Tony Pro, "Beneath the Watching Peaks," 2025, oil on linen, 20 x 16 in.
Western Art on View > Featuring 16 new works, “Between Earth & Sky” is Tony Pro’s deeply personal homage to the lands and people of the Navajo (Diné) and Taos Pueblo nations. From sweeping oil paintings to intimate works on paper, the collection captures the quiet reverence of desert landscapes and the dignified strength of Indigenous identity.
Contemporary artist Tony Pro
Details at a Glance
Tony Pro: Between Earth and Sky Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
October 24 – November 6, 2025
Artist Reception: Saturday, November 1
Tony Pro, “Among the Golden Ones,” 2025, oil on linen, 36 x 24 in.
Key works include “Among the Golden Ones,” a radiant portrait of a Red Willow woman from Taos nestled among glowing aspens—evoking pride, longing, and connection to the land—and “Tyler’s Song,” a bold, graphic composition inspired by early Santa Fe artist Gerald Cassidy, featuring a Diné flute player whose spirit is represented by a hummingbird.
Tony Pro, “Tyler’s Song,” 2025, oil on linen, 36 x 24 in.
“I grew up visiting the reservations with my parents every summer,” Pro shares. “My mother sold Native jewelry and textiles, and my father, an aspiring Western artist, would be in search for models and inspiration among the mesas of Arizona and New Mexico. Those memories of Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, and Taos shaped me. This show is my way of giving back.”
Tony Pro, “Lunch for Two,” 2024, oil on linen, 18 x 24 in.
Known for his painterly realism, Tony Pro’s style has evolved toward bold composition and intensified color, reflecting his shift from French naturalism toward the American West’s visual legacy—drawing inspiration from Maynard Dixon, W.R. Leigh, and the Taos Six. This show marks a turning point for Pro, merging tradition with modern storytelling in works that echo both personal memory and cultural homage.
Tony Pro, “Silent Return,” 2025, oil on linen, 30 x 30 in.
All works will be available for pre-sale and select pieces will be offered as preview exclusives.
It’s not the typical backdrop for a family-friendly photo op: Max Beckmann’s triptych “Departure” shows prisoners being tortured, some blindfolded, others squeezing their eyes shut in the face of impending doom. But Alasdair Nichol, deputy chairman of the newly merged Freeman’s and Hindman auction houses, and one of the most engaging figures on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow (particularly while using his lilting Scottish brogue to full effect), so admires this Beckmann masterwork that he can’t help but find it whenever he visits New York’s Museum of Modern Art. “Once, I had my son and daughter-in-law stand in front of it so I could take their photo.” Though no one in its three panels is smiling, Nichol feels a certain glee when he’s in front of the triptych.
Alasdair Nichol, Deputy Chairman and Head of Fine Arts, Freeman’s | Hindman
Nichol is hardly an advocate of violence, and like many art historians he questions the very notion that what we see here is, indeed, an overt depiction of torture. “Beckmann was very influenced by theater, and there’s a theatricality to what’s being shown,” he explains. He points out the symbolism of the images depicted, with references, perhaps, to T.S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland” and even King Arthur’s “Fisher King,” whose task was to guard the Holy Grail. The very scale of some elements, such as the oversized fruit in the central panel, indicates, for Nichol, a softened view of what might be seen as violence. Yet the work is indisputably charged with a profound commentary on fascism, censorship, and the lead-up to war.
Beckmann began painting “Departure” in Frankfurt in 1932, just as the Nazis were coming to power. When they deemed him and his fellow German Expressionists “degenerates,” Beckmann began his own departure — living in, among other locales, Berlin and Amsterdam. He eventually came to America, residing and teaching in St. Louis and, later, New York (where he died on Central Park West while walking to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to view his own work).
Many of Beckmann’s works were decidedly ambiguous, including “Departure,” the first of his nine triptychs. This form is typically associated with Christian altarpieces, and Nichol feels the format “literally gave Beckmann a bigger canvas, able to relate a narrative with panels that talk to each other. He was constantly drawing, and this work is particularly rich with imagery. It’s impossible to interpret. He didn’t want people to interpret it.”
