The Ascendant West
Welcome to the February issue of Western Art Collector! I am writing this on the last day of 2025 and I am excited looking ahead to 2026. As I reflect on this year and the Western art market, I marvel at the record-breaking level of collecting we saw from almost every category of Western art from auctions, solo gallery shows, group shows and museums. It is clear that the West has won the hearts and minds of an even larger base of collectors. For both the contemporary West and the classic West, collectors are coming together to admire both of these categories within the true spirit of the American West. Billy Schenck’s Antonito captures this perfectly on our cover this month. The image comes from Mark Sublette’s big retrospective for the artist, which opens February 6. Billy has been painting for 55 years!
Another must-attend show this month is Western Horizons presented by Legacy Gallery. This is its third year of bringing star-powered artists to Scottsdale, Arizona. You can find a preview of this show on Page 64. We are happy to bring you these gallery shows and eight others in this issue, all filled with exceptional art.
Brand new in this issue, you will find a change that we believe will enhance your page-viewing flow. Gallery previews are now in the front of the magazine, right after our features, to provide the best shows of the month earlier in our pages. Executive editor Michael Clawson will go into this more on Page 6.
Our podcast, the American Art Collective, continues to grow, recently releasing its 364th episode in just five years, making it the longest-running art podcast in the market. Hosted by Michael, the show brings the microphone directly to the market, capturing the voices and stories of leading artists, dealers, curators and experts featured in our magazine. Two of my must-listen shows from 2025 are Jeremy Winborg (Ep. 347), and FBI agent and art crime investigator Christopher Dudley (Ep. 319). With more than 230,000 downloads to date, we thank you—our subscribers and listeners—for being part of this growing community. We look forward to continuing to entertain, educate and inspire you with every episode and issue.
Wendie Martin and Adolfo Castillo
Publishers
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