfully offer her individual devotions. The horse’s smooth, splendid coat shines bright in the sunlight as the girl’s gentle caresses speak of their unbreakable bond. What a sight to behold on a balmy Sunday morning. Their deep love for each other deep, unbreakable and stronger than ever.”

Top: Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, Siempre, oil on Belgian linen, 48 x 36”; Sarah Boston, Little Cheyenne Warrior, pastel, 20 x 16”; Shelly Hackett, Dalian and Stetson, oil on canvas, 18 x 14”. Bottom: Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, Coleadero in Antonio, oil on linen, 20 x 30”; Gallery Wild, Bucolic, oil on linen, 40 x 30”, by Amber Blazina.

The light and color of the Southwest inspires dynamic contrast in the work of Shelly Hackett. This coupled with the experience of being in the moment and listening to the stories of the Old West from 21st-century cowboys, has resulted in the paintings like the one in this section, Dalian and Stetson. “As I ride out into the Arizona desert, I’m in the moment, on the horse, capturing a glimpse on my camera,” says Hackett. “When I bring these images to my canvas in my studio, the feeling is fresh as though I’m still there.”

Drawn to the faces of the Old West, Sarah Boston finds most of her inspiration in historical photographs from museum archives and old family collections. “I love the challenge of bringing color and life to the vintage monochrome faces we have all come to know,” she explains. “An essential part of that process involves intense research of the time and cultures I’m portraying. As an artist from Montana, I’m fortunate to live where there’s a plethora of history, wild places and Indigenous cultures. Growing up in ‘Russell country’ offered another avenue of inspiration for my passion in creating Western art. I spent my childhood dreaming of stepping inside [C.M. Russell’s] paintings to be a part of that world. Unknown to me then, I embarked on a journey to bring some of them into mine, Russell included. One of my Russell portraits is in the collection of his great grandson, Alan.”

Top: Cindy Sorley-Keichinger, Contested, acrylic, 24 x 18”; The Legacy Gallery, A Family’s Wealth, oil, 24 x 48”, by Terri Kelly Moyers. Bottom: The Legacy Gallery, Evening Falls on the Poppy Garden, oil, 34 x 50”, by Kathy Anderson; The Legacy Gallery, The Broken Necklace, oil, 24 x 18”, by Gayle Nason.

Boston suggests that when collecting, “Those in the market for pastel paintings should confirm they are framed with archival glass to ensure the piece stays protected and to cut down on glare.”

Over the years, Cindy Sorley-Keichinger’s style has evolved to where it is now. Her subjects of choice are landscapes and wildlife. She finds them calming and tries to project that in her work. In today’s busy world, a little bit of calm and peace is a necessity. Sorley-Keichinger works in primarily acrylic, but also uses gouache and oil. “The main theme of my work is that we are not the only ones on the planet, and I would like people to see and enjoy images of our neighbors,” she says. “To see and know something is to take an interest in it. Urban life, and to a lesser degree, rural life, insulates us from the world around us. I hope to introduce people to what they do not see every day and to see beauty in what they do see. You need to know something to care, and this leads to caring for the planet.”

Sorley-Keichinger is a member of several artist organizations and is particularly proud to be a member of the Artists for Conservation, and an associate member of the Society of Animal Artists. She is also proud to have designed a coin for the Royal Canadian Mint.

Top: Kasia Kaznocha, Journey, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48”; Maryann McGraw, Wilderness Afternoon, pastel, 15 x 11”. Bottom: Maryann McGraw, Window Seat, pastel, 8 x 10”; Kasia Kaznocha, The Midnight Sun, acrylic and gold leaf on canvas, 36 x 48”.

Artist Kasia Kaznocha always had two passions: one is horse-riding, which gives her great pleasure and satisfaction, and the second is all kinds of artistic activities. “Horses are a constant source of inspiration, therefore, they naturally became the main subject of my work,” Kaznocha says. “But just as horses have naturally been my inspiration because I have been riding horses since I was a child, I never wanted my paintings to be only representations of animals. They are an excuse to show emotions: sadness, pride, peace, joy, love. Very important to me is that emotional message felt in my paintings, which allows for anyone to explore something new every day.”

Plein air painting gives Maryann McGraw such joy. “I love painting unsettled clouds later turning into rain over the Rockies, autumn leaves giving me this explosive feeling of firework, stately mountain peaks and cloudbursts, fields of grasses waving in the wind, and views that are sublime and magnificent to watch as I paint,” the artist shares. “Whether it’s fast-moving clouds, wind that’s biting cold, a view from a window seat circling the Hawaiian Islands or pine trees shading the edge of a pristine lake, sometimes I must wrap myself in the splendor of nature and paint it.”

Cindy Sorley-Keichinger, Geoldi’s Monkey, acrylic, 5 x 7"

Pokey Park’s lifelong artistic goal and focus is endangered animals, and to bring them to the attention of the public—how the environment affects not only the natural selection of a species, but also how human use of their territory impacts their survival. “The two are part of the same circle,” says Park. “They have thrived or not thrived, depending on how people protected, abused or even limited their habitat. I study wildlife in their natural habitats so I can get a feel for their personalities, not just their anatomy. Their personalities are extremely important for me to be able to give my sculpture a unique attitude.”

In appealing to the viewer, Park continues, “I hope that when you look at a piece of sculpture, it will engage more than one of your senses. And personally, I hope it will bring a smile to your face.” —