We’d like to congratulate Mark Daly for winning Overall First Place in the July 2024 PleinAir® Salon, judged by artist Michele Dunaway.
Mark Daly, “The Schooner Stephen Taber,” Oil, 24×18 in., Overall First Place Winner in the July 2024 PleinAir Salon
“I was struck instantly by the luminosity emanating from this painting,” Dunaway said. “It captures a sense of realism and light that goes far beyond anything a camera could record. The artist’s sensitivity to color and color temperature in the sails coupled with the simplification of water, highlighting only the essential functional movement complements the dynamic composition.
“This painting exudes an old master quality, and I could see it hanging in a museum next to Winslow Homer or Turner and holding its own. The touch of red off center hits right where the smallest square and spiral of the golden mean would overlay which adds for a harmonious balance and movement to the painting.
“The technique and brushwork is subtle where it needs to be and powerful and bold in necessary areas. When a painting is executed so well that it makes me interested in a subject that I’m not normally drawn to, it is a testament to the artist’s impressive skill.”
Mark Daly, “The Hesper’s Reflection,” Oil, 20 x 16 in., PleinAir Salon November 2023 Best Vehicle
“My purpose for painting is to create joy,” says Mark Daly in his Artist Statement. “I paint city, boat, beach, and other memorable scenes by orchestrating people and places, sunlight and shadow, sea and snow, into visual stories.
“I start an oil painting by making sure there is a good design. I interpret, simplify, and connect the big shapes. I work the whole painting—uniting all parts to reinforce the composition while avoiding getting lost in unessential details. I provide enough visual clarity and drawing accuracy so that the viewer can understand the subject and add their own interpretation of the scene.
“I focus on values and expressive paint application. This helps me create an in-the-moment sense of light, mood, and movement in my work. I use all five senses when painting. For example, with a musical background, I consider how a painting should look and sound. This enables me to add more life to my compositions.
“My goal is to create art with the highest standards that stands the test of time.”
Mark Daly, “Restoring a Treasure,” oil, 20 x 24 in., as seen in the 2024 National Exhibition of the American Society of Marine Artists
About the PleinAir Salon:
In the spirit of the French Salon created by the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, this annual online art competition, with 11 monthly cycles, leading to the annual Salon Grand Prize winners, is designed to stimulate artistic growth through competition. The competition rewards artists with $50,000 in cash prizes and exposure of their work, with the winning painting featured on the cover of PleinAir® Magazine.
Winners in each monthly competition may receive recognition and exposure through PleinAir Magazine’s print magazine, e-newsletters, websites, and social media. Winners of each competition will also be entered into the annual competition. The Annual Awards will be presented live at the next Plein Air Convention & Expo.
The next round of the PleinAir Salon has begun so hurry, as this competition ends on the last day of the month. Enter your best art in the PleinAir Salon here.
Published six times per year, Fine Art Connoisseur is now a widely consulted platform for the world’s most knowledgeable experts, who write articles that inform readers and give them the tools necessary to make better purchasing decisions.
ON THE COVER Wendy Chidester (b. 1964), “Rem-Blick” (detail), 2024, oil on canvas, overall: 45 x 45 in., Springville Museum of Art, museum purchase, 100th Annual Spring Salon, in honor of the Springville High School 2023–24 student body.
Artists Making Their Mark: Three to Watch
We highlight the talents of Dustin Adamson, Mitch Shea, and Stephanie Paige Thomson.
Going Wild
By Max Gillies
Dustin Van Wechel: Telling Animals’ Stories
By Rose Fredrick
Katie O’Hagan: Inspiration on Her Doorstep
By Thomas Connors
Kathy Anderson’s Artful Flowers
By Daniel Grant
An Object of Desire Casts Its Spell
By David Masello
Sustaining Howard Pyle’s Legacy
By Leslie Gilbert Elman
Great Art Worldwide
We survey 16 top-notch projects occurring this season.
Springville’s Salon Turns 100
By Brandon Rosas
Fall Into the West
There are at least six great reasons to celebrate the American West this season.
Favorite: Alasdair Nichol on Max Beckmann’s “Departure”
By David Masello
Fine Art Connoisseur‘s jargon-free text and large color illustrations are attracting an ever-growing readership passionate about high-quality artworks and the fascinating stories around them. It serves art collectors and enthusiasts with innovative articles about representational paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints — both historical and contemporary, American and European. Fine Art Connoisseur covers the museums, galleries, fairs, auction houses, and private collections where great art is found.
Southeast aerial view of the Joslyn Art Museum, rendering courtesy Moare.
