K im W iggins The Unexpected West
About Kim Wiggins:
The fact that Kim Wiggins became a Western painter is something that seemed to be decreed at birth. He grew up in the wide and dusty expanses of southern New Mexico in a family steeped in ranching life. His father was an adventurer, photographer, writer and art dealer who made sure his young son received tutelage from artistic luminaries such as Peter Hurd, Henriette Wyeth and Alexandre Hogue. Kim’s mother was a rodeo queen who taught Kim to explore and respect the land and all that it had to offer. So, the fact that Kim became a Western painter is something that was, so to speak, set in the stars from day one.
However, what was not decided is how Kim would artistically approach this rich Western material and heritage set out in front of him.
Leave it to the mind of Kim Wiggins to create and bring to life a new way to look at the West. A way that combines the love of the real and physical Western life with a dreamer’s imagination and a modernism that comes from his understanding of contemporary art.
With all the discussion of the New West and the artists who are in demand in the Western art market at the moment, Kim was an early adapter of the idea of the Contemporary West. Kim was a creative forerunner behind the New West Movement and an artist who helped to pave the way for not only new visions to be accepted into the Western art world but also for the artists who have come after him. His innovative vision and approach to Western art has allowed for others to be accepted so readily into the canon of Western art.
Join us in celebrating this important moment in Western Art. An exhibition three years in the making. An exhibition that clearly and resoundingly proclaims the success of a forty-year career in the arts and, specifically in the West. A statement of the lasting and enduring career of Kim Wiggins.
-Joshua Rose
K im W iggins
Mustang Falls
60" x 48" Oil to be sold by auction
Step into the revolutionary world of Kim Wiggins, where the spirit of the American West is reimagined through the bold and evocative lens of ‘The Unexpected West’ art exhibition. Celebrated as a pioneer of the New West Movement, Wiggins melds his rich southwestern heritage with an innovative twist that challenges conventional perceptions of Western art. Born and raised on a ranch in southern New Mexico, Wiggins’ creative dexterity was acknowledged early on when he was discovered as a prodigious talent. From the sprawling vistas of his childhood to the European landscapes where he served in the military, Wiggins draws upon a diverse tapestry of experiences that have shaped his iconic style. He spent time in Europe deepening his understanding of the grand masters, which led to his vibrant fusion of traditional subjects with modernist flair.
‘The Unexpected West’ delivers an electrifying visual narrative that celebrates the raw beauty, rugged individualism, and the untamed wilderness that are synonymous with the American West, yet it infuses a contemporary vitality that resonates with today’s audiences. Wiggins’ paintings are bursts of color, emotion, and texture that beckon viewers to look deeper and see the West through a refreshed and unexpected perspective. One is transported through various forms of artistic expression that Wiggins experimented with throughout his career—including Impressionism, Expressionism, Magical Realism, Symbolism, and Modernism—culminating in a style that is undeniably his own. Join us as Wiggins pays homage to his Western legacy while boldly forging a new path. ‘The Unexpected West’ is not just an art exhibition; it is a statement, a revelation, that promises to change not just how you see the West, but how you perceive art itself.
This catalog represents a portion of works available. For more information on additional works, please view the entire show online at www.legacygallery.com. Sale will be conducted by draw and auction. Please contact the gallery for more details, (480) 945-1113.
K im W iggins The Unexpected West
November 9 th - 17 th 2024
Show & Sale: Saturday, November 9th
Scottsdale, Arizona
10:00 am
"The Unexpected West" presentation by Kim Wiggins followed by poster signing
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Artists’ Reception & Sale
Legacy Gallery
7178 Main Street • Scottsdale, AZ
The sale will be conducted by draw as well as auction. Draw will start at 6:00 pm, auction to follow.