Nichol recalls the moment he first encountered Beckmann, at the suggestion of his teacher in Aberdeen. “Frankly, when I was in art school, I couldn’t tell if I should be an English major or an artist,” he says. “I was an angst-ridden young man, and the moment I saw this work in a catalogue, it became meat and potatoes for me,” meaning that its saturation of symbolism and ambiguous multiple meanings affected young Nichol in a fundamental way.
Moreover, abstraction prevailed at that time, so Nichol found Beckmann’s embrace of figures refreshing: “There was a new figurative movement emerging, and I looked to Beckmann for some inspiration. I’m still so taken with this work that I’m a bit embarrassed I find it so important to me after all these years.”
The above article was written by David Masello for Fine Art Connoisseur
Paula Holtzclaw, “A Touch of Lace,” oil, 16 x 20 in.
Please help us congratulate Paula Holtzclaw for winning Overall First Place in the August 2025 PleinAir Salon, judged by master artist Natasha Isenhour.
“When I saw this painting on my first pass, I knew it was one I would have to study more deeply,” Natasha said. “I ‘felt’ this painting. It drew me in right away with the strong composition and skillful manipulation of complimentary color and overall palette that first invites you to look around, then brings you gently back to the subject.
“But what also makes this painting work so well is the varied edges. The artist is manipulating your eye and showing you what they want you to see. For instance, the leaves in the pot are soft focus, framing the subject by going up, out of the vessel, then guiding your eye back into the light and to the subject again. Meanwhile the leaves on the table have harder edges which add weight to the composition, helping to anchor the subjects on the table. So many lovely attributes here. Masterful work!”
“I choose to paint what is beautiful and meaningful,” Paula says, “knowing that this act of celebrating and communicating the beauty in this world has the power to uplift and inspire.”
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 PleinAir® Salon 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.
Kirsten Anderson, "Longview," 2025, oil, 6 x 24 in.
The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts in Texas invites the public to experience the EnPleinAirTexas 2025 Ranch Fellowship with a curated exhibition, sales, an artist panel at the museum, and pop-up sale at the Christoval Winery, all happening October 23-26, 2025.
From the organizers:
The EnPleinAirTexas (EPAT) Ranch Fellowship bonds the area’s 100-year plein air painting history with an immersive invitational experience for five competition artists in the authentic ranch culture of West Texas where the selected artists have the opportunity to live and paint on a ranch for three weeks. During their fellowship, the artists also spend a day guiding local students through a live plein air painting activity. The fellowship culminates in a weekend-long series of events and exhibitions.
Durre Waseem, “Goat Reunion,” 2025, oil on linen board, 20 x 30 in.
The public is welcome to attend a free exhibition of curated ranch fellowship paintings during the Spirit of the Ranch opening reception on Thursday, October 23. Join us as well in the museum’s Grand Hall for the Stampede show and art sale featuring more work from the fellowship artists plus student art. Live music and refreshments provided.
Jeff Williams, “The End of a Long Day,” watercolor, graphite, and cold wax medium on watercolor paper mounted archivally to Gatorboard, 11 x 14 in.
On Friday, October 24, the public is also invited to attend the Ranch Round-Up Panel. Invited artists Kirsten Anderson (WY), Zufar Bikbov (CT), Lon Brauer (IL), Durre Waseem (CA), and Jeff Williams (OK) will discuss their plein air painting experience, moderated by Tim Newton, publisher emeritus of Western Art and Architecture Magazine.
Lon Brauer, “American Lithographic,” 2025, oil, enamel on panel, 24 x 24 in.
On Sunday, October 26, be sure to make your way to the Christoval Winery for a special pop-up experience celebrating the original West Texas plein air painters from the 1920s with the Artist’s Camp Revival show and sale at the chapel on the Winery grounds. The public will have another chance to purchase paintings and to visit with the artists as they paint the sunset in Christoval. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.
Zufar Bikbov, “Number 4,” 2025, oil on board
The exhibition and sale will continue throughout the weekend at SAMFA during regular museum hours. For more information, go to www.samfa.org.
