Not since Charles M. Russell and Frederic Remington—and more recently, Joe Beeler— has an artist mastered painting, drawing and sculpture to the degree that John Coleman has across a sprawling, multifaceted career. His story is told in his book The Art of John Coleman: Spirit • Lives • Legends.
Interior pages from The Art of John Coleman: Spirit • Lives • Legends.
The large monograph was released in 2024, but it was recently awarded the IPPY gold medal in the coffee-table book category by the Independent Publisher Book Awards. The competitive category featured works from all around the art world, but Coleman’s book came out on top with the gold medal.
John Coleman, Dragonfly, oil, 18½ x 27 in.
Spirit • Lives • Legends is framed within Coleman’s two historic solo shows at Legacy Gallery: one in 2016 and its sequel in 2020. Between these two milestones, Coleman’s career is explored in depth, from his early life in Southern California to his larger professional career in Northern Arizona. Coleman has been an artist for much of his life, but had periods where he stopped creating to focus on family and other careers, including construction. It was a 1992 trip to the art supply store that changed his trajectory, sending him into Western art history in a steep ascent. Today his works are collected at the highest levels, with major pieces in important private and public collections.
Spirit • Lives • Legends was written by Michael Clawson, Western Art Collector executive editor, with a foreword by Brad Richardson, owner of Legacy Gallery.
It is available online through major booksellers, as well as through the artist directly. It is also available through International Artist Publishing’s online bookstore. —
The Art of John Coleman: Spirit • Lives • Legends
By Michael Clawson with foreword by Brad Richardson
Published by Fresco Books, 2024
240 pages, $80
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