Jack Knife by Ed Mell marks the center of the Scottsdale Arts District within the larger Phoenix Valley. Photo courtesy Scottsdale Arts.

Arizona is known for its oppressively hot summers and gorgeous deserts, but has many biomes, including snow-capped mountains, rolling hills cradling sprawling vineyards and pine forests. And everywhere you look, the state’s land and people inspire. As we explore the Grand Canyon State in our annual State of the Art: Arizona destination guide, we hope you can celebrate with us by visiting this magical and mysterious place, a place Western Art Collector calls home.

The Superstition Mountains east of Scottsdale and Phoenix. 

Phoenix also provides easy access to neighboring culture-rich cities such as Mesa, Tempe and Glendale, as well as to the outer valley region, including outdoor areas such as the Estrella Mountains, Superstition Mountains, Four Peaks Wilderness Area and the Tonto National Forest. Beyond Phoenix, much of the rest of the state is easily accessible by car, with most destinations just two to three hours away. 

The famous cowboy sign on Main Street in Scottsdale. 

Although growth and sprawl have hidden much of the desert in the Phoenix area, it is omnipresent and unmistakable via cacti of all varieties. The famous heat that scorches the summers and all the critters—coyotes, owls, lizards and snakes of all sizes, javelina and bobcats—also make the Valley home. It all calls back to the Old West, when early residents, including Native American and Mexican, made this land their home alongside European settlers from the East Coast. Today, Native, Spanish and Western influences run deep within the fabric of the state. 

White Stallion Ranch in Tucson. Courtesy Visit Arizona.

Art venues in the city include the Tucson Museum of Art, which has a great Western art collection; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, combining art and wildlife; University of Arizona Museum of Art; and the recently opened Maynard Dixon & Native American Art Museum. Adding to the culture of the region is the Tucson Rodeo held every February, the San Xavier del Bac Mission (featured on our November cover), the Sculpture Tucson event held every March, the beauty of nearby Mount Lemmon and the Santa Catalina Mountains, and the rich Hollywood history that can be found at Old Tucson, used in countless film and TV productions starting in the 1930s.

San Xavier del Bac Mission, which was completed in 1797. Courtesy Visit Arizona.

For art collectors, Tucson is home to several top gallery destinations, including Settlers West, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Wilde Meyer Gallery and, although not an art gallery, the Mountain Oyster Club, which holds an annual art show that brings in top artists from the around the region and country.

 

Eat » Lots of great dining in Tucson, but if you’re hunting for that Western-themed eatery, look no further than the Silver Saddle Steakhouse, which is rustic in all the right ways. Pinnacle Peak will also scratch that Western itch. Other stop-worthy restaurants include Redbird and Guadalajara.

Humphreys Peak, the highest point in Arizona.

Culturally, Northern Arizona is a rich destination, with several prominent sites worth visiting, including the Museum of Northern Arizona and the Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered. The region also has a long history with Native Americans, including many from the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Lands, both of which are in Northern Arizona. 

Photo by Mike Mulvahill.

Once in Flagstaff, visitors will have quick access to much of Northern Arizona, including Monument Valley, the Petrified Forest National Park, Vermilion Cliffs and other nature areas.

 

Eat » For fans of modern and adventurous cuisine, Atria in the heart of Flagstaff is a good place to start. Other highly rated spots are Josephine’s Modern American Bistro and Tinderbox. 

Watson Lake near Prescott. Photo courtesy C. Marchetti.

Artists who call it, and neighboring Prescott Valley, home, include John Coleman, Bill Nebeker, Bill Anton and many others. Anchoring many of the art events in town is the Phippen Museum, which hosts regular exhibitions and several annual shows, including the Western Art Show & Sale during the Memorial Day weekend. Many of the events are held on the plaza around the Yavapai County Courthouse, a large stone building surrounded by bronze monuments. One of the bronze sculptures is of Rough Rider Bucky O’Neill by Solon Borglum. When visiting, don’t miss Whiskey Row and some of the Old West-style saloons that line the festive thoroughfare.

Red Rock Crossing in Sedona. Courtesy Roger Stumbo.