The expanded and transformed Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, will celebrate its civic dedication ceremony on September 10, 2024, welcoming the public for the first time to a complete reinstallation of its distinctive collection, including numerous recent acquisitions, a full restoration of its original building, and the debut of its 42,000-square-foot Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion designed by Snøhetta.
Open to all free of charge, The Joslyn has increased gallery space by more than 40 percent for its wide-ranging and fast-growing collection, reoriented its entrance sequence through three acres of redesigned and rejuvenated public gardens, and created a dazzling new visitor experience, highlighted by an elevated entry garden featuring Mark di Suvero’s “Bodacious,” 2001, one of dozens of works in the Phillip G. Schrager Collection. The expansion and renovation project has taken place at the same time as billions of dollars in new investments are being made in the downtown and riverfront of Omaha, where The Joslyn is a vital resource for the city and a cultural landmark for the entire Great Plains region.
Three weeks of celebrations for the new Joslyn will begin with major donor events, a preview day for Museum members and community partners on September 8, and the ribbon-cutting and public opening on September 10. Festivities in the days that follow will include an educator open house, a homeschool families day, and the Young Advocates party, “Reimagined,” on September 28.
Jack Becker, Executive Director and CEO of The Joslyn, said, “On September 10, we look forward to welcoming everyone back to a Joslyn Art Museum that is both true to its proud history and thoroughly transformed. Snøhetta’s sensitive and innovative approach for reimagining The Joslyn enhances our existing buildings to give our ever-expanding audience a new experience while preserving our most cherished spaces, to reveal 5,000 years of human creativity from the world’s diverse cultures.”
Craig Dykers, Founding Partner of Snøhetta, said, “Honoring The Joslyn’s historic character while creating a fresh expression for the Museum’s future has guided our design. Our comprehensive reconsideration of the Museum grounds, the existing interiors, and the newest building all work together to create a more inviting entry for the growing spectrum of people that visit the Museum. Our goal has been to provide a harmonious place for guests, art, and gathering that will become a vessel for inspiration and creativity to flourish.”
Gallery view inside the new Hawks Pavilion, rendering courtesy Moare.
The 1931 Joslyn Building, designed by father and son John and Alan McDonald, stands side-by-side in the Museum’s public gardens with the 1994 Suzanne & Walter Scott Pavilion, the first commission in the U.S. by Norman Foster. The new Hawks Pavilion, designed by Snøhetta in partnership with Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, grows outward from an atrium that joins these two earlier buildings. In contrast to their rootedness, the Hawks Pavilion seems to twist and rise as it emerges, floating atop a transparent first floor that encloses the new main entrance, the Phillip G. Schrager Atrium, the Museum shop, and a multi-function community space. These main level areas ascend gradually to the existing buildings along a gently sloping, ADA accessible walkway. A striking, curved set of steps leads directly to the gallery level. The effect of weightlessness recalls the striking cloud formations above the Great Plains, as well as the deep overhangs and horizontal expression of Prairie School architecture.
To inaugurate the Hawks Pavilion, a suite of the new building’s light-filled galleries will be installed with the first presentation of the Phillip G. Schrager Collection. Comprising fifty-two paintings, sculptures, drawings, and photographs that encompass some of the most important developments in postwar and contemporary art, the collection is perhaps the most significant gift of art in The Joslyn’s history. Artists represented include Richard Artschwager, Lynda Benglis, John Chamberlain, Richard Diebenkorn, Jim Dine, Tara Donovan, Robert Gober, Mary Heilmann, Jenny Holzer, Robert Irwin, Mike Kelley, Roy Lichtenstein, Morris Louis, Brice Marden, Laura Owens, and Gerhard Richter. The presentation will be accompanied by a fully illustrated, 144-page catalogue published by the Museum featuring an in-depth essay on Phillip G. Schrager and collection works.
The Hawks Pavilion also includes the Museum’s first dedicated works on paper gallery. The inaugural exhibition will be “Ed Ruscha: Paper,” featuring drawings, prints, and photographs from Ruscha’s recent gift to the Museum as well as work from the artist’s collection. Born in Omaha, Ed Ruscha has given The Joslyn 18 paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture from all stages of his career, from 1961 to 2017. The gift also includes a collection of Ruscha’s original artist books and is complemented by an additional gift from Ruscha of 20 works by his colleagues and friends in Los Angeles, including Terry Allen, Richard Artschwager, Joe Goode, Ed Moses, and William Wegman, dating from the 1960s through 2015.
The Joslyn Building will reopen with the first complete reinstallation of the permanent collection since the Museum’s inauguration in 1931. Bringing together artworks and artifacts across media, the new curatorial vision asserts the relevance of historical objects to contemporary concerns and diversifies the identities and experiences represented in the galleries.
