Are You Ready to ‘Giddy Up’? Grab Your Boots!

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January 4, 2017

Featuring some of the hottest young artistic talent in the nation, in addition to experienced veterans, collectors and Western art enthusiasts can’t miss what’s just around the corner in Denver.

Amidst a number of fascinating livestock and rodeo events at this year’s National Western Stock Show is something for fine art collectors and enthusiasts. Opening January 7 and running through January 22 on the 3rd level of the Expo Hall, the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale is sure to draw heavy crowds.

Dean Mitchell, “Rotting in the Light,” watercolor on paper, 18 x 19 in. (c) Coors Western Art 2017

Since 1993, Coors Brewing Company and the National Western Stock Show have joined to develop what is now considered one of the finest Western art exhibitions in the United States. Since the event’s inception, it has grown from a mere 30 artists to more than 60 in 2017. In 2013, organizers introduced the “Young Guns” part of the event, which includes a group of young professionals interested in art education and philanthropy. Via the event webpage: “The goal for these young professionals is to gain a better understanding of Western art as well as insight into how to invest in art. Proceeds from this event help support the National Western Scholarship Trust, the mission of the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale.”

Quang Ho, “Old Cotton Wood,” oil on linen, 20 x 14 in. (c) Coors Western Art 2017

There are a number of outstanding artists included in this year’s edition, such as Jill Carver, Eric Bowman, Len Chmiel, Teresa Elliott, Scott Fraser, Douglas Fryer, Quang Ho, Dean Mitchell, Chris Maynard, Jill Soukup, and Scott Parker. 2017’s featured artist is Dinah K. Worman from Taos, New Mexico.

Karmel Timmons Machele, “Power and Grace,” pencil on paper, 18 x 28 in. (c) Coors Western Art 2017

Several awards are also presented during the exhibition, including Best in Show, Artists’ Choice, the Mary Belle Grant, People’s Choice, and the Southwest Art Award. To learn more about the various artists and how to plan your outing, visit the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.

Portrait of the Week: A Blast From the Renaissance Past

By

Andrew Webster

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January 4, 2017

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cbaldassare_castiglione_by_raffaello_sanzio_from_c2rmf_retouched — Raphael Sanzio, “Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione,” circa 1514-1515, oil on canvas, 32 x 26 in. (c) Louvre Museum, Paris 2017

In this ongoing series, Fine Art Today delves into the world of portraiture, highlighting historical and contemporary examples of superb quality and skill. This week: “Baldassare Castiglione.”

In addition to being painted by Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520), one of the foremost artists of the Italian Renaissance, “Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione” (c. 1514-1515) has had an enduring influence on generations of painters. Castiglione was a close friend of Raphael’s and was considered a quintessential example of the High Renaissance gentleman.

Author of The Book of the Courtier, Castiglione was a champion of using manners and dress to elevate one’s status, coining the term sprezzatura, roughly translating as “nonchalant mastery” and connoting an effortless grace.

Shown in a traditional pyramidal composition, Castiglione embodies the ideals of sprezzatura, donning a dark doublet with a trim of squirrel fur and black ribbon against an earth-toned background. On his head Castiglione wears a turban topped by a notched beret. In addition to announcing his wealth and status, the sitter’s attire has suggested to scholars that the portrait was painted during the winter months between 1514 and 1515, when Castiglione was in Rome by appointment of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro. Montefeltro had been a patron of Raphael’s, commissioning him to paint a portrait of Henry VII in 1505.

Raphael Sanzio, “Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione,” circa 1514-1515, oil on canvas, 32 x 26 in. (c) Louvre Museum, Paris 2017 — Raphael Sanzio, “Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (detail),” circa 1514-1515, oil on canvas, 32 x 26 in. (c) Louvre Museum, Paris 2017

The portrait has undergone immense study and is noted for its elegance of execution and subtle homage to Raphael’s fellow artists. Art historians have also noted the picture’s influence on such seminal painters as Rembrandt, Titian, Peter Paul Rubens, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Matisse, and Paul Cézanne. Even so, scholar James Beck writes that the portrait “stands as a final solution for single male portraiture within the Renaissance style.”

Housed today within the Louvre Museum, Paris, you can learn more about this magnificent portrait by visiting here.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.

Featured Lot: How Well Do You Know Your American Icons?

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Andrew Webster

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January 4, 2017

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b49933235_7_x — Winslow Homer, “The Cove,” oil on canvas, 15 x 18 1/2 in. (c) Art Master Collection 2017

In this ongoing series for Fine Art Today, we take a longer look at the history and features of a soon-to-be-available artwork of note. This week: “The Cove” by a familiar name.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Winslow Homer (1836-1910) is often recognized as one of the greatest American painters of the 19th century. He was also an accomplished printmaker. Homer’s pictures are best known for their marine subjects and characterized by a high degree of weight and density.