Scottsdale • Arizona
7178 Main Street · Scottsdale, AZ 85251 · 480-945-1113
225 Canyon Road · Santa Fe, NM 85701
On a Santa Fe Night, is a lyrical scene set in Santa Fe during the early 20th Century. It celebrates the beauty, music, and multicultural traditions of the Southwest. This painting is from a series of works I began in 1997 focusing on Santa Fe’s diverse history. Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States settled beneath the Sangre de Cristo Mountains along a tributary of the Rio Grande River. The Santa Fe Trail was the gateway to the West and Santa Fe became the hub of Western Expansion. It is steeped in the history of the West and soon became the key focal point of Western art. This painting embodies the vast cultural influences that made Santa Fe the center of the West and the art Mecca of today. Here city life is centered on the historic downtown plaza on Fiesta Day. Near the center of the plaza several groups of Mariachi’s entertain a vast crowd of spectators gathered for the evening. Pueblo Indians, cowboys, visitors, children and pets are all represented under a beautiful night sky. The Pueblo Indian culture built the earliest known settlement very near where the Santa Fe Plaza stands today sometime around the year 900. New Mexico is also steeped in Hispanic tradition with the first Spanish colonizing the region in 1598. In the background of the painting stands the Saint Francis Church built in 1626 as one of the earliest American missions. The Roman Catholic faith played a major role in colonization of the region and even the name Santa Fe means Holy Faith. By the 1870’s the Santa Fe Trail had become a major hub of transportation linking the Eastern and Western United States during Westward Expansion. Within a few years the railroad connected Santa Fe with Dodge City as cattle markets boomed in the East. Finance, business, and industry kept the wheels of commerce flowing. The Santa Fe Plaza remains heartbeat of this beautiful city bridging the gap between past and present, old and new.
Thing 24"
to be sold by auction
The
x 30" Oil
to be sold by auction
The Winding Rio Grande 30" x 40" Oil
The Llano Quemado refers to a beautiful flowing valley located just outside Taos, New Mexico. The term, "Llano Quemado" literally translated means "burnt plains" referring to the grasslands’ yellowish-brown color as observed by early Spanish explorers. In this work several Taos Pueblo riders make their way through the blooming orchards on the outskirts of Ranchos de Taos. The enthralling mission stands as lord of the valley reflecting its influence over this remote part of the world. This is the land of the Taos Society of Artists and the birthplace of much of the artistic history of the American West. Coronado walked these paths, and Kit Carson lived and guided under the same billowing skies. Today the torch has been passed down to a new generation of artists. As one of a handful of native New Mexican painters, I feel the calling to record the history and soul of the vanishing West with fresh passion and unique vision. I must say that this painting is one of my personal favorites in the show. It reflects much of my heart and vision as an artist. This same subject was captured by my mentor, Alexandre Hogue and his mentor Ernest Blumenschein. Each of us has his own unique interpretation of the subject. Yet, it is this generational influence and passing of the torch that so intrigues me.
Spring Along the Llano Quemado
48" x 72" Oil
to be sold by draw
Navajo Dawn 24" x 30" Oil
to be sold by auction
Arizona Night
24" x 30" Oil
to be sold by auction
featured on the cover of Western Art Collector
I began focusing seriously on oil painting in 1977 while serving in the Army Corps of Engineers. Over the last forty-seven years I’ve painted nine monumental size paintings but only three this large. All nine are historical in nature, and all but two reside in major museums, universities, or corporate collections. In August 2022, Legacy Gallery asked me to produce a massive show incorporating my finest work. The first thing I did was visit the Scottsdale gallery site and begin the process of laying out a blueprint of my vision of an expansive Wiggins solo show. I wanted the show to reveal twenty-five snapshots focused on the incredible beauty I’ve encountered while documenting my American West. I soon determined that I wanted to build the entire show around one massive painting and I wanted that painting to embody the very heartbeat of the Old West, for my greatest passion is history.
Much of the history of the American West centers on and around the life of the cowboy. Today he has come to symbolize the spirit of the American West. The birth of the truly great American cattle drives began in late 1866. Massive herds of longhorn cattle were gathered in Texas and driven to isolated military outposts, reservations, and burgeoning Western cow towns. The Chisholm Trail was one of those key cattle trails traversing the untamed West. This monumental painting is the largest work I’ve done in twelve years. Chisholm Trail depicts a massive stampede along a difficult journey from South Texas to Abilene, Kansas. It symbolizes the fiery passion, grit, and self-determination which formed the American West. Through the centuries the cattle stampede has come to embody mankind’s ability to overcome unsurmountable odds amid life’s most daunting challenges.
Chisholm Trail
72" x 96" Oil to be sold by draw
Tornado Alley 24"
36"
to be sold by draw
Along
x
Oil
End of the Day 24"
x 48" Oil to be sold by draw
This painting is my homage to William Herbert “Buck” Dunton. He was one of the founding members of the Taos Society of Artists. His good friend Ernest Blumenschein first encouraged him to visit Taos, New Mexico around 1912. Much of Dunton’s work focuses on the West, particularly the Taos area. I’ve always loved his paintings. They are very intimate, powerful, and intriguing. Land of Buck Dunton speaks to his life and love of elk hunting. Many of Dunton’s paintings are set in the fall while the aspen trees reveal the full color of Autumn. I’ve always related to his life story. He had a passion for outdoor life shared with him through adventures with his grandfather. Many of his painting captured the personal lives of hunting guides, men of the West, trackers surrounded by their dogs before a bear or cougar hunt, or old timers whose faces seem to show the very age of the mountains they’ve come to know. As with my own work, Dunton sought to capture a time he feared to be quickly fading away. Last year I was able to visit a major exhibition organized by the Phoenix Art Museum and the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, New Mexico, William Herbert “Buck” Dunton: A Mainer Goes West. I had recently finished my major work, Land of Buck Dunton, and I wanted to further study his brushwork, impasto, technique, and compositions. It was one of the highlights of my travels last year. During the exhibition I heard my grandfather’s voice saying, “You’re never too old to learn!”