This approach has transformed the American galleries, which now weave together more than 150 years of creativity across cultures and artistic traditions, no longer separating works by Indigenous and Euro-American artists and with a special focus on the Great Plains and Missouri River as sites of exchange. Iconic works by Albert Bierstadt, Mary Cassatt, and Grant Wood are reinterpreted to address the history of U.S. expansion from 1800 to 1950 and its continuing environmental and social impacts. More Native American art is on view than ever before, including notable works by Howling Wolf and Oscar Howe and exquisite examples of beadwork, quillwork, and ceramics by Indigenous women.
Significant additions to the collection on view in the 1931 building when the Museum reopens will include works by Elisabetta Sirani, Émile-Jean-Horace Vernet, Grafton Tyler Brown, Thomas Hudson, Robert S. Duncanson, and Elizabeth Catlett.
Grafton Tyler Brown (American, 1841–1918), “Lower Falls and Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, from Hayden Point,” 1890, oil on canvas, 21 1/4 × 14 1/4 in. (54 × 36.2 cm), Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, Museum purchase, gift of The Sherwood Foundation, 2022.9
For more information about the Joslyn Art Museum artworks and reopening, please visit www.joslyn.org.
The middle third of Sabin Howard’s composition for "A Soldier’s Journey" (full clay version), photographed in 2017
From the Fine Art Connoisseur September/October 2024 Editor’s Note:
Honoring the Past and Looking Forward
Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, September / October 2024
Every issue of Fine Art Connoisseur reminds me how exciting the field of contemporary realist art has become, across the United States and among practitioners of every age. A key marker of this vitality will go viral on September 13, when all eyes turn to Washington, D.C., for the installation and illumination of the National World War I Memorial in Pershing Park, two blocks from the White House. More than 4 million American men and women served in uniform during the “War to End All Wars” (1914–18), and 116,000 of them gave their lives, a figure especially shocking when we consider that the U.S. did not join the conflict until 1917, three years after it started.
The memorial’s focal point is “A Soldier’s Journey,” the 60-foot-wide bronze relief encompassing 38 figures conceived and executed by the New York City-based sculptor Sabin Howard (b. 1963). It traces the progress of an individual American combatant, who departs home, endures appalling ordeals, and finally returns to his family. Here we see not only soldiers: also depicted and honored for their contributions and sacrifices are nurses, spouses, and children.
Sabin Howard and architect Joseph Weishaar have endured their own journey; planning for the memorial began well over a decade ago, the groundbreaking occurred in 2017, and then came the pandemic. Howard has spent years developing his vision in New Zealand, England, and suburban New Jersey, working closely with his wife, Traci L. Slatton, who helped formulate his ideas around the composition’s narrative element.
I eagerly look forward to attending the unveiling this month, and I encourage everyone to follow the media coverage, which will alert the general public to the fact that great realist art is still being made. Fine Art Connoisseur has long covered the achievements of Sabin Howard, who excelled at the New York Academy of Art after studying at the Tyler School of Art’s program in Rome. Fortunately, there are many more talents out there excelling, including the team of sculptors Howard gathered to develop this project.
I am excited to learn where all of these gifted artists will turn next, and I encourage you to learn more about this month’s unveiling at sabinhoward.com/WWIcc.
What are your thoughts? Share your letter to the Editor below in the comments.
“Get Up. Show Up. Never Give Up.”, Nancee Jean Busse, acrylic, 18 x 24 in; $3600
Nancee Jean Busse: I strive to capture the essence of the natural world and the spirit of the American West as I experience them. Each of my pieces reflects my deep connection to nature. My work’s consistency is characterized by a keen attention to detail, use of color, and the powerful portrayal of both wildlife and human figures in their respective environments. Hopefully, my art evokes my sense of adventure and reverence for the American West.
“The Protector,” Johanne Mangi, oil on linen board, 14 x 11 in; available Centerpiece Gallery, Raleigh NC; $3700
Johanne Mangi: The Protector was juried into the Oil Painters of America’s October Eastern Regional Exhibition in Raleigh, NC. This painting was originally created as a demonstration piece for a Magazine. I chose this particular subject because of her confident demeanor. I was able to observe and take color notes from life of this dog which is a key component to my work.
To read and see more of Johanne’s work, visit: website
“Churro,” Johanne Mangi, 12 x 9 in., oil on board“The Gremlin,” Johanne Mangi, 12 x 9 in., oil on board
2023 Quest for the West Artist of Distinction winner Krystii Melaine (pictured at the 2023 Quest) will have a special exhibition of her work on display at the Eiteljorg Sept. 7 - Oct. 13, 2024.