Fine Art Exhibition
“Fate and Magic: The Art of Maureen McCabe”
William Benton Museum of Art
Storrs, Connecticut benton.uconn.edu
through December 14, 2025
Maureen McCabe, “Blue Ionia” (2013), Mixed media on game board, Courtesy of the artist. Photography credit: Paul Mutino
Maureen McCabe taught art for 40 years at Connecticut College in New London, but now her retrospective, “Fate and Magic: The Art of Maureen McCabe,” is on view at another educational institution, the University of Connecticut’s William Benton Museum of Art. Through her assemblages and installations, this artist has returned repeatedly to the themes of fate and magic, creating playful yet carefully composed works that weave imagery from ancient and contemporary cultures, always informed by folklore, literature, spiritualism, and myth. Game boards, tarot cards, dice, birds, fortune tellers, and constellations populate McCabe’s works, prompting age-old questions about control over our power to shape our own destinies.
Maureen McCabe, “Les Jeux Sont Faits,” (1978), Mixed media on slate, Courtesy of the artist. Photography credit: Paul Mutino.
Much of McCabe’s art has the same sense of wonder, awe, and sleight of hand found in a magician’s performance, so the exhibition presents not only finished artworks from private collections and her studio, but also the magic paraphernalia she has acquired, including rapping hands, magic numbers, cups and balls, Ouija boards, and posters.
In the insightful essay she contributed to the show’s catalogue, Benton curator Amanda A. Douberley writes that McCabe “maps specific references on the back of each piece, pasting newspaper clippings and magazine articles, dedications, quotes, and other miscellany. She also includes a list of materials used, down to the brand of archival glue and the exact start and end dates for the work.”
Maureen McCabe (b. 1947), “Circe (with Oysters and a Mackerel),” 2024, mixed media on velour paper, 13 x 10 x 3 in., collection of the artist; photo: Paul Mutino
Illustrated above is a superb example of McCabe’s vision. It shows Circe, an enchantress in Greek mythology, holding a potion that will turn her rival, Scylla, into a sea monster. McCabe’s femme fatale is drawn from J.W. Waterhouse’s painting “Circe Invidiosa” (1892), but — Douberley notes — “she has added beetle wings to the figure and placed her atop a chunk of malachite, the stone of transformation, which McCabe studded with azurite (healing) and oysters (transformation). On the back, McCabe identified the fish we see as a mackerel, a symbol of good luck, and the dried flower encased in glass as a snowdrop from the artist’s own garden. In addition to a photograph of a snowdrop in bloom, she pasted a clipping that provides a clue to knit these pieces together. It reads, ‘When Odysseus set out to rescue his crew, he protected himself with an antidote derived from the snowdrop flower. Myths often have some basis in fact as this same antidote is being studied today as a possible treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.’”
Douberley concludes perceptively, “A work that is fundamentally about transformation, this piece shows the artist’s shifting perspective, as she nears 80 years of age, alongside her long-standing interest in the relevance of ancient myths and folktales to contemporary culture.”
As part of our effort to continue to help artists and art galleries thrive, we’re proud to bring you this week’s “Virtual Gallery Walk.” Browse the artwork below and click the image itself to learn more about it, including how to contact the gallery.
Three Sisters of the Desert, Dawn Sutherland, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in. Dawn Sutherland Fine Art
A Delicate Balance, James Cawley, oil on canvas, 26.5 x 44 in., James Cawley
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Take the Plunge, Naomi Tiry Salgado, oil on linen, 24 x 30 in.; Naomi Salgado
Want to see your gallery featured in an upcoming Virtual Gallery Walk? Contact us at [email protected] to advertise today. Don’t delay, as spaces are first come, first served, and availability is limited.
Patrick Okrasinski, "Trevi Fountain," 2024, oil on linen, 30 x 25 in., available through the artist
There is a lot of superb contemporary realism being made these days; this article by Brandon Rosas shines light on a gifted individual.
The sights and scenery of Europe have long influenced New Jersey-based artist Patrick Okrasinski (b. 1996), beginning with childhood visits to his grandparents’ farm in Poland, where the picturesque countryside inspired his love of nature.
As a teenager, Okrasinski became interested in concept art for film and video games, enrolling in a traditional university to study illustration. “Digital art was a real gateway,” he says. “I had always appreciated historical paintings in textbooks, but when I started learning about painting digitally, I found so many people pointing to the Old Masters and oil painting.”
