A Tale of Two Art Centers
Dear Fellow Art Lovers,
Part of the fun of admiring and acquiring art is visiting the wonderful places where it is made and sold. This season, we are pleased to highlight two standout art destinations: Jackson, Wyoming and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Both towns are among America’s most dynamic; their populations are growing and so the range of artistic endeavors pursued there has broadened accordingly. Both offer a delightful mix of excellence, diversity, and laid-back charm. The art available ranges across periods — from the 19th century right through last week — and there is always someone interesting to chat with. Your coffee barista may be a musician, and the receptionist at the gallery an up-and-coming artist.
Particularly intriguing is the cheek-by-jowl flourishing of artforms drawn from different cultural legacies. In both places we see, side-byside, artworks inspired by the Native American and “Western” legacies (the latter encompasses both European-American and the American West). And though Jackson and Scottsdale still celebrate their “Old West” pasts, an increasingly modernist tone is visible — the newer buildings are streamlined, with glass and steel elements blended elegantly into the older vernacular architectural traditions of wood (Jackson) and adobe (Scottsdale). The artworks on
view are going that way, too, keeping us all on our aesthetic toes.
There’s also a level playing field among the fine and decorative arts here: great jewelry, textiles, ceramics, metalwork, and ethnographic artifacts are prized just as much as paintings, sculpture, and works on paper. Practitioners in these artforms see and respect each other, and much creativity has flowed from their encounters.
And of course there’s the sporty aspect of both towns: though you can pursue almost any pastime, Jackson sure does love to ski, and Scottsdale loves to golf. The distinctive aesthetics of those sports (perhaps think Alps for skiers and Scotland for golfers) often pop up here and there, adding an unexpected element of fun and charm.
It’s a truism that art galleries like to set up shop in the same neighborhoods because their clients can stroll from one to the next and discover something new. Literally, it’s the more the merrier. Sure enough, it’s easy to walk through the lively gallery districts of Jackson and Scottsdale and catch almost everything you will want to see.
Enjoy your visits there, and please tell us what you discovered.
Peter Trippi, Editor-in-Chief, Fine Art Connoisseur
JACKSON, WY SCOTTSDALE, AZ
HIGH ON A RT IN JACKSON
For sheer visual excitement, the landscape around the town of Jackson, Wyoming, is hard to match.
Travelers arriving at the newly renovated airport encounter its beauty immediately. Just four miles to the west, the Grand Teton peaks rise a dramatic 6,000 feet from the valley floor. Gentler hills cradle the valley’s eastern edge, lined with evergreens and aspens that turn gold in the autumn. To the north, 400 square miles of wilderness sweep out to the horizon.
The men who explored the American West called such high mountain valleys “holes,” and they named Jackson Hole after Davey Jackson, a trapper who frequented this part of northwestern Wyoming. Bisected by the Snake River, it is about 80 miles long and 15 miles wide; six miles above its northern end, Yellowstone National Park begins. Skiing in the area started in earnest in 1939, and it has become worldfamous for superb snow and facilities; during the summer, outstanding trails beckon hikers to enjoy the scenery and the waterways delight those who fish.
Today what we call Jackson Hole encompasses the
Wyoming communities of Wilson, Teton Village, Moran Junction, Hoback, and Alta, as well as Victor and Driggs just across the Idaho border. But preeminent is the town of Jackson, home to approximately 11,000 residents and located at the valley’s southeastern edge. It abuts the 25,000-acre National Elk Refuge, created in 1912 to accommodate the world’s largest elk herd through the winter. Its epicenter is Town Square, a small park anchored by arches made of elk antlers collected from the refuge. Leisurely stagecoach tours of town leave no doubt that you are “out West.”
Jackson functions as the area’s artistic heart, and particularly appropriate in this geographical context is the National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA, wildlifeart.org), founded to inspire appreciation of fine art, animals, and humanity’s relationship with nature. Located just north of town, its 51,000-square-foot building juts dramatically from a cliff overlooking the elk refuge, blending beautifully with its surroundings. The windows of its airy lobby provide stunning vistas and glimpses of wildlife, as do the artworks in its
The National Museum of Wildlife Art’s building (1994) blends into its natural setting.
spacious galleries. (The permanent collection contains more than 5,000 catalogued items representing over 550 artists.) On display through May 2026 is Prismatic Menagerie, a series of five boldly colored, origami-inspired animal sculptures created by Gerardo Hacer; they seem to march all the way from NMWA down Highway 89, ending downtown. Hacer’s temporary installation builds upon Jackson’s already sterling reputation for displaying largescale art in public spaces; one fine example is Bart Walter’s Wapiti Trail, a group of life-size bronze elks on NMWA’s grounds.
