For Legacy Gallery’s upcoming Annual Small Works Show, collectors will find diversity among the many impressive small and miniature options, with a range across medium and subject matter. “This exhibition has become one of Legacy Gallery’s most anticipated traditions, and we are delighted to share these miniature masterpieces with our community,” shares Cyndi Hall, gallery manager.
David Mann, The Silver Gift, oil, 16 x 12 in.
The showcase, opening on December 11, presents wonderful Western examples by artists like David Mann, whose subject matter has always centered on Native American themes with some overlap into mountain man and pioneer connections. “Within the Native American framework, I primarily focus on Navajos of the Southwest and the tribes of the Great Plains,” the artist adds. “This group of people, with their wonderful imagery, have always fascinated me and I think that interest will always continue.”
Rachel Brownlee, Silver Stars, oil, 12 x 16 in.
For his show piece The Silver Gift, a 16-by-12-inch oil painting, Mann creates a nocturne scene involving Native American figures, a piece of jewelry, animals and a smoking hogan in the background. “The man [in the image] is Omaha and was a good sport about dressing up as a Navajo,” Mann says of his model. “The girl (on horseback) is Navajo/Omaha and is his daughter. Over the years, I’ve drawn out different versions of [this] painting…I really wanted a vertical format to accommodate the wisp of smoke above and the foreground entry into the painting. To me, the fire in the hogan represents [the man’s] emotional passion, which is mostly kept hidden and reduced to a soft, blue smoke which everyone can easily see but inside there’s a fire burning. The girl hasn’t ridden away with her family, but she isn’t quite smiling with approval, yet. I have great hope for them.”
Colt Idol, Desert Dusk, oil, 9 x 12 in.
Rachel Brownlee, known for her hyperrealistic charcoal works featuring the “wear and tear” of working ranch life, presents a small spur piece, Silver Stars. “[This work] is very special to me because I featured my own set of circa 1910 G.S. Garcia spurs,” Brownlee explains. “G.S. Garcia is considered to be one of the finest antique Western silversmiths. I spent my childhood riding with ‘feed-store quality’ spurs, hoping that someday I could own a pair of Garcia spurs. I found this pair at a small saddle repair shop. They are heavy silver, featuring one of Garcia’s stock designs for cowboys, that of the American flag shield, stars on top and stripes on the bottom. Spurs like these were a valued status symbol among cowboys and such an interesting part of the American West’s history—and of my own.”
Tom Browning, Ready for Action, oil, 12 x 9 in.
Brownlee continues, “Smaller pieces are entirely different compositions for me. They bring so many opportunities for focusing on a different style than larger works. I think they are little gemstones, bright and valuable. For my style, they are challenging because my pencils don’t get any smaller, so as the piece gets smaller, details can be harder to portray accurately, so I just account for that while selecting my compositions.”
To view the entire show, head to Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, from December 11 through 31. A special event on the opening day will be offered starting at 6 p.m. All works are sold by draw. —
Legacy Gallery 7178 E. Main Street » Scottsdale, AZ 85251 » (480) 945-1113 » www.legacygallery.com
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