In addition to capturing scenes of everyday life in America, Homer also found himself documenting the terrors of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Among his robust oeuvre are splendid sketches of battle scenes and camp life. All told, Homer was masterful at capturing moments of both quiet and chaos.

Winslow Homer, “The Cove,” oil on canvas, 15 x 18 1/2 in. (c) Art Master Collection 2017

Although Homer never taught formally in an academy nor privately, his influence among succeeding generations was — and remains — profound. Particularly powerful was the relationship between man and nature that Homer explored in his work. Among his contemporaries and close admirers were Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth (and through him, Andrew and Jamie Wyeth). No doubt Homer was also a point of reference, at least thematically, with the Hudson River School as well.

Among a number of compelling lots by William Adolphe Bouguereau, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, and Peter Paul Rubens is a simple yet delightful oil by Homer, titled “The Cove.” Available on January 17 via Miami’s Art Master Collection, “The Cove” displays a quiet waterfront scene. To the viewer’s right, one finds a green boat, which has been stowed upside down. A winding path leads up a hill to a grove of trees along a fence line, capped with a white tent. The colors in the work are magnificent — filled with a full spectrum of pastel grays, blues, reds, oranges, and greens. Auction estimates are fitting for a work of this condition by Homer: between $1 million and $2 million.

To view the full catalogue, visit Live Auctioneers.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller: A New York Collector’s Legacy Evolves in Virginia

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Fine Art Today

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January 3, 2017

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brackman-portrait — Robert Brackman (1898-1980), "Portrait of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (Abby Greene Aldrich)," 1941, oil on canvas, 38 1/8 x 32 in. (c) Private Collection

by: Peter Trippi, Editor-in-Chief, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine

Surely all fans of American history have heard of – and probably visited – Colonial Williamsburg, which preserves, restores, and operates Virginia’s 18th-century capital. Located roughly halfway between Richmond and Norfolk, this sprawling site of more than 600 restored or reconstructed buildings immerses families, students, teachers, and other visitors in the dramatic story of this country’s founding during the American Revolution, reminding them why that era still matters today.

Robert Brackman (1898-1980), "Portrait of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (Abby Greene Aldrich)," 1941, oil on canvas, 38 1/8 x 32 in. (c) Private Collection — Robert Brackman (1898-1980), “Portrait of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (Abby Greene Aldrich),” 1941, oil on canvas, 38 1/8 x 32 in. (c) Private Collection

Complementing visitors’ experiences of chatting with costumed interpreters about their 18th-century “lives” is the pleasure of exploring the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg. In fact, this is one building that contains two major museums. The younger one is the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, opened 31 years ago with a generous $200 million endowment from Lila and DeWitt Wallace, the founders of Reader’s Digest. Today it stewards a trove of 70,000 British and American decorative artworks dating from 1670 to 1840.

Of keener interest this season is the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum (AARFAM), which will celebrate its 60th anniversary on March 15, 2017. It is named for the remarkable woman who contributed to American society in many ways…

This is an excerpt from “Abby Aldrich Rockefeller – A New York Collector’s Legacy Evolves in Virginia”. Find the full article in the January / February 2017 Edition of Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine.

Read the Full Article Now

Issue: January – February 2017

By

Andrew Webster

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January 3, 2017

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Featured Artwork: Olaf Schneider

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Andrew Webster

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January 2, 2017

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fa_schneider — "Conversation Peace" by Olaf Schneider

“Conversation Peace”

Oil on canvas

40 x 66 in.

Available through the artist

‘This painting was made after we finished an early morning paddle. My wife and I spent the early part of the day together watching out for wildlife in the interior of Algonquin Park in northern Ontario. Tracey called out to me “you are just in time for coffee” as I was painting a small study of this painting. We love to watch the sunrise together.

This made for time for reconnecting and catching up with the things that are important with each other. Hence the name ‘Conversation Peace’.

A few weeks ago, I was informed that Ducks Unlimited chose my painting for the 2017 Portfolio. I am so blessed. Thank you Lord.’

Biography

Olaf Schneider (b.1964) is a husband, father of two, and grandfather of six. He studied at the Ontario College of Art as well as Sheridan College. In 1986, while painting large scale outdoor advertising billboards for Mediacom, he acquired a strong practical foundation that would become integral to his work today.

