Maybe you’ve heard, this year is the ‘Year of the Horse’ in the Chinese zodiac. But for the Phippen Museum in Prescott, Arizona, every year offers a chance to celebrate the horse. On July 25, the museum’s popular Hold Your Horses! Invitational Show & Salereturns, offering wonderful opportunities to add horse art to an art collection.
Barbara Meikle, Gathered in Blue, oil on canvas, 30 x 24 in.
“The horse continues to resonate so strongly with audiences because it is both iconic and universally admired,” says Jeannette Holverson, the museum’s assistant director. “People are naturally drawn to the horse for its beauty and grace while others romanticize the sense of freedom and adventure associated with the horse. In Western art, the horse is deeply connected to the history and heritage of the American West, but its appeal extends beyond that genre. The horse is a timeless subject that artists can interpret in endless ways. That is part of what makes the exhibition so successful, not only from a collector’s perspective, but also for the artists themselves, many of whom are either inspired by the challenge of the subject or deeply passionate about it.”
Vicki Pedersen, Midnight Rider, oil, 24 x 18 in.
Hold Your Horses! kicks off on July 24 with an opening reception and preview. The ticketed event is free to members. The artwork will be sold by a fixed-price box draw. This year’s featured artist is James Andrews, recipient of the 2025 Hold Your Horses People’s Choice Award.
Another artist in this year’s show is New Mexico painter Barbara Meikle, who will be showing Gathered in Blue.“Horses have been an influence and inspiration in my life since childhood, and I never grew out of it,” she says. “I love to search out, photograph and paint wild horses in their natural habitat. The horses of the Camargue in the south of France are quite beautiful and I was able to photograph them in the Mediterranean Sea. Those images sparked many paintings for me; the combination of the movement and the water and the atmosphere continues to challenge my color palette and imagination.”
Allie Louise Parker, Golden Grace, soft pastel, 20 x 16 in.
Allie Louise Parker will be showing her pastel work Golden Grace, which features a close-up, almost portrait-like image of a horse’s head. “My approach is observational and detail-driven, with an emphasis on expression, composition, mark making and subtle emotional gestures as the foundation of the storytelling from piece to piece,” she says. “Soft pastel allows me to work with a degree of realism while preserving the visible marks of the medium. Texture, layered color and quiet imperfections are intentional, helping the work feel artistic, timeless and grounded. I find peace in the thousands of tedious pastel marks that make my work what it is.”
The show will also feature the works of Steve Atkinson, Gary Byrd, Sonja Caywood, Mary Ann Cherry, Sherry Cobb-Kelleher, Dan Knepper, Bill Nebeker, Julie Nighswonger, Sarah Phippen, Marlin Rotach, Don Weller, Alvin Marshall and many others. More than 35 artists will participate with 130 works in the exhibition.
James Andrews, No Matter the Weather, oil, 18 x 35 in.
“Every year, I’m surprised by the new and inventive creativity the artists bring to the theme. This will be my eighth year showcasing Hold Your Horses! and I still see fresh perspectives and unexpected compositions that make the exhibition feel new,” Holverson says. “The opening reception also has its own special energy. There’s an excitement that fills the museum after every sale, when we ring a cowbell and all the collectors, visitors and artists celebrate with whoops and hollers. It’s completely different from our more formal events that are typical of opening receptions.” —
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