Top artists and avid collectors of Western art will once again converge on Indianapolis for the 19th annual Eiteljorg Museum Quest for the West® Art Show and Sale, September 6 and 7, 2024.
Dean Mitchell (b. 1957), “Below the Mountain,” 2024, Acrylic, 21 x 38 inches
More from the organizers:
“As one of the Eiteljorg’s iconic events each year, Quest for the West® has played an integral role in increasing awareness of the Western American art genre within the overall art community,” Eiteljorg President and CEO Kathryn Haigh said. “Quest for the West represents exceptional art, artists and Hoosier hospitality. It also has been vital to raising the Eiteljorg’s profile nationally, building lasting relationships between artists and collectors, as well as growing the Eiteljorg’s collection.”
Brett Allen Johnson (b. 1984), “Desert Transom,” 2024, Oil, 12 x 12 inches
Now in its 19th year, Quest for the West® is well known for its fun, intimate and welcoming atmosphere, allowing artists to reconnect with longtime collectors and meet new ones. Guests engage with the artists in an intimate setting and marvel at the diverse scope of elegant, world-class art. Since its inception in 2006, Quest has generated more than $18.5 million in art sales, with artists receiving nearly $14 million, and net proceeds supporting the Eiteljorg Museum.
Dave Santillanes (b. 1972), “The Cache La Poudre River,” 2024, Oil, 24 x 44 inches
After the sale weekend concludes, the Quest show will open to the public on Sunday, September 8, where all the Quest artworks will be on view through Sunday, Oct. 6. Any unsold art will remain for sale through the run of the exhibition. Collectors and museum guests will enjoy the beautiful, vibrant gallery of lifelike landscapes, stunning still lifes and portraits, sculpted bronzes and other works.
Pati Stajcar (b. 1958), “Aesop’s Fable,” 2023, Bronze on stone, 21 x 25 x 16 inches
For complete information about this event, please visit quest.eiteljorg.org.
How do you find inspiration? John Meister: The term ‘magical realism’ truly describes New Mexico. Living here, I appreciate the aesthetic of life in all its forms and gravitate toward intimate views of nature. Getting up close to the botanical life here, there are endless possibilities for amazing subjects. Life must do a little something extra to thrive here, and it can display great beauty in the process. I strive to capture that.
How did you develop your unique style? John Meister: Recently, I have primarily been working on a new body of work that I call my “Vaudeville” series. These paintings feature a somewhat stylized botanical subject, such as a cactus or flower, in front of a simple, colorful, graphic backdrop. I imagine them as depicting a performer on stage. They are mostly produced in the studio but from many years of experience painting up close to my subjects outside, en plein air. The idea for the first one came as a dreamy flash image as I was waking up one morning. I painted it in two days and haven’t stopped working on the series. Prior to painting full-time, I was a graphic designer for 23 years, and these satisfy my “design itch”.
Jason Tenison, "Seeker of Peace," oil, 30 x 40 in.
The American Plains Artists (APA) 39th Annual Juried Exhibit & Sale opened June 27, 2024, to a large continuous crowd in the Quartermaster Building at Fort Concho National Historic Landmark in San Angelo, TX, where the exhibit continued through August 4. Realistic and representational artworks of the American Great Plains were exhibited by 43 APA members from across the U.S.A.
Awards Juror Teresa Elliott, awarded the following:
BEST OF SHOW: “Seeker of Peace“ (shown at top) by Jason Tenison, Bixby, OK
1st PLACE AWARD: “Stories Rarely Told” by Sherry Blanchard Stuart, Scottsdale, AZ
2nd PLACE AWARD: “American Protection”, by James Loveless, Jr., Fort Worth, TX
3rd PLACE AWARD: “El Trono de los Vaqueros I” by TW “Pop” Vanya, Somerville, TX
Sherry Blanchard Stuart, “Stories Rarely Told,” 24 x 36 in.