The 37th annual edition of NMWA’s key fundraiser is set to roll this month: the Western Visions Art Show + Sale (wildlifeartevents.org) draws wildlife artists and collectors from around the world, offering more than 170 works of all sizes. The exhibition is on view September 7–29, but the real excitement occurs on September 12 with the ticketed Evening Show + Sale and awards presentation. (The public will begin buying the remaining pieces the next day.)
Autumn is arguably this region’s most beautiful season thanks to all those golden-yellow cottonwood and aspen leaves, so scheduling Western Visions in September makes perfect sense. It is the most prominent, but hardly the only, event comprising the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival (jacksonholechamber. com/fall-arts-festival), which draws crowds to more than 50 events over 12 days (September 4–15) and encompasses an array of receptions, panel discussions, studio tours, and music and poetry performances. A Palates & Palettes gallery walk opens the festival and a Sunday Art Brunch closes it.
This massive initiative is managed by the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, which also runs other events such as the rodeo and the shootout in Town Square. Another beloved component of the festival is the QuickDraw & Art Auction (September 14), during which 30 artists have just 90 minutes to create a work, all auctioned off immediately, often still wet.
Still another gem in the festival’s crown is the Western Design Conference (WDC, westerndesignconference.com). Now in its 32nd year, it will kick off on September 5 with a preview party (including a live auction and runway fashion show).
The following three days bring the WDC Exhibit + Sale, featuring nearly 100 juried artists and designers from across America showcasing handcrafted functional pieces, including furniture, Native American beadwork, home decor, clothing, and jewelry.
On September 14, the Jackson Hole Art Auction (jacksonholeartauction.com) will mount the most significant of its three annual sales, featuring past and present masters of the American West such as Carl Rungius, Frederic Remington, Bob Kuhn, Lanford Monroe, and Mark Maggiori. Whenever you are in Jackson, be sure to visit the auctioneer’s large permanent space downtown, where there is always something interesting on view.
Located nearby is the impressive facility of the Art Association of Jackson Hole (artassociation.org), which features a gallery with rotating exhibitions, five studios for artmaking, an art supplies store, and an array of instructional courses in various artforms. This past summer the association produced the 59th annual edition of Art Fair Jackson Hole, and throughout the year it coordinates such popular events as the Arts on the Green Art Fair and Holiday Bazaar
Visitors arriving at any given moment can easily explore Jackson’s lively downtown arts district on foot.
Head for the area around Town Square, Wort Plaza, Broadway, and Glenwood Street, and remember to check the handsome website of the Jackson Hole Gallery Association (jacksonholegalleries.com) to learn which venue is where. Jackson’s galleries offer a range of art, reflecting the sophisticated tastes of this region’s well-traveled visitors and part-year residents. Even galleries specializing in the time-honored Western genres of landscape, wildlife, and history give their subjects an occasional twist. From May through October most galleries host openings and receptions during the Thursday night artwalks, which many strollers cap off at the restaurants downtown.
The number of galleries is high, so it seems only fair to cite them in alphabetical order. At the top of the list is Altamira Fine Art Gallery (altamiraart.com), which offers contemporary Western work, and also has a location in Scottsdale (see below). Among its many talented artists are Tony Abeyta, Douglas Fryer, Timothy Horn, Jivan Lee, Ed Mell, John Nieto, Stephanie Revennaugh, Billy Schenck, Preston Singletary, September Vhay, and Dennis Ziemienski. Astoria Fine Art (astoriafineart.com) handles historical and contemporary artworks. On view September 1–10 is a group show titled Wildlife Prodigies, including Kyle Sims, Adam Smith, and Mark McKenna; and September 11–21 brings shows of art by Ken Carlson and G. Russell Case. Astoria represents a host of gifted artists including Gerald Balciar, D. Eleinne Basa, Lynn Boggess, Nancy Bush, Josh Clare, Nicholas Coleman, Andrew Denman, David Dibble, Mick Doellinger, Mark Eberhard, Jeff Legg, Laura Robb, and Zhaoming Wu.
An exhibition at Diehl Gallery (diehlgallery. com) through September 15 features Juan Carlos Collada’s feathers, which he handpaints and arranges on panels to resemble swarms of brilliant butterflies. Coming to Diehl (September 6 – October 27) is a show devoted to Douglas Schneider’s oil paintings of flowers and birds. Over at Heather James Fine Art (heatherjames.com/about/jackson-hole), the exhibitions of historical and contemporary art include a particularly innovative one (through January 31) contrasting images of nature created by Georgia O’Keeffe with those of the renowned Australian Aboriginal artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye.