The restaurant is now called the Cowboy Club, and it continues to honor the four CA founders who clinked glasses together there in 1965. From Sedona, visitors can take day trips into Flagstaff or Prescott, or hike within the red rocks or on gorgeous stream trails at Oak Creek Canyon. Art galleries are common in Sedona, whether visitors are looking for paintings, bronzes or more curious (and mystical) objects. Definitely stop into Mountain Trails Galleries Sedona and the Rowe Gallery.

Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg.

Even its permanent collection is exceptional with key pieces from Joe Beeler, Lon Megargee, Frederic Remington, Ed Mell, Gerard Curtis Delano and Charles M. Russell. The town also has a quaint Western vibe that art collectors will appreciate, with biker-friendly bars in the center of town and dude ranches on the outskirts. 

Shops and galleries in Tubac.

Leading the charge in the city is the Tubac Center of the Arts, which hosts regular events, lectures and several different art series each year. Also in the city are the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park and Museum, which was the site of the first Spanish settlement in Arizona, and Tumacácori National Historical Park. Art fans won’t want to miss it.

Top: Interior view of Altamira Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona. Bottom left: Altamira Fine Art, Bocado Azul, mixed media, 20 x 20”, by Duke Beardsley. Bottom right: Altamira Fine Art, Road Trip, ed. 9 of 50, painted and patinated cast bronze, 11½ x 12 x 9”, by Kevin Box and Beth Johnson.

“We offer an annual schedule of exciting exhibitions, art consultation and acquisition assistance,” says gallery representatives. “Altamira’s diverse collection ranges in media from oil and acrylic painting to contemporary glass and bronze.” 

Top: The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson. Bottom left: Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Her Name was Lily - Ajo Lily, Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, AZ, acrylic, 60 x 40 in., by Dyana Hesson. Bottom right: Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Runnin’ Down a Dream, watercolor, 24 x 36 in., by Rachel Ivanvi.

In the 1990s, Priscilla Baldwin studied botanical illustration and became an ardent conservationist. In 1998, she and her husband founded the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Art Institute. Today, the institute provides art classes, curates art exhibits and manages a growing art collection.

Attendees at the 2024 show shop for quality art and collectibles.

This year’s show is on track to be Cowboy Collectors Gathering’s largest show, with 200-plus show spaces reserved by dealers coming from as far away as Pennsylvania to take part in one of the most popular Western collectibles show in Arizona. The show primarily consists of antique cowboy and Native American material from days gone by, with a small percentage of contemporary items including quality Native American beadwork, jewelry and contemporary handmade horse tack. 

Cowboy Collectors Gathering, Republic of Mexico Spurs, 1840-1860. 

Whether a seasoned collector or just beginning to collect, Cowboy Collectors Gathering invites everyone to spend a day at Findlay Toyota Center where guests will meet some of the best Western and Native American show dealers in the country. Kicking off the show is an early-buyer event on Tuesday, January 21 (early-buyer ticket also includes entry on January 22). Tickets are sold at the door during event hours. Visit the website for more show information. 

Darcie Peet, History Whispers in the Clouds – Monument Valley, oil, 17 x 30 in.

For paintings like History Whispers in the Clouds, Peet explains, “Over several days, [during a trip with my husband to Monument Valley], especially at dawn and sundown, we explored the long, loop drive in and around the many red rock cliffs and monuments set off by the brilliant, sunlit snow...On one very unique journey, we were guided by a Navajo who shared stories of the history, legend and lore of the valley. In this painting, as the sun slowly rises across fresh snow from an overnight storm, long fingers of wispy clouds lift and drift away creating an eerie feeling of the ghosts and voices of peoples past who once dwelled here.

Liam Matthew Dye, Last Ride, oil, 18 x 24 in.; Liam Matthew Dye, Cowboy Moon, oil, 20 x 20 in.

Growing up on a Midwest farm, Dye’s connection to the land shaped his visual language. Riding horses and herding cattle fostered a deep respect for the animals and landscape around him, which remain central themes in his work. Horses are often featured prominently, symbolizing the resilience and independence of the West. For Dye, the bond between humans and horses reflects trust, strength and shared experience, not only embodying the spirit of the region but also the self-reliance and strength characterized by its people.  

Josh Louchheim, The Equestrian, oil on linen, 24 x 20 in.; Josh Louchheim, Desert Prophecies, oil on linen, 24 x 18 in.

