The mission behind the annual Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West, hosted at the Sigler Western Museum, is to provide women artists with a platform to exhibit and sell their work while also fostering meaningful connections. In addition, the exhibition and event was established to address the historical marginalization of women artists, who have often been overshadowed by their male counterparts.
An artist demonstrates her stunning abilities during the 2025 Cowgirl Up!“The narrative of Western art remains incomplete without the inclusion of women artists, who have served as agitators and innovators,” adds Tricia Loscher, chief curator at the Sigler Western Museum. “Both Indigenous and immigrant women have participated in all facets of Western development throughout history. Their contributions often surpass what is typically represented in catalogs and exhibitions of Western art, and delight and surprise museum guests. This annual event continues to elevate Western women artists and contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the American West.”
Corey Garman, Eternal, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in.
The 2026 edition features a diverse range of styles and mediums by both returning artists and new additions—like that of Maeve Eichelberger, a contemporary artist recognized for her distinctive saddle sculptures, which utilize acrylic and Plexiglass to transform familiar forms.
Find other impressive works like Eternal, by Corey Garman, who is inspired by the vast American West. “The land speaks to me through fleeting moments of light and weather, and I strive to capture its silent voice by painting them as a visual story,” says Garman. “My painting, Eternal,depicts the bleached skeleton of an ancient cedar tree, still clinging to the edge of the north rim of the Grand Canyon…When I happened upon it, the perfect combination of weather and light had given it the appearance of a living canopy of clouds.”
Maeve Eichelberger, Mirage, hand etched and formed acrylic, 46 x 27 x 22 in.
Dawn Sutherland’s Where Heaven Meets Earth and Carved of Spirit and Stone also depict scenes of the Grand Canyon, which she says, “offers a never-ending buffet of inspiration—quiet, shady alcoves to brilliantly lit rock walls.” For Where Heaven Meets Earth, she shares, “Morning light at Saddle Canyon camp is breathtaking as sunlight pours over the south rim and washes down the north face of the canyon.”
For Carved of Spirit and Stone, she says, “The expanse of sky, drama of distant clouds and the solid stillness of the buttes at sundown elicit an elusive feeling of quiet mightiness and strength. These formations stand resolute and resistant to the wear and tear of time and the elements.” The entire painting is done with thick paint and a palette knife, giving the piece textural beauty in the sky and ruggedness in the earth.
Top: Dawn Sutherland, Carved of Spirit and Stone, oil on canvas, 18 x 36 in. Bottom: Dawn Sutherland, Where Heaven Meets Earth, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in. Veryl Goodnight, A Stellar Day, diptych, oil on linen, 10 x 8 in. (without frame)
For Veryl Goodnight, it’s all about animals, especially horses, but the artist also manages wildlife that have been given to her for rehabilitation. These wildlife subjects inspire works like A Stellar Day, a diptych of Steller’s jay birds that populate her garden. For Snow Showers, depicting cattle, she says, “I visited my nephew and his family during calving season this past March. As an artist, seeing the Red Angus against the winter grays was inspiring. The snow would blur the distant cattle and suddenly the sun would break through to spotlight the nearest cattle. Dead cottonwoods added to the visual drama while providing protection from the weather.”
Top: Veryl Goodnight, Snow Showers, oil on linen, 20 x 30 in. Elise Mahaffie, She’s Got It, oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in. Bottom: Leah Lucas, Easy Riders, oil, 24 x 30 in. Sharon Standridge, Come a Running, oil on linen, 22 x 28 in.
Lastly, we also see Goodnight’s piece Tranquility, showing mule deer. “They cross between our home and barn where my studio is,” shares the artist. “The long ears of a half dozen deer can sometimes be seen jutting out above the tall grass where they have bedded down for the night. We provide a safe zone for these gentle animals and they, in turn, add to the tranquility of our lives.”