Other awards sponsored by the APA included:
CLYDE HERON AWARD: “Seeker of Peace” by Jason Tenison, Bixby, OK
BEST PLAINS PEOPLE: “Good Melon” by David Dorsey, Valentine, NE
MYSTERY AWARD: “Apache Way” by Jammey Huggins, Seminole, TX
TEXAS AWARD: “The Shed’s Flower Bed” by Fritzi Heron, Odessa, TX
ARROWHEAD AWARD (Hosting Facility’s Choice): “Self Portrait” by Lori Jones, Lake City, KS
GOLDEN SPUR AWARD (Artists’ Choice): “Sweltering Summer” by Sandie Whitman, Cheyenne, WY
PLAINSMAN AWARD (People’s Choice): “American Protection” by James Loveless, Jr, Fort Worth, TX
PUBLISHER’S AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE were awarded to:
“The Crack of Dawn” by Eileen Nistler, Upton, WY–Fine Art Connoisseur
“Yep, That’s What I’m Gonna Do Now” by Charlie Bullock, Athens, TX, Art of the West, Andy Krane, CEO/Publisher
“Striking a Pose” by Lloyd Voges, Clifton, TX–Western Art & Architecture, Tim Newton, Publisher
Plus:
ARTIST FOCUS AWARD: “Sharing” by Veronica Brown, Sullivan, MO–Western Art Collector, Aldolfo Castillo and Wendie Martin, CEO and Publishers
ARTISTS’ RETREAT AWARD: “Medicine Woman” by Veronica Brown, Sullivan, MO– given by Our Heritage Guest Ranch, Jean Norman, Owner, Crawford, NE
And seven EXHIBITION AWARDS:
“Wildflowers #24” by Mary Lambeth, Midland, TX
“Where the Buffalo Roamed” by Lou Sanders Albright, Athens, TX
“Stories Rarely Told” by Sherry Blanchard Stuart, Scottsdale, AZ
“He’s Right There” by James Loveless, Jr., Fort Worth, TX
“Stories Kneaded in Dough” by Eileen Nistler, Upton, WY
“Three Amigos” by Cheryl Roush, Midland, TX
“Lost in Contemplation” by Theresa Otteson, Farmington, UT–given by Fort Concho NHL, San Angelo, TX
Awards of Excellence were awarded to:
“Sweltering Summer” by Sandie Whitman, Cheyenne WY
“Ladies on the Lookout” by Patsy Lindamood, Huntsville, TX
“Stories Kneaded in Dough” by Eileen Nistler, Upton, WY
“West Meets Southwest” by Linda Rust, Del Rio, TX
“Sharp Ones” by Jason Tenison, Bixby, OK
“As the Day Goes By” by Carol Ann Welch, Euless, TX
“Eclipsed Windmill” by Lloyd Voges, Clifton, TX
“A Legend Begins” by Burl Washington, Fort Worth, TX
Nicole Parker (b. 1994), "Are We Lost," 2023, oil on linen-wrapped panel, 16 x 20 in., Gross McCleaf Gallery (Philadelphia)
There is a lot of superb contemporary realism being made these days; this article by Allison Malafronte shines light on a gifted individual.
Viewing Nicole Parker’s paintings and intaglio prints feels like discovering and dusting off a pile of old Polaroids, or looking at vintage stills of moments and memories long gone. Blurry street scenes, a distant object shrouded in misty fog, pitch-black winding roads — these are the subjects Parker uses to transport us to a time and place in her mind’s eye.
“My work functions as a visual memoir, an investigation of how visual memory changes over time and how my perception of the present evolves with it,” the artist shares. “I make pictures of places and things that represent a memory, a state of being, or even a dream that I keep traces of but can’t physically return to.”
Parker earned a B.F.A. in drawing and painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, where she also developed an appreciation for, and aptitude in, the intaglio printmaking process. Today she works from both observation and memory in her Mount Airy, Maryland, studio, allowing such inspirations as music, language, film, and food to influence her creativity as well. In her current body of work, Parker explores the triangular relationship among her sense of self, what “home” means, and the physical spaces and environments she’s occupied throughout her life.
The artist’s fascination with the strangeness of “betweenness” or — as she says — being nowhere and everywhere at once, figures prominently in her recent work. In “Are We Lost,” illustrated above, Parker uses two cars as symbols of this feeling. “Driving is such an interesting activity because when you travel, you’re in a transient state between one place and another,” she notes. “It seems inconsequential because it’s temporary and a means to an end, but I enjoy the trip as its own event. One of my favorite activities is just the act of looking, and nothing requires more looking than driving. There is barely any time to process the individual things I’m seeing on the way, but I remember the light and the color of a trip. ‘Are We Lost’ is not a perfect representation of actual road locations but rather a collection of generic objects and ideas arranged in specific ways to reflect what I remember from the trip itself.”
Parker continues, “Because memory is imperfect, the process of making images based on it can often feel like circling a destination without ever arriving, or like a word on the tip of your tongue. In the studio, I’m helped and inspired by how potent my sensory memories are, and by the way that light, color, and the smell of the air stick in my mind. These concrete sensory experiences are always at the core of my practice.”
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