Louchheim considers his work to be a modern, stylized version of Western art, using more chromatic colors than traditional Westerns. “Essentially, I have always been a landscape artist, painting the dramatic Arizona skies soaring over the desert terrain,” the artist shares. “My early work contained heavy, surrealistic elements, usually depicting foreign scenario settled into the desert landscape. But over the past five years, I’ve been focused on more traditional ideas and muting the surrealism in my paintings. I’ve been more specific on my portrayals of the mountains within the Phoenix Valley and reexploring my childhood love of Western and Native American culture.”

From left: Jesse Robbins, tufa-cast, coin-silver ingot cuff; Jesse Robbins, tufa-cast, coin-silver ingot cuff with Bisbee Turquoise.

Like the first smiths and plateros of the Southwest, Robbins creates one-of-a-kind, hand-wrought, tufa-cast, coin-silver ingot jewelry. This method is highly labor-intensive but produces classic, timeless and truly one-of-a-kind jewelry. Robbins also mines his own turquoise in the remote high desert of northern Nevada. He mines, cuts and sets many of the stones he uses in his work. 

Jesse Robbins, tufa-cast, coin-silver ingot bolo tie with Sierra Nevada Turquoise and Mediterranean Coral. 

Inspired by any great stone, Robbins always seeks out great turquoise from any mine, bringing to life each unique piece he creates. Robbins’ work is meant to be worn and experienced. “Like an old friend, a good bracelet or ring tells its own stories...,” he says. His traditional methods result in work that can be worn for a lifetime, and, like our shared stories and experiences, is meant to be handed down for generations.

Top left: King Galleries, Seeking Water by the Lake, native clay, by Tammy Garcia (Santa Clara). Top right: King Galleries, Golden Forest, oil on linen, 60 x 48 in., by Michael Esch Bottom:  King Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The gallery represents artists like Andrea Vargas, Marcia Molnar, Andrew Roda and Michael Esch. Some of the leading contemporary potters represented are Tammy Garcia, Nancy Youngblood, Les Namingha, Russell Sanchez and others. The gallery also features signed, historic work by Maria Martinez, Margaret Tafoya, Tony Da and many more. New to the gallery is Roda, who is painting the modern West, along with creative ceramics by Jared Tso, Daniel Begay and Jeff Suina.  

Top left: Legacy Gallery Scottsdale, Once Upon a Time, oil, 36 x 36 in., by John Moyers. Top right:  Legacy Gallery Scottsdale, Crow Scout, oil, 28 x 23 in., by Z.S. Liang. Bottom: Legacy Gallery on Main Street in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Owners Brad and Jinger Richardson are second-generation art dealers, using their expertise to show the finest original paintings and sculpture. Legacy represents top Western artists including Martin Grelle, John Moyers, Kyle Polzin, John Coleman, Billy Schenck and Kim Wiggins, just to name a few. 

Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Saved!, oil on linen, 24 x 36 in., by Mathieu Nozieres.; Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Showdown, oil on linen, 14 x 11 in., by Mathieu Nozieres.

The year 2025 is no different. Two artists of note to join the Medicine Man Gallery family are lauded photographer Barbara Van Cleve and French-born, California-based oil painter Mathieu Nozieres. “Van Cleve is one of the most respected Western photographers on earth,” says Sublette. “Moving through the Montana landscape on horseback, Barbara captures the frontier lifestyle in her poetic black-and-white photographs. We are honored to hang her work in our new museum: The Maynard Dixon & Native American Art Museum.

Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Noon Break, No. 2, photograph, by Barbara Van Cleve.

“Mathieu Nozieres, on the other hand, might be an unfamiliar name to most Western art collectors,” Sublette continues. “He’s an academically trained oil painter and educator, producing some of the most dynamic and narrative-driven works that this genre has ever seen. We are thrilled to debut his work in our Masters of Drawing group exhibition opening on February 15, along with 40 of his most successful and skilled peers.”

Naomi Brown, Winter Light, oil, 16 x 12 in.; Naomi Brown, Blue Sky, 20 x 16 in.