Land of Buck Dunton
60" x 48" Oil to be sold by draw
A Summer Song
18" x 14" Oil to be sold by draw
featured on the cover of Art of the West
Spring Rain
36" x 48" Oil
to be sold by auction
The Gift of Tawa 16" x 20" Oil to be sold by draw
The Gift of Tawa centers around Shawn Deel, a beautiful young Hopi man I met last year when I was invited to work cattle on his grandmother’s rugged ranch in Northern Arizona. Shawn is one of the creative stars breathing new life into the Katsina carving tradition. His powerful carving is enhanced with intricate jewelry and silverwork landing multiple awards at key events and taking top honors at Santa Fe Indian Market. In the painting Shawn stands looking across Moenkopi Canyon, one of the iconic features of his family’s ranch. Tawa was considered the spiritual force sustaining life and balance. He was entrusted with prayer feathers sent to the creator. Here, a swirling sun envelops Shawn harkening back to creation of the world.
The Spiritualist was inspired during my research for my recent NAACP commission. Spiritualism was a religious movement, particularly active in the South during the late 19th century through the 1940’s. Here in my painting, you see a beautiful Cajun seer deep within the Bayou. The morning haze just beyond the homestead brings forth a wonderful sense of mystery. A seer’s gift allowed them to use various aspects of religion to place people in touch with the souls of departed loved ones. Spiritualists were guides between the living and the dead. They were mediums between the physical and the spiritual realm. The flowers, the sun, the mist, the birds all carry symbolic meaning. An old nursery rhyme speaks of magpies:
One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret never to be told. Eight for a wish, Nine for a kiss, Ten a surprise you should be careful not to miss, Eleven for health, Twelve for wealth, Thirteen beware it’s the devil himself!
The Spiritualist
40" x 30" Oil to be sold by draw
16" x 20" Oil to be sold by auction
A Winter Night in Lincoln 18" x 24" Oil to be sold by draw
Wildcat
Fall in Rio Arriba
36" x 48" Oil
to be sold by draw
The Breaking Dawn
6" x 12" Oil to be sold by draw
Four Peaks at Sunset
10" x 20" Oil to be sold by draw
Daybreak in Wine Country 18" x 24" Oil to be sold by draw
to be sold by draw
to be sold by draw
Cactus Flower
12" x 16" Oil
Saguaro Dusk 9" x 12" Oil
be sold by draw
Autumn Harvest 16" x 20" Oil to
to be sold by draw
to be sold by draw
Moenkopi Moon
12" x 16" Oil
Twilight 12" x 12" Oil
One Chimayo Night
36" x 24" Oil to be sold by draw
Las Trampas Spring
6" x 9" Oil
to be sold by draw
Evening Solitude
6" x 8" Oil
to be sold by draw
to be sold by auction
Kim Wiggins and Legacy Gallery are donating 100% of the proceeds of the artwork, “Sunburst” to the National Indian Youth Leadership Project (NIYLP). By directing the entirety of the funds raised from the sale of “Sunburst”, they aim to empower and uplift the lives of young individuals within indigenous communities. This artwork will be auctioned during Kim’s show at Legacy Gallery Scottsdale on November 9th.
NIYLP’s mission is to support indigenous youth to develop healthy lifestyles and positive relationships with the natural world to achieve their full potential, and to become leaders in their communities.
Sunburst
12" x 12" Oil
AWARDS & ACCOLADES:
• 2022 - The Briscoe Museum Purchase Award, Night of Artists Exhibition & Sale, Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio, TX, in the Permanent Museum Collection.
• 2020 - The Stories of the West Award, Gold Medal for Best Narrative, Masters of the American West Art Exhibition & Sale, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA, on Permanent Display at the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District.
• 2018 - The William B. Travis Award for Patron’s Choice, Night of Artists Exhibition & Sale, Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio,TX.