He is greatly inspired by mentor Ron Grieg and Norman Rockwell.

For Olaf each piece represents an intense exploration and refinement of his personal pictorial sensitivities, especially as they relate to beauty, form, light, and shade. Composition, color, and craftsmanship are all elements that become the building blocks of his work. Olaf is a prolific painter who is inspired by the power and diversity of the northern landscape, and anything that needs a “second look”. An explorer by nature, he travels across North America and Europe to gain inspiration.

“Each dab I make is stimulated by the details that I observe. I hope to see what others miss and then make it compelling. I push and alter the colors to suit my ravenous needs and I love to improvise on the spot.”
Olaf has a passion for a variety of subjects. Through his art, he expresses his love for life and his affinity with vibrant colour.

“I like to use expressive and thick impasto brushstrokes or soft blended strokes to render a sense of movement and texture giving the painting a life of its own. My interpretation of colour also sets the dynamic mood. The tones often range from the darkest to the lightest in an effort to achieve maximum drama. This creative combination is spontaneous and intuitive.”

To keep his mind clear and focused he limits his exposure to all the media ‘noise’ we generally are pummelled with daily. He does not watch TV and restricts his time on the computer. He starts his day with God in prayer and meditation. Painting six to ten hours a day is common practice. Equally important to Olaf is continued growth and learning.

“I want to always have an open mind so that new ideas may come in. In the mind of an expert, there are few possibilities, but in the mind of an amateur they become endless. This is a God given gift and I value it greatly. If I am able to bring emotion, understanding, comfort, or joy into another’s life then I am using it wisely in His glory.”

Philosophy

Art is a celebration of life, and the making of art is an expression of the sacred spiritual discipline. If a painting could, for a moment, capture the attention and awareness of the viewer through visual harmony, carry on a dialogue, bring the viewer further than the call of the senses, beyond a momentary concern for the past or future, to a timeless state free from thought and self consciousness. Then the work has approached the realm of art, the realm of life. Art and money don’t mix.

View more of Olaf’s work at http://www.olaf.ca.

Solo Exhibitions

2016 – Tilting at Windmills Gallery, Vermont

2016 – Broadway Galleries, Virginia

2015 – Westmount Gallery, Ontario

2015 – Woodbine Raceway

2015 – International Artist Magazine June issue

2014 – Cannes France

2005–2013 – Westmount Gallery, Toronto

2011 – Royal Gallery, Rhode Island

2009 – Mercedes Benz, Ontario

2009 – Homer Watson Gallery

2008 – Gallery DeLisle

2005 – Hummingbird Centre

2004 – McMichael Gallery, Kleinburg

2003–2006 – International Artists Magazine

1998–2004 – Formula 1, Montreal & Indianapolis

Group Exhibitions

2014 – Chapel St. Bernardin, France

2014 – Le Cannet, France

2008–2013 – Westmount Gallery, Toronto

2013 – The Louvre, SNBA Salon, France

2009–2013 – Edgewood Orchard Gallery, Wisconsin

2013 – Galerie Demante, California

2012 – The Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists

2012 – Portrait Society of America

2011 – Thornwood Art Gallery, Texas

2011 – Canadian Heritage Art Gallery

2010–2013 – Toronto International Art Fair

2010 – Canadian Heritage Art Gallery, Toronto

2010 – Thornwood Art Gallery , Texas

2009 – Boston International Art Fair

2007–2011 – Miller Gallery, Ohio

2007 – Scottsdale Art Gallery, Arizona

2006 – Kipling Gallery Woodbridge, Ontario

2006 – Manitou Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2006 – Latino America International

2004–2006 – Todmorden Mills Heritage Museum

2002–2005 – Hummingbird Centre, Toronto

2000 – Living Arts Centre, Mississauga

1998–2002 – Molson Indy, Toronto & Vancouver

Publications

American Art Collector Magazine

Arabella Magazine

Houston Lifestyles and Homes

Ducks Unlimited 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011

Etobicoke Guardian

Scarborough Mirror

Vaughan Weekly

George Chuvalo Fight Against Drugs

International Artist

Art Fix

WPBS Television

Algonquin Park news

The Huntsville Forrester

24 Hours

Toronto Life

2004–2006 Magazin’art Biennial Guide

Creative Source 1989, 2004

Corporate and Private Collections

Ripley’s Aquarium Canada, Toronto

PCO – Construction Ltd.