Artist Naomi Brown is currently busy in her studio painting pieces for the upcoming American Miniatures show in February at Settlers West in Tucson. “I would have to say painting miniature paintings is probably my favorite size to paint,” the artist shares. “Maybe because I taught myself how to paint with painting postcard-sized paintings. I first taught myself with using watercolors then moved into acrylics.” 

Naomi Brown, Romantic Evening, 11 x 14 in.

Brown painted with acrylics for about 12 years, until she got frustrated with painting clouds, a favorite subject matter for the artist. “They just would end up turning out stiff and two-dimensional looking, so then I decided to move onto training myself how to use oils, and fell in love with painting clouds in the medium,” she says. “It was so fun to be able to paint clouds with a looseness that I couldn’t do with acrylics. I now incorporate my years of being an acrylic artist with the knowledge I’ve obtained with painting with oils the past nine years. I will paint my background gradient sky with acrylic, then go over the top with oil when painting my clouds and the rest of my landscape. I love the end result it gives my paintings.”

Top: Interior view of Settlers West located in Tucson, Arizona. Middle: Settlers West, Haven Beneath the Flames, oil, 16 x 24 in., by Scott Tallman Powers. Right: Settlers West, Building the Northern Pacific, oil, 30 x 40 in., by Bradley Schmehl.

While the gallery is known for its focus on historical realism, it also showcases impressionism and more contemporary interpretations of the West. Most importantly, the gallery strives to present important, investment-grade artwork that collectors will enjoy for a lifetime, and pass on to future generations.

Steve Hastings, Lone Mountain, oil on canvas, 60 x 48 in.

Traveling through the great Southwest in the early 1970s, Steve Hastings discovered the paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Born in Munich, Germany, the artist naturally studied the great European masters and found himself channeling the zeitgeist of his mentors into a love for the great American desert with its beautiful land of wall-to-wall sky.

Steve Hastings, The Desert of Desire, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in.; Steve Hastings, The Crucible, oil on canvas, 60 x 48 in.

“I have loved the Sonoran Desert since I was 12 years old and only now am I truly beginning to see it for what it is: a monument to the beauty and tenacity of nature’s unforgiving landscape,” says Hastings. “The flora and fauna that survive and thrive there are unique in all the world. If the desert is holy, it is because it is a forgotten place that allows us to remember the sacred. Perhaps that is why every pilgrimage to the desert is a pilgrimage to the self. There is no place to hide and so we are found.”

Top: Front view of the Marshall Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. Bottom: The Marshall Gallery, Sunning, mixed media on panel, 60 x 48 in., by Nealy Riley; The Marshall Gallery, Moonrise, Wyld West, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 in., by B.C. Nowlin.

From the original foundation, the Marshall now features contemporary art from across the nation and overseas, including a large collection of sophisticated glass art by Czech and United States artisans. The eclectic collection appeals to broad palates—including beauties from the American West—and grace art connoisseurs’ homes far and wide. 

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, Alouette, 1974, oil, 30 x 60 in. The Eddie Basha Collection, by John Clymer (1907-1989).

The museum recently broke ground on a two-story, 12,000-square-foot expansion that will be the permanent home of the Basha Collection, a remarkable collection of Western and American Indian art amassed by Arizona philanthropist Eddie Basha and donated to Western Spirit in 2023.

Western Spirit in Scottsdale. 

Featured exhibitions include People, Places, Predicaments: John Clymer’s West, featuring over 50 paintings by John Clymer from the Eddie Basha Collection; A Fistful of Colors where the bold hues of the frontier come alive; Canvas of Clay: Hopi Pottery Masterworks from The Allan and Judith Cooke Collection; and so much more.

Gallery family surrounded by one-of-a-kind Native American art.

Since 1951, the Winfield family is known for being purveyors of the finest turquoise and Native American jewelry and art. At Winfield Trading, located in Gallup, New Mexico, collectors will find a unique shopping experience showcasing exceptional Native American art and jewelry and the personal touch you’d expect from a family-run business.

Interior view of Winfield Trading.

“With three generations of knowledge of Native American jewelry, art, turquoise and trading, as well as a treasured love and respect for the Native American artists and their work,” says gallery representatives, “Lone Mountain Turquoise Company, a Winfield gallery, will be your home for all things that are authentic Native American made.” —