Fall is a prolific season for Western art. Nearly every collector’s pen is running dry as they continuously mark their calendars during the month of September for some of the biggest museum shows and events of the year. Among these is the Eiteljorg Museum’s annual Quest for the West, highlighting 50 of today’s leading painters, printmakers, ceramic artists and sculptors working in the Western genre. During the two-day event, attendees will be able to sink their teeth into nearly 200 original works in landscapes, portraiture, wildlife and more, as well as meet directly with the artists.
Following the sale weekend, which takes place September 11 to 12, the exhibition remains on view at the museum through October 11.
Krystii Melaine, Listening to the Wind, oil on linen panel, 40 x 20 in.; Sean Michael Chavez, Night Begins to Hold, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 in. Ezra Tucker’s acrylic Nurturing the Legend is a superb representation of wildlife art in the upcoming show, as well as a homage to an iconic North American beast. “The American bison is a symbol of abundance and manifestation and prosperity. The Lakota and other Native tribes believe that a white buffalo is the most sacred or spiritually significant living thing on earth. The birth of a sacred white buffalo is a sign of hope and an indication of good times to come,” says Tucker.
Curt Mattson also finds inspiration in the monumental bovine with his highly textural and dynamic sculpture Earth Shaker.“The American buffalo is one of the most sculptural animals on the planet. Their mass, textures and the variety to express movement are almost endless. The power they possess is truly beyond belief,” he says.
John Fawcett, Smoke and Thunder, oil, 30 x 40 in.
Ezra Tucker, Nurturing the Legend, acrylic on illustration board, 20 x 30 in.
Danny Galieote, Love Shake, oil on canvas, 20 x 20 in; Marlin Rotach, Beneath the Azure Sky, watercolor, 36 x 24 in.
Look to works like Bruce Cheever’s Sawtooth Crossing, Josh Elliott’s Lucent Jewel and John Fawcett’s Smoke and Thunder for those idyllic, panoramic views of the West.
“The painting is trying to capture a moment of reflection for these Native riders, who hold nature with the utmost respect,” Fawcett says of Smoke and Thunder. “They never believed the land with all its grandeur could be owned, but rather they were stewards and caretakers for generations of their people to come. Here, the riders admire the huge falls and pay homage to the gods which gave them this gift of ‘smoke and thunder.’”
Kevin Chupik, Passing Ships, acrylic on birch, 30 x 40 in.
Marlin Rotach demonstrates what the medium of watercolor can achieve with his landscape Beneath the Azure Sky. “On a trip outside Moab, my buddy Tom Smart invited me to join him as he rode the Castle Rock and Quakie Shake Pond area,” he explains. “When we arrived, a bluff concealed the water below. I climbed the rise ahead of the others, and as I reached the top, this scene revealed itself all at once. The colors were so luminous they seemed almost unreal. The pond’s surface, while reflecting, was both deepening and intensifying nature’s local colors. For a moment it felt as if a Maxfield Parrish painting had come alive before my eyes. Light flooded the canyon walls, the pond mirrored the sky and a solitary rider—Tom—moved quietly through the immense scale of that land. Instinctively I began photographing the moment, knowing an ambitious watercolor was about to unfold.”
Bruce Cheever, Sawtooth Crossing, oil, 34 x 28 in.
Josh Elliott, Lucent Jewel, oil, 23 x 30 in.
“Looking skywards with tufted ears alert, this Canadian Lynx reminds me of how I listen to the wind now that I live in Wyoming,” Krystii Melaine says of her oil Listening to the Wind. “His long legs and huge paws give him a statuesque quality while seated. Painting him was a study in textures, from glassy eyes reflecting the sky to multiple layers of soft, dense fur. The pale background allows his luminous eyes and dark markings to stand out, while the rest blends quietly into the environment.”
Elsewhere in the sale, collectors will find depictions of ranchers, cowboys and other Western figures in the art of contemporary painters Kevin Chupik and Sean Michael Chavez, whose works have helped further the sub-genre of the New West.
“The Eiteljorg’s commitment to preserving and expanding that story is vital, and returning this year is especially meaningful,” says Chavez, who won last year’s Eiteljorg Museum Purchase Award. “I can’t wait to see this year’s exhibition and to see my newest works among so many talented artists, but to also see my work as part of the permanent collection in the adjacent gallery for the first time.”
Luke Anderson, New Mexico Sunset, 2026, acrylic and oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in.
A miniature art sale kicks off the weekend’s events on Friday, September 11, featuring smaller-scale works at lower price points. On Saturday, September 12, is the luck-of-the-draw main sale, where collectors compete for the opportunity to purchase original artwork with fixed pricing. The day ends with an awards banquet recognizing artists for their outstanding achievements in multiple categories, including the prestigious Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award. —
Curt Mattson, Earth Shaker, stainless steel, ed. of 20, 10½ x 14 x 7 in.; Starr Hardridge, Autumn Trail, 2026, acrylic, 40 x 30 in.
Quest for the West
September 11-12, 2026Miniature Art Sale, Sept. 11
Main Art Sale, Sept. 12
Public Exhibition, Sept. 13-Oct. 11
Eiteljorg Museum
500 W. Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 636-9378, www.eiteljorg.org
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