Andrew Denman (b. 1978), The Visitors (Grey-Headed Rosy Finches), 2024, acrylic on cradled board, 24 x 24 in., Astoria Fine Art
Horizon Fine Art Gallery (horizonfineartgallery.com) offers Western, contemporary, and international fine art — including work by Ty Barhaug, Dean Bradshaw, Kevin Courter, Mark Kelso, Mark Lague, and Benjamin Walters — as well as furnishings and jewelry. Maya Frodeman Gallery (mayafrodemangallery.com) has the most cutting-edge aesthetic in town. It represents such international stars as Caio Fonseca and Nicola Hicks, and represents the estates of Wolf Kahn, Emily Mason, Hans Hofmann, and Esteban Vicente. On view there through September 15 are two shows devoted to painter Barry McGlashan and sculptor Jane Rosen.
Mountain Trails Gallery (mtntrails.net) is renowned for its list of Western masters, including Edward Aldrich, Tammy Callens, Wendy Chidester, Michael T. Davis, Daniel Glanz, Krystii Melaine, Gary Lee Price, and Jim Wodark. Nearby Quent Cordair Fine Art (cordair.com) represents Danny Grant, Linda Mann, and Serge Marshennikov, and joining its list soon is Franco Castelluccio. RARE Gallery (raregalleryjacksonhole. com) offers contemporary pieces by such talents as Bruce Cascia, Tomás Lasansky, and Jim Rennert. Ringholz Galleries (ringholzstudios.com) focuses on the creations of wildlife artist Amy Ringholz.
Turner Fine Art (turnerfineart.com) is well worth the visit just north of the center, featuring works by such talents as its principal Kathryn Mapes Turner, Mark Edward Adams, Kathy Anderson, Suzie Baker, Stephanie Birdsall, Quang Ho, Jen Hoffman, Jane Hunt, Daniel Keys, Shanna Kunz, Susan Lyon, Sherrie McGraw, Paul Rhymer, Kathleen Speranza, and Adrienne Stein. West Lives On Gallery (westliveson. com) has two spaces, one offering traditional works by such artists as Mark Keathley, and the other more contemporary pieces by Trey McCarley, Kathy Wipfler, Douglas Wodark, and others.
Another firm with two locations is Wilcox Gallery (wilcoxgallery.com), which represents, among others, Carolyn Anderson, Tom Browning, Scott Burdick, David Drummond, T.D. Kelsey, Huihan Liu, Kyle Ma, Elizabeth Robbins, Rosetta, Sandy Scott, Tim Shinabarger, Mian Situ, Morgan Weistling, and—of course—principals Jim and Eric Wilcox.
Owned by wildlife painter Carrie Wild and her husband, wildlife photographer Jason Williams, Gallery Wild (gallerywild.com) is, not surprisingly, dedicated to art inspired by wildlife, open spaces, and conservation. It also offers works by artists like
Bart Walter (b. 1958), Wapiti Trail, modeled 2005 and cast 2007, bronze, life-size, National Museum of Wildlife Art, anonymous gift
Julie T. Chapman, Patricia A. Griffin, and Jared Sanders. Based in both Jackson and Scottsdale (see below) Trailside Galleries (trailsidegalleries.com) was founded in 1963 and now sells online only.
Jackson Hole has inspired numerous photographers, most famously Ansel Adams (1902–1984), who captured the area’s beauty in his iconic image of the Snake River winding toward the Teton range. Sustaining this legacy are several galleries devoted to photography: Brookover Gallery (brookovergallery.com,
representing David Brookover), Gray Crane Studios (graycranestudios.com, for Gary Crandall), Mangelson Images of Nature Museum (mangelsen.com/jackson, for Thomas D. Mangelsen), and Wild by Nature Gallery (wildbynaturegallery.com, for Henry H. Holdsworth).
And of course Jackson attracts serious collectors of historical Western material, including handcrafted furniture designed by Thomas C. Molesworth (1890–1977) and Native American textiles, pottery, and basketry. Among the standouts in this arena are Fighting Bear Antiques (fightingbear.com), Native Jackson Hole (nativejh.com), and Two Grey Hills Indian Arts & Jewelry (fineindianart.com).
The Jackson Hole region now embraces much more than the visual arts, thanks to the summer-long Grand Teton Music Festival (gtmf.org), Jackson Hole International Film Festival (jhiff.org), and the handsome performance spaces in the Center for the Arts (jhcenterforthearts.com). The inevitable crosspollination among all of these cultural organizations, and the growing audiences they attract, have fostered a robust arts climate. Any arts lover with a taste for the pleasures of nature will be rewarded amply in Jackson, where simplicity and sophistication happily co-exist.