Midway through his sophomore year, Okrasinski stumbled upon the blog of the landscapist Marc Dalessio (b. 1972) and was thrilled to learn that artists were still earning a living by painting outdoors. Within the month, Okrasinski was taking a landscape painting workshop led by Stapleton Kearns, and by the fall he had transferred to the U.S. branch of the Florence Academy of Art in Jersey City.
Under the tutelage of such instructors as Jordan Sokol, Amaya Gurpide, and Edmond Rochat, Okrasinski became adept at both portraiture and landscape painting. After graduating in 2019, he was selected by the Fondation Claude Monet to become an artist-in-residence at Giverny, where he painted in the impressionist’s famous garden and in the countryside nearby. Except in 2020, when the pandemic delayed his taking up of the prestigious Donald Jurney Traveling Fellowship, Okrasinski has painted in Europe every year since.
Travels in Italy inspired “Trevi Fountain,” a tour-de-force of color harmony evoking the grandeur of this iconic Roman landmark. “This piece was a wonderful exploration of color, light, and material,” Okrasinski recalls. “The effects of light were an absolute joy to tackle as reflective light, ambiance, and optical effects allowed me to find moments of purple, cobalt, red, and gold.”
Despite his skill with a brush, Okrasinski does not consider technical mastery an end in itself. “I remember seeing the Prado’s display contrasting Ilya Repin and Diego Velázquez and noticing that neither of them seemed to care about showing us how clever they were,” he says. “There was something to the quiet truth and beauty in their paintings that I want to find in mine. As Monet once said, ‘Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love.’”
This October the Bellmans auction room will feel a little more like a museum – not only are the works on the wall of particularly high standard, but they can be enjoyed sitting on original National Gallery benches.
More from the organizers:
The auctions are being held October 13-15, 2025 and the Old Master, British & European Art Sale includes works by George Frederick Watts and Charles Napier Hemy from the famous Ionides Collection; a portrait of Ethel Eastman Johnson Conkling, the daughter of Eastman Johnson, who is often referred to as ‘American Rembrandt’; as well as several paintings by Henry Scott Tuke, the famous ‘Golden Goose’ by Frederick Hall, a priced Sussex bred Ox by Tyddesley R. Davis and portraits by Henry Jamyn Brooks and works by the forgotten female sculptor, Marie-Louise Simard.
A rare and intimate family portrait by Eastman Johnson (1824–1906), one of America’s foremost 19th-century painters, is one of the highlights of the auction on October 15. The portrait offered for sale is of Ethel Eastman Johnson Conkling (1870–1931), the daughter of Eastman Johnson. Ethel was Eastman Johnson’s frequent model in his genre scenes of children but is seen here, in a formal portrait from circa 1895, a year before her first marriage. The portrait is estimated at £10,000 – £15,000.
Eastman Johnson’s portrait of his daughter
Eastman Johnson was celebrated for his ability to combine the influence of the Dutch Golden Age painters of the 17th century with a style based in realism and a deeply American sensibility. A co-founder of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, he is best known for his genre scenes of domestic life and the great American outdoors. Today, his works hang in major institutions such as The Met, The Smithsonian, and The National Gallery of Art, Washington. Two further works by the artist are being offered – a smaller portrait of the artist’s father (est. £600 – £800) and a Canal Scene (est. £500 – £800).
Marine watercolour by Charles Napier Hemy
Bellmans also offers a selection of works from descendants of the seminal Ionides family collection. Among the paintings are a portrait of Isabella Ionides by family friend George Frederick Watts (est. £8,000 – £12,000) and a marine watercolour by Charles Napier Hemy (est. £2,000 – £4,000), both come to the market for the first time.
A selection of pictures by Henry Scott Tuke (1858-1929) from one of the foremost private collections of his work are also included in this auction. Among them an outstanding portrait of Gerald Caldwell Siordet (1885-1917), an artist, poet and decorated soldier, from 1914 – the watercolour is estimated at £1500 – £2500.Bellmans is also selling five large double-sided round ended gallery benches (est. £800 – £1,200) from The National Gallery in London. They were initially designed for The Barry Room’s refurbishment in the mid 1980s when the Gallery aimed to return to its former Neo-Renaissance glory. They were manufactured by reputable Norwich based furniture makers Arthur Brett & Sons, but are now being sold as part of the gallery’s extensive renovation project.
For more information on these fine art auctions, please visit www.bellmans.co.uk.