Artist Elise Mahaffie presents her horse imagery She’s Got It and Days End,stating, “There is something so magical in the bond between our equine friends and humans, as well as the bond between horses themselves. Their soulful eyes, a gentle nudge with their nose, a willingness to please, a sweet neck scratch between themselves, are all things I try to capture when photographing a scene. I love coming to the canvas to start a new painting when I have found just the right moment between human and horse, or horses interacting with each other.”
Rebecca Tobey, Heirlooms, ceramic, 5½ x 8½ x 2½ in.
Figures from the American West, like cowboys, and pioneer women and children, are the subjects of choice for Sharon Standridge. “Through in-depth research, I have cultivated a passion for capturing the essence of this bygone era in my artwork,” Standridge says. “Painting animals is another aspect I enjoy. Each blank canvas is a chance to create something new. Whenever feasible, I seek to harness the magical quality of early or late sunlight, arranging models and props to accentuate the dramatic interplay of light and shadow. Over the years, I have accumulated a collection of period-specific clothing and accessories, including some pieces I have made myself for my models. With each new painting, I add to the collection to further enhance the narrative.”
For her show piece June Bloom, a bronze sculpture depicting a quail and cactus, Deanne McKeown says, “Early June is the time when hatchings of Gambel’s quail appear and many cacti bloom in the desert. I love seeing a dozen of these new babies trailing one parent while another keeps watch nearby. Since quail and blossoms appear at the same time, I thought it apropos to have them ‘bloom’ together in my sculpture.”
Top: Veryl Goodnight, Tranquility, oil on linen, 12 x 10 in. Elise Mahaffie, Days End, oil on canvas, 18 x 24 in. Bottom: Rebecca Tobey, Clouds Get in my Way, ceramic, 15 x 11 x 6 in. Rebecca Tobey, Just Before the Frost, ceramic, 14 x 19 x 4½ in. Lisa Danielle, Ancient Animals, acrylic, 10 x 8 in.
The West is where Leah Lucas’ heart resides, and where her paintings find their peace, their reverence and their place. “My canvases linger in nature: wide rivers, enduring mountains, tall grasslands and teepee villages,” Lucas explains of pieces like Easy Riders and It Takes a Village. “Cowboys on horseback move through open spaces. Even narrow etchings of creeks might appear almost as whispers. These elements are not simply subjects, they are vessels for memory, stillness and belonging.”
She continues, “My work endeavors to offer a sense of calm and serenity; to carry forward the feeling of a way of life that once served us deeply, and perhaps still can. Through these paintings, I hope to return the viewer to a quieter place, where the land speaks softly, movement is unhurried and the spirit is free once more.”
For this year’s Cowgirl Up!, Rebecca Tobey is re-introducing her small ceramic fetish bears like Heirlooms, Clouds Get in My Way and Just Before the Frost. “Like every artist, I know my studio is my happy place,” says Tobey. “As long as there’s something in the crockpot for dinner, so I don’t have to think after 5 p.m., I can spend every hour of every day happily in the studio working on my ceramics. I’ve had such fun with these new, smaller pieces.”
Top: Sharon Standridge, Warm Summer Breezes and Slow Days, oil on linen, 28 x 22 in. Leah Lucas, It Takes a Village, oil, 12 x 16 in. Bottom: Jan De Lipsey, The Road Less Traveled, oil, 11 x 14 in. Dolores Purdy, My Love, colored pencils on antique court document ledger paper, 15½ x 13 in.
Jan De Lipsey’s work is rooted in lived experience in the American Southwest. Years of riding, working ranch land and observing shifting light and weather have shaped how she sees and paints the West. “I approach landscape painting as a series of relationships between land, sky, structure and the history carried within each place,” she says. “I’m drawn to canyon walls, remote roads and weathered ranch buildings because they reflect endurance, memory and a strong sense of space.”