The Haven on the Queensway, Toronto

The Good Shepard, Toronto

Mackenzie Financial, Toronto

Toronto Dominion Bank, Toronto

Ducks Unlimited 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

Make a Wish Foundation

George Chuvalo Fight Against Drugs Foundation, Canada

Paul Smith’s College, New York

Make a Wish Foundation, Toronto

Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto & Montreal

Jessie Centre for Teenagers, Toronto

Ontario Provincial Police, Canada

Labatt Breweries Ltd. Ontario, Canada

Evian Canada

Gilles Villeneuve Museum, Quebec

Chapters Indigo Canada

Mercedes-Benz, Toronto

Ford Ontario

Ferrari North America

Apple Canada

Governor General of Madrid, Spain

L.L.C.B.O.

Art Gallery of Ontario

Centennial College

Van Moorehem Barristers, Ontario

Block Parents Foundation, Canada

Current Gallery Representation

Chloe Gallery, San Francisco CA 415.531.5748

Eclipse Gallery, Huntsville ON 705.783.2579

Emma Butler, St. John’s NFLD 709.739.7111

Lovetts Gallery, Tulsa OK 918.664.4732

MountainMist Gallery, Cashiers NC 407.620.2685

Palm Avenue Fine Art, Sarasota FL 941.388.7526

Rendezvous Gallery, Vancouver BC 604.687.7466

Spa Fine Art Gallery, Saratoga NY 203.226.6934

Tilting Windmills Gallery, Manchester VT 802.362.3022

Westmount Gallery, Toronto ONT 416.239.5427

Westport Gallery, Westport CT 203.226.6934

Featured Artwork: Linda Richichi

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Andrew Webster

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January 2, 2017

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fa_richichi — "Shoreline Walk" by Linda Richichi

“Shoreline Walk”

Oil

11 x 14 in

About the Artist:

“Her evocative plein air paintings express an intense response to observed nature, while her dynamic abstractions reflect a passionate energy and masterful sense of form.”

– From Dennis Wepman, Art Curator of Karpeles Museum.

Linda Richichi was born in Montgomery, New York. Richichi’s extensive plein air work since 1998 has given her a basis for creating studio pieces that are filled with nature’s energy.

Educational background:

– Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art from SUNY New Paltz

– Art Students League in 1999 on Scholarship from the Pastel Society of America

– Years of study with modern masters including John P. Osborne at the Ridgewood Art

Institute.

Publications:

– The New York Times wrote about one of Linda’s workshops at the

Wainwright House in Rye, NY in 2015.

– International Artist Magazine, Master Painters of the World, Pastel

– The American Artist Magazine

– Art Times Journal– solo exhibit critiqued favorably

by art critic and editor, Raymond J. Steiner.

Top Awards:

– Ft. Myers, Paint the Beach, 2015 HMs, 2016 Third Place

Voted national Best Intuitive Artist from About.com (then a NY Times company) Readers Choice award in 2012
Best of Show Ontario Purchase Award, at the International Plein

Air Painters (I.P.A.P.) Fourth Worldwide Paint Out at Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, Sept. 2006.

Major commissions:

Rowley Family Birthing Center at Orange Regional Medical Center in Middletown, NY for an entire healing art collection and continues to collect her work.
Mini Cooper in Ramsey, NJ.
Mercedes Benz in NJ.
Harness Racing Museum, Goshen, NY, annual portrait 1996–present

Her landscape paintings traveled with the World Tour Exhibition titled “Far and Near Horizons” which included work of 20 Contemporary Landscape Artists selected from the International Plein Air Painters and the Landscape Artists InternationaI organizations.

Richichi was the first artist-in-residence at the SUNY Orange at the Newburgh Extension in 2008.

Richichi conducts workshops in the US, Italy, and on cruise ships.

Her work has been found in galleries around the North America including NYC, NY, PA, FL, WI, NJ, CO, and both coasts of Canada. She regularly showed in various galleries in the Hudson Valley Region and in NYC. Richichi now lives permanently in Sarasota, FL. She is represented by 530 Burns Gallery in Sarasota, FL and Nikki Sedacca Gallery, Edgartown, MA.

Past/ Present Memberships Include:

* Oil Painters of America

* Pastel Society of America (PSA)- Juried Associate member

* International Plein Air Painters (IPAP)- Signature Status

* New York Plein Air Painters (NYPAP)- Signature Status

* Portrait Society of America- Founding member (past)

* Landscape Artists International – Charter member

* Plein Air Florida

* Light Chasers

Featured Artwork: Barbara Jaenicke

By

Andrew Webster

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January 2, 2017

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fa_jaenicke — "Winter Whites" by Barbara Jaenicke

“Winter Whites”

Oil on linen

16 x 20 in

www.barbarajaenicke.com

About the Artist:

Barbara Jaenicke has had a fascination with snow since childhood. She’s always loved the look, sound and feel of snow, and even the smell in the air when it snowed. She grew up in New Jersey where she experienced occasional snow, but lived in Atlanta, Georgia when her painting career began. In the late ‘90s she began traveling with her husband to visit his family in Minnesota each winter, and the snowy landscape called to her. In May 2015, Barbara and her family relocated to Bend, Oregon, where snow is also plentiful, if not right in town, a short drive away in the mountains. “Winter Whites” is from a spot located near her home in Bend.