Ty Barhaug (b. 1963), Royalty, oil, 24 x 36 in., Mountain Trails Gallery
Jim Wilcox (b. 1941), Delta Lake, oil, 30 x 40 in., Wilcox Gallery
A RT FO R ALL IN SCOTTSDALE
Nicknamed the “Land of Sunshine” and blessed with a climate that lures millions of people from colder climes, the southwestern state of Arizona offers a unique blend of modern comforts and Old West charms. Its landscapes shift from arid Mexican borderlands in the south through forests of sentinel-like saguaro cacti, stunning blood-red mesas, and rainbow-hued sedimentary mountains right up to the awesome Grand Canyon along the state’s northern border.
All along the way are enough museums and galleries to satisfy even the most worldly art enthusiast. Particularly enticing in this regard is Scottsdale, the booming city east of Phoenix that has long been a mecca for collectors and artists. Blessed with a mild, dry climate that juxtaposes stunning mountain and high
desert scenery, there is always a lot happening here from November through April, and not just at the many fivestar resorts, golf courses, restaurants, and boutiques.
An ideal way to begin learning about Scottsdale is to visit four of its fascinating museums. Most visible downtown is the striking modern building that houses Western Spirit, Scottsdale’s Museum of the West (scottsdalemuseumwest.org). On view there through October 20 is a retrospective devoted to the Colorado painter William Matthews, who is best known for his luminous watercolors of landscapes and people in the American West. But he is also a world traveler and has designed album and book covers that have been gathered for this unique look back. Located nearby is the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (smoca.org), which offers exhibitions of cutting-edge
Western Spirit’s striking building
art, architecture, and design from around the world. Showing there until January 5 is the memorably titled exhibition Exploding Native Inevitable, which features a dozen indigenous artists and two collaboratives.
Do not under any circumstances miss a guided visit to Taliesin West (franklloydwright.org/taliesin-west), a compound of several hundred acres in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains that was purchased by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1937. Here we can admire his low-slung, organically constructed buildings that blend in with the expansive desert landscape. Included in the tour are Wright’s private quarters, a drafting studio, a performance space, and numerous gardens and courtyards. Another perspective is on offer at the Scottsdale Historical Museum (scottsdalehistory.org), a converted schoolhouse that surveys this community’s settlement, ranching and farming heritage, and shift toward tourism in the 20th century.
“High season” occurs in March and April, when the weather is glorious and Major League Baseball’s spring training season is in full gear. That’s one reason the Scottsdale Artists’ School (scottsdaleartschool.org) hosts its popular Best and Brightest event every February
and March. This annual juried show and sale featuring artworks made by current and former students, all of them devoted to this remarkable organization founded in 1983 that offers hundreds of workshops and classes for more than 3,500 registrants annually. If you plan to visit Scottsdale this fall, try to intersect with the school’s Beaux Arts fundraising gala (November 7–9). Another key attraction during high season is the Scottsdale Art Auction (scottsdaleartauction.com), which is already planning its next big sale to occur on April 11–12, 2025. Always an aesthetic and commercial success, that edition will surely again feature superb examples of historical and contemporary art, especially in the Western mode.
This winter, be sure to visit the white tents covering 40,000 square feet on the outskirts of Scottsdale from January 18 through March 30, 2025. Now more than 30 years old, the annual Celebration of Fine Art (celebrateart.com) allows visitors to meet 100 artists while watching them work in an array of media and styles. All artworks will have been juried in and made available for sale. Co-owner and director Susan Morrow Potje says, “Visitors can count on our great quality and
Inside the William Matthews retrospective at Western Spirit
variety of art, welcoming experience, and interaction with the artists.”
Brand-new to the high season schedule (March 20-23, 2025) will be Scottsdale Ferrari Art Week (scottsdaleartweek.com), featuring the city’s first international fair of art and design. To be held at the enormous WestWorld complex (120,000 square feet), it will welcome more than 100 gallerists from around the world, plus a dynamic schedule of fashion shows, performances, and sculpture installations.
Visitors arriving at any time of year can easily explore Scottsdale’s lively arts district on foot. Head for the area around Main Street and Marshall Way, and remember to check three helpful websites for a summary of what’s on (scottsdalearts.org, experiencescottsdale.com, oldtownscottsdaleaz.com/shopping/art-galleries). From November through April, most galleries host openings and receptions during the Thursday night Arts Walks, which many strollers cap off at the restaurants nearby.