First Place: Erin Milan, "Before Chemo," oil on board, 16 x 12 in.
Contemporary Fine Art Exhibition
“Unwavering Resolve”
Chelsie Nicole Contemporary
Ozark, Missouri cncontemporary.com
Through November 10, 2025
“Unwavering Resolve” at Chelsie Nicole Contemporary
Chelsie Nicole Contemporary has enhanced its already impressive profile in the field of contemporary realist art by launching its first national juried exhibition.
Juried by esteemed painters David Kassan and Shana Levenson, “Unwavering Resolve” features a diverse selection of artworks distinguished by both conceptual depth and technical mastery:
First Place: Erin Milan, “Before Chemo,” oil on board, 16 x 12 in.Second Place: Annie Murphy Robinson, “The Parlor,” sanded charcoal on paper, 23 x 34 in.Third Place: Noah Olsen, “Sunset by the Fence,” oil on aluminum, 12 x 9 in., soldHonorable Mention: Barbara Hack, “Free to Be,” oil on canvas, 36 x 36 in.Honorable Mention: Melinda Whitmore, “Passenger,” oil on aluminum, 16 x 16 in.Honorable Mention: David Jamieson, “Writers Block,” graphite, carbon black, white chalk on gray paper, 24 x 18 in.Honorable Mention: Judy Takacs, “Serenity Prayer,” oil on linen, 36 x 24 in.
The exhibition is both a celebration and a testament to the unwavering spirit of the artist—a reminder that creativity endures.
Nearly a century after his passing, Theodore Clement Steele’s vibrant landscapes and expressive portraits continue to captivate art lovers around the world. His connection to the natural beauty of Brown County, Indiana, and his contributions to American impressionism have solidified his legacy as one of the Midwest’s most celebrated painters.
To commemorate the upcoming 100th anniversary of his death, the T.C. Steele State Historic Site will unveil a new exhibition of artworks and condolence letters. This kicks off a year-long centennial celebration to honor the impact of Steele’s life and work.
The Large Studio
More from the Indiana State Museum:
“Steele is still such a beloved Hoosier artist to many, many people,” said Paula Katz, senior curator of art at the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. “We still hear regularly from people who spent time at the site, including descendants and people who were also deeply connected. People are an important part of the story, and with the centennial, we wanted to share some of these memories.”
Inside the large studio at the historic site, the new installation showcases nearly 30 original works spanning the full career of the world-renowned artist, including rarely seen paintings and newly acquired pieces to the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites’ collection.
Portrait of Daisy by T.C. Steele
Among the highlights, visitors can get their first look at a recently obtained portrait of Steele’s only daughter, Daisy. The painting of the fashionable young woman, which was completed just two years after the death of Steele’s first wife, Libby, offers a glimpse into the artist’s personal life.
The exhibition will also feature plein air landscapes, for which Steele is most remembered, that illustrate both his passion for nature and the evolution of his work. Guests will see a newly acquired piece from the artist’s Brookville period that depicts a farmer at work in his field — a common scene of rural life in Indiana but a unique subject for Steele — as well as arguably his most famous work, “Selma in the Garden,” showing his second wife at work in her beloved flower garden.
“Selma in the Garden” by T.C. Steele
“People feel inspired by Steele’s story because he found beauty in the Indiana landscape,” said T.C. Steele State Historic Site Manager Jessica Stephens. “He was honored and recognized nationally for the way he portrayed it. That helps give us Hoosiers a sense of pride in our state.”
Following Steele’s death on July 24, 1926, people from across the country wrote letters of condolence to his family. For the first time, visitors will have an opportunity to read some of these heartfelt correspondences as part of the exhibition.
Visitors can see the newly installed artworks and condolence letters during guided tours of the historic site, which encompass Steele’s large studio along with the House of the Singing Winds. Inside the charming home he shared with Selma, guests can immerse themselves in the Steeles’ day-to-day lives as they wander through the comfortable rooms filled with the family’s original furnishings.
Visitors in the House of Singing Winds
Additionally, visitors take self-guided tours of the historic site to discover the outdoor studio, featuring a wagon modeled after the artist’s own traveling studio, and explore the expansive natural surroundings, including the real locations that inspired Steele’s paintings.
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