Barbara’s work is represented at Mockingbird Gallery in Bend, Oregon; The Artful Deposit in Bordentown, New Jersey; Stoneheart Gallery in Evergreen, Colorado and Weilerhouse Fine Art Gallery in Fort Worth, Texas.

Barbara’s instructional video series, which includes snow scenes, is available at www.paintingthepoeticlandscape.com.

Featured Artwork: Paul Grass

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Fine Art Today

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December 26, 2016

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Art from The Religious Academy’s “Southern Tour.” will be on display at the Blair Caldwell Library in Downtown Denver through the middle of January. Don’t miss your chance to see this historic show’s final location.

Artwork from Artists around the nation are featured in “Done it Unto The Least of These.” – A Tour taken through Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana as it relates to the Civil Rights. Stop’s included The Emmett Till Museum, South Carolina State Capital, Alabama State Capital, the front Lawn of the White House, Lexington KY Library, and many other places.

Artists from around the nation showed with us including Paul Grass, Marge Zylla, John Stadler, Eugene Hamilton, Dahne Anne, Dana Wood, Christine Fontenot, David Weaver, and many more. Visit www.livvnart.org to preview show and www.thereligiousacademy.com to see future shows today!

Featured Artwork: Katherine Brown Galbraith

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Fine Art Today

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December 26, 2016

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fa_galbraith — "Fall Treasures" by Katherine Brown Galbraith

“Fall Treasures”

2016

Oil on linen

20 x 16 in.

Available through the artist

770.366.1448

About the Artist:

At the age of 12, Katherine Galbraith began her career as an artist with the sale of a

portrait painting. Now in addition to figurative work and commissioned portraiture, she also paints in studio and plein air landscapes and still lifes.

Katherine has had numerous one-woman shows in Atlanta, GA, Boston, MA, St. Simons Island and Sea Island, GA, Bronxsville, NY and Pittsburgh, PA. In May 2013 Katherine opened The Station Art Gallery & Studio of Katherine Galbraith to showcase her work and offer classes. It is located in the restored NY Central Passenger Depot in Westfield, NY.

Portraiture clients have included corporation executives, leaders of religious and academic institutions and athletes. Many clients have later commissioned Katherine to paint members of their families

Her work can be found in private collections all over the world. First favorably compared to John Singer Sargent’s in a review of her one-woman show in Raleigh, NC, Katherine’s work has appeared in national magazines, including International Artists Magazine, Art of the Portrait,

Fine Art Connoisseur, Veranda, Southern Living, Better Homes and Gardens, Where: Boston, Coastal Living and Coastal Illustrated.

Recent Awards & Notable Juried Shows:

2016 American Women Artists Annual Juried Exhibition, Bennington, VT: Finalist

2016 Portrait Society of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA: Finalist and Honorable Mention,

2016 Oil Painters of America 25th National Juried Exhibition, Dallas, TX

2016 Castine Plein Air Festival, Castine, ME

2015 Portrait Society of America Annual Members Only Competition: 3rd Place,

Outside the Box

2015 Oil Painters of America Salon Show, Birmingham, AL: Finalist

2014 Portrait Society of America Annual Members Only Competition: 1st Place,

Commissioned Portrait

2014 Bath County Plein Air Festival, Bath County, VA: Honorable Mention, Quick Paint

2014 Wayne Plein Air Festival, Wayne, PA: Honorable Mention

2014 Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Juried Exhibition, Cincinnati, OH

2013 Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Juried Exhibition, Annapolis, MD

2012 Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Fredericksburg, TX

2012 Gettysburg Plein Air Festival, Gettysburg, PA: 1st Place, Quick Paint

2009 Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Santa Fe, NM

Organizations:

Portrait Society of America

Oil Painters of America

American Women Artists

Galleries:

The Station Art Gallery & Studio of Katherine Galbraith, LLC – Westfield, NY

A Stroke of Genius / PortraitArtist.com

JDanielPortraits.com

The Art Loft – Mayville, NY

To view more of Katherine’s work, visit http://katherinegalbraithfineart.com/collections/75021

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