Cowboy Crossing Nets Nearly Seven Figures

Opening weekend for Cowboy Crossings — one of the nation’s foremost annual Western art sales and exhibitions — had gross sales nearly reaching the million mark.

Offering more than 150 pieces of world-class Western fine art representing nearly every creative medium, Cowboy Crossings on October 5-7 hosted the opening weekend for its 52nd Annual Sale & Exhibition at the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City. The organizers were overjoyed to announce that their gross sales exceeded $986,310 with a portion of those proceeds benefiting the museum’s educational programs.

“We are pleased by the tremendous support for Western art from across the country,” said CFO and Interim President and CEO Gary Moore. “The combination of working art such as saddles, bits and spurs, and rawhide braiding, along with the fine art of painting and sculptures, helps many individuals connect with the West in ways they might not have previously considered.”

The top-selling work for the Cowboy Artists of America (CAA) was Martin Grelle’s magnetic painting “Expectations,” which realized $54,000. The painting also earned Grelle the Oil Painting Silver Medal Award. The CAA Stetson Award recipient, selected by active CAA members as the best compilation of individual works, was given to sculptor Paul Moore for his six works “Old Man Losing His Heron,” “When His Heart Is Down,” “Tuf of War,” “Blessing at Wuwuchim,” “Hopi Two Horned Priest,” and “Young San Felipe Green Corn Dancer.” The Anne Marion Best of Show Award was given to Grant Redden for “Feeding the Flock,” which also received the Oil Painting Gold Medal Award. “Cow Camp Studio” by artist Tyler Crow was also a two-time winner, taking the Drawing and Other Media Silver Medal Award and the Buyers’ Choice Award. C. Michael Dudash took the Drawing and Other Media Gold Medal Award for “Cowgirl.” In the Water Soluble Medal Awards, Mikel Donahue’s “The Bronc Stomper” took Silver while Phil Epp’s “Hilltop” earned the Gold.

The CAA exhibition will be on display through November 26, while works by TCAA artists will be on exhibit through January 7. To learn more, visit the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

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