• 2014 - The Heritage Award, for passionate innovation and contribution to the arts, New Mexico Historical Society, Roswell, NM.
• 2005 - Jackie Autry Special Purchase. Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition & Sale, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA, in the Permanent Museum Collection.
• 2000 - Patron’s Choice - Most Inspiring to Youth, Painters and the American West, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, in the Permanent Collection of the American Museum of Western Art, Denver, CO.
MAJOR COMMISSIONS:
• The Anschutz Collection, Denver, CO - In 1996 Wiggins was commissioned by business icon Philip Anschutz to create his first major historical work. His monumental work is now one of the focal points for the American Museum of Western Art in Denver and remains one of the most popular paintings in the collection.
• The Staples Center Collection (Crypto.com Arena) - In the late 1990’s Anschutz Entertainment Group moved forward on major renovation of the downtown Los Angeles area. Wiggins was approached on an expansive commission entitled The California Series. This set of nine paintings and one mural focused on the history of California. Completed in 2005, this series has been a center piece for many of the backstage interviews held for the Grammy Awards and other key events.
• The Roswell Museum & Art Center Foundation - The Goodnight/Loving Trail Series began in 2011 when Wiggins was commissioned by the Roswell Museum and Art Center Foundation to paint a major historical work focused on the Goodnight/Loving Trail. The next year, Cattle Kings of the Pecos, Oil, 72” x 96”, 2012, was installed in the Roswell Museum’s permanent collection. Within the research the artist found incredible inspiration allowing him to pursue a series of paintings based on the first massive cattle drives in American history. This year’s monumental work Chisholm Trail, Oil, 72” x 96”, 2023-2024, stands out as the most complex painting in Wiggins’ series on major cattle trails of the American West.
• The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) - In 2021 Wiggins was honored by the NAACP with an extensive project documenting various aspects of Black History. The NAACP wanted Wiggins’ unique vision and painting style to stand out amongst so many great artists that have come before. Initial concepts were worked out with one of the organizations leading curators. The result was a monumental series celebrating historical moments in Black America. These four major works were unveiled on Juneteenth 2023 at the Dayton Art Institute.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
• Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA - Lewis & Clark Among the Mandan, Oil, 84" x 108", 2004; The Day Josie Chesser Died, Oil, 48” x 36”, 1999
• American Museum of Western Art, Denver, CO - Merging Cultures on the Santa Fe Plaza, Oil, 60" x 84", 1997; Down on the Santa Fe Plaza, Oil, 48" x 60", 2005
• Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, GA - Eve of St. Francis - Ranchos de Taos, Oil, 60" x 76", 2003
• Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio, TX - Fiesta Day on the Plaza, Oil, 36" x 48", 2002; Colonel Crockett’s Return from Cibolo Creek, Oil, 36" x 48", 2018; Frank Chisum - Wild West Icon, Oil, 60" x 40", 2020; Last Tally at Bosque Grande - 1867, Oil, 40" x 60", 2022
• Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District, Fort Worth, TX - Fleeing Hell’s Fury - Range Fire, Oil, 48" x 60", 2019
• Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM - My Ethereal World, Oil, 60" x 48", 1992
“Kim’s paintings of New Mexico and the other places he visits are his unique responses to what he sees and feels about the beauty and spirit of New Mexico’s landscape, the smog-filled city of New York, or the everyday objects of his still lifes. His expressive use of color, his provocative and rhythmical forms and his concern for composition combine to draw the viewer into his visionary works.”
– Sandra D’Emilio, Former Curator of Early 20th Century Art, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe.
“Kim Wiggins is highly skilled as a painter: Imaginative, creative, and blessed with a unique style. He is one of the very few young artists who have emerged in the past decade whose paintings and appeal will have long-term staying power. I have been for some time and continue to be a fan.”
– Philip F. Anschutz, Business Icon, The Anschutz Collection.
“Like Van Gogh, Wiggins’ style is based on a pictorial language of heavily impastoed brushwork, bold color, and dynamic surface movement. Wiggins draws upon Post-Impressionism, Expressionism, American Regionalism, and muralist and folk-art traditions, and it is this union that makes his paintings truly unique and unexpected.”
– Laurie J. Rufe, Former Director of the Tucson Museum of Art.
“Kim Douglas Wiggins is more than an artist, he is an anthropologist of the American West. He has dedicated his career to telling the stories of the colonial frontier, the first peoples, and the environments in which they lived. His recognizable style honors the artists that came before and has paved the way for younger Western artists continuing the craft.”
– Cyndi Hall, General Manager, Legacy Galleries & Manitou Galleries.
Limited amount of posters available for $80.