De Lipsey continues, “As part of a three-woman art collective, Abiquiu Rising, I have benefited from additional voices that have been underrepresented in Western art. These women have strengthened my voice and inspired me to expand the traditional Western narrative by presenting a broader, more inclusive view of the American West.”
As a Colorado artist, Mary Leslie Hartman loves the opportunity to be a part of Cowgirl Up!and dive into her other love, the desert, captivated by the its harsh beauty and the resilient creatures that thrive within it. “My work celebrates the humor and unexpected interactions among [desert] animals like roadrunners outwitting coyotes, burros having a spa day with their elaborate dust baths, and ravens always on alert for the tiniest scrap or gleaming treasure,” Hartman says. “Through playful exaggeration and whimsical scenarios, I reveal the comedy of survival: rivalries turned slapstick, reluctant alliances and moments of absurd dignity under a relentless sun. In this unforgiving landscape, life persists with cleverness and character. My art highlights these tiny, joyful dramas to remind us that even in the toughest places, nature finds ways to laugh, scheme and endure with unmistakable style.”
Clockwise from left: Mary Leslie Hartman, Sunset Sentinels, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in. Lucy Dickens, Wading Wild, oil, 18 x 24 in. Jan De Lipsey, Hardscrabble, oil, 11 x 14 in.
Lucy Dickens paints wildlife, landscapes and botanicals in oil—like her show piece Wading Wild—and is drawn to moments that take her breath away. “It’s these beautiful moments that cause me to feel, reflect and give thanks,” she shares. “The interplay of light and shadow draw deeply into a scene, encouraging me to capture it on canvas. What does the light touch? What is hiding in the shadows and how do they dance? I most enjoy painting from travel journeys, bringing viewers along through images and story. I hope to evoke feelings of serenity and grace creating scenes that transports you to another place and time.”
Deanne McKeown, June Bloom, bronze, 16 x 12 x 9 in.
Dolores Purdy uses the historical art form of antique paper and colored pencils for pieces like My Love and Late for My Date, but veers far from the imagery one would typically see in ledger art. “I [add] a feminine spin, often celebrating women, using bright colors with light-hearted, whimsical imagery,” she explains. “The Art Deco movement, Peter Max and his psychedelic Pop Art, as well as Asian textiles influence my work.”
Lisa Danielle shares, “A fire at my studio and loss of research material just before last year’s Cowgirl Up! event has pushed me to look for new, inspired subjects for this year’s show. My offerings this year will be a mix of treasures newly found, and some pieces thought lost that I’ve saved and restored after all. I call them ‘beauty from ashes,’ a biblical term for renewal, which has been the story of my artistic life this past year.” Danielle presents her acrylic paintings of pottery at the 2026 event, including Evolving Traditions, Ancient Animals and Polychrome Pair-Hopi.
Top: Dolores Purdy, Late for My Date, colored pencils on antique Indian Territory ledger paper, 13 x 15½ in. Lisa Danielle, Polychrome Pair-Hopi, acrylic, 10 x 8 in. Bottom: Lisa Danielle, Evolving Traditions, acrylic, 36 x 36 in. Mary Leslie Hartman, Baby Blue, oil on canvas, 16 x 16 in.
Besides the array of artwork that will be on display at the Sigler Western Museum in Wickenburg, Arizona, from March 27 through 29 for the opening weekend, attendees will also experience a smattering of special programming. This includes artist meet-and-greets, highly anticipated previews, a seated dinner, silent auctions, a guest speaker presentation and the action-packed quickdraw breakfast event on Sunday, where works are created live and auctioned fresh off the easel.
All art featured in the exhibition is available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting both the artists and the museum’s exhibitions and educational programs. After opening weekend, artwork will hang through the end of May, offering visitors an extended opportunity to experience and collect the works of 60 of today’s leading Western women artists. —
Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West
Sigler Western Museum
21 N. Frontier Street, Wickenburg, AZ 85390
(928) 684-2272, www.westernmuseum.org
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