The number of galleries is high, so it seems only fair to cite them in alphabetical order. At the top of the list is Altamira Fine Art Gallery (altamiraart.com), which offers contemporary Western work, and also has a location in Jackson (see above). Among its many
talented artists are Tony Abeyta, Douglas Fryer, Timothy Horn, Jivan Lee, Ed Mell, John Nieto, Stephanie Revennaugh, Billy Schenck, Preston Singletary, September Vhay, and Dennis Ziemienski.
American Fine Art (americanfineartgallery.com) features art made by European and American masters from the 19th century onward, with particular strength in international figures like Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andrew Wyeth. On view now is a show devoted to Henri Matisse.
Amery Bohling Fine Art (amerybohling.com) is a Main Street gallery devoted entirely to the richly colored landscape paintings of its principal, Amery Bohling, who is especially admired for her scenes of red-rock scenery such as the Grand Canyon. Located in the same building is the studio and gallery of painter Cyndy Carstens (cyndycarstens.com), who is best known for her luminous skyscapes. Since 1993, Art One Gallery (artonegalleryinc.com) has showcased the talents of hundreds of high school and college students as well as local Arizona artists. Bischoff’s Gallery (bischoffsgallery.com) is renowned for its Native American jewelry and kachina dolls, and also represents
The Scottsdale Artists’ School
such fine artists as G. Russell Case, Chester Poleyestewa, and Justin Tso.
Bonner David Galleries (bonnerdavid.com) represents both traditional artists such as Brad Aldridge, Peregrine Heathcote, Ron Hicks, Joseph Lorusso, Tim Rees, and Romona Youngquist, but also contemporary ones like Peter Anton and Hunt Slonem. Gebert Contemporary (gebertartaz.com) handles an array of cutting-edge artists including Simon Casson, Corinne Geertsen, Jun Kaneko, and the late Fritz Scholder.
Since 1988, Legacy Gallery (legacygallery.com) has promoted Western legends like Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, Olaf C. Seltzer, and J.H. Sharp, as well as such contemporary inheritors as Cyrus Afsary, Scott Christensen, and John Coleman. Legacy has also emerged as a leader in contemporary realism by representing such Fine Art Connoisseur favorites as Kathy Anderson, Quang Ho, and Jeremy Lipking. Established in 1977, Leslie Levy Fine Art (leslielevy. com) represents such talented painters as Lynn Boggess,
Mark Lague, and Wade Reynolds. Mainview Gallery (mainviewgallery.com) handles, among others, the artists Ed Copley and Dale Terbush.
Marshall Gallery (themarshallgallery.com) has long been committed to contemporary realism, offering works by Douglas Aagard, Jacob Dhein, Douglas Fryer, Alvin Gill-Tapia, and Shari Lyon. On October 17–18, it will host the 4th annual AWAE (A Women’s Art Expo), which features 12 female artists including Naomi Brown and Jessica Garrett. The gallery is also well known for its excellence in contemporary glass works. Though it handles some secondary market pieces, Open Range Art Gallery (openrangegallery.squarespace.com) is devoted primarily to the colorful Western scenes painted by principal Sherry Blanchard Stuart, and to the powerful graphite drawings of Roger Archibald.
Paul Scott Gallery (paulscottgallery.com) represents a range of modern and contemporary artists, but is especially respected for its longstanding expertise in Russian art, ranging from deceased Soviet masters
to younger artists just starting out. Paintings by Roman Konstantinov will be on view November 7–December 30, and the American Tad Retz will be highlighted this winter (February 20–March 8).
Royse Contemporary Art Gallery (roysecontemporary.com) handles artists working in Arizona today, while De Sarthe Gallery (desarthe.com) focuses only on art from Asia, working closely with its sister galleries in Hong Kong and Beijing.
T.H. Brennen Fine Art (thbrennenfineart.com) is a leader in contemporary realism, representing such talents as Lee Alban, Ben Bauer, Ryan Brown, Derek Harrison, Ed Mell, and Tony Pro. Coming this winter (December 5–31) is a group show of small works measuring 12 by 12 inches. Wilde Meyer Galleries (wildemeyer.com) is better known for abstraction, but also handles such representational artists as Brian Boner, Sandra Pratt, and Albert Scharf. Based in both Scottsdale and Jackson (see above) Trailside Galleries (trailsidegalleries.com) was founded in 1963 and now sells online only.
The Jack Knife sculpture by Ed Mell stands at Main Street and Marshall Way, the center of the arts district.
The arts district at twilight
On Main Street in Old Town Scottsdale
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