Uniquely Western Art

Altamira Fine Art

172 Center St., Jackson, WY                                              

7038 E. Main St. Scottsdale, AZ

Altamira Fine Art brings the emerging era of the “New West” to the Jackson art scene. Their Western Contemporary collection of sculptures, paintings and mixed media pieces highlights classic Western motifs often with a modern spin. You’ll find the vibrant colors and assertive lines of John Nieto, a Hispanic and Indigenous American artist known for his striking portrayals of wildlife, Native American culture and western history. The collage-like pieces of Miles Glynn combine photography, vintage drawings, written words and enduring symbols of the American West evoke a sense of nostalgia and subtle reminder of the passage of time. The work by Robert Moore focuses almost exclusively on aspen trees — using geometric shapes and rich color palettes to capture the way the alpine light plays on this enchanting tree in each of the seasons.

The vivid colors and enduring images evoke the diverse identities that have shaped Jackson over the past century — a place constantly evolving while staying true to its Western heritage. “Our artists offer fresh takes on familiar subjects,” says Audrey Reames, director at Altamira, “Sometimes with a sense of humor, sometimes in a more abstract way; but with distinct styles that catch your eye — it's not your everyday Western art.” This fresh take can add an edge to a traditional style home or highlight the bridging of the old and the new West in contemporary settings. The gallery rotates exhibitions throughout the year and offers in-home trials of any piece in their inventory to help buyers find a something that’s just right for their space. The collection at Altamira captures the spirit of the New West, offering collectors a chance to bring home pieces that celebrate both tradition and innovation in a uniquely personal way.

Quent Cordair Fine Art                                          

105 N. Glenwood St., Jackson, WY                                               

1301 1st St., Napa, CA

The show room at Quent Cordair Fine Art strays from the typical Teton landscapes, wildlife portraits and cowboy lore one might expect to find in a gallery in downtown Jackson. Walking through the front door feels like walking through a portal to the art world of New York City or Paris — there are intricate marble statues that would be at home in a Grecian temple, ethereal depictions of ballet dancers in satin, even classical still life paintings of sun-drenched fruits. Artists featured in the gallery have had their work displayed in prominent museums like the Louvre in Paris and the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. and encapsulate decades of international work under the Romantic Realism genre.

Aside from the stunning physical spaces in downtown Jackson and Napa, California, Quent Cordair Fine Art is also a powerhouse in the online art world. In fact, they created the world’s first online art gallery in the world, Cordair.com, where buyers can peruse the gallery’s collection, commission individual pieces and join Club Cordair, a membership mixed with an art investment program in which all monthly installments go towards the member’s next art purchase. Members gain special access to events, auctions and discounts. While the gallery features a stunning variety, the Romantic Realism collection selects pieces with an “uplifting sense of life,” says Owner and Director Linda Cordair. The focus is helping buyers find “art they want to live with and look forward to seeing every day.”

Coeur d’Alene Art Auction

Auction: Reno, Nevada                               

Headquarters: 11944 N. Tracey Rd., Hayden, ID

Every year in July, art lovers from all over the American West make their way to Reno, Nevada for the Coeur d’Alene art auction. Attendees wine and dine as they weave their way through hundreds of superb classical Western paintings depicting scenes and characters from the high peaks of the Rocky Mountains to the pastel desert of the southwest canyonlands.

Many of the paintings are strikingly familiar with a note of nostalgia — a cowboy surveying his herd at twilight, the Snake River valley in late summer, a group of bighorn rams highlighted against granite cliffs. Some are Western classics like William Herbert Dunton’s famous “Return From the Hunt” (1908), while others highlight the wave of the new West like Jennifer Johnson’s depiction of the hallmark sign above the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar titled “Neon West” (2024). Bringing a timeless piece from the auction into one’s home “allows its owner to connect with the West’s past while living in the present,” says Auction Partner Mike Overby. “Many of the grand Western scenes painted in the late 1800’s are still remarkably unchanged today — hopefully, this will continue long into the future.”

While the auction also offers an online experience to buyers, the journey across the western landscape to view the art in person is itself reminiscent of the past and present colliding — travelers pass by old rendezvous sites seen depicted in their heyday on the auction floor and iconic landscapes like Monument Valley continue to inspire awe as they have for thousands of years. As the art makes its way from Reno to homes throughout the country, it will bring the enchanting beauty, nostalgia and charm of the West to life.

Medicine Bird Gallery

35 W. Broadway, Jackson, WY                                           

103 S. Main St., Livingston, MT

Building a deep connection and reverence to place is the heart of Medicine Bird Gallery. The artists have lived and worked within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem for decades, some for generations, and their love for the land and its human and nonhuman inhabitants is evident in every piece.

The gallery was originally built to honor the photography of Gary Crandall, who has captured Western landscapes and wildlife for over 35 years. Gary’s hallmark subjects are bison, birds and wolves — animals that encapsulate the mystique and wonder that shrouds Greater Yellowstone. “He seems to capture them in their most comfortable, natural states, interacting with their environment and the land,” says gallery Co-owner Alex Meador. “That’s not something most of us get to experience with these animals on a regular basis.” When customers find a photograph they love, it is individually printed and framed to fit their space in Gary’s workshop in Livingston, Montana.

Over the years, Medicine Bird has expanded to house other local and regional artists, including the iconic work of Blackfeet artist John Isaiah Pepion. Pepion is a 4th generation ledger artist, a tradition developed by Plains Indian tribes in the mid 1800s when bison herds were decimated and hides traditionally used for painting became scarce. Artists, like Pepion’s great grandfather, began to use ledger paper from accounting books to preserve their heritage and illustrate their stories. Hundreds of years of Indigenous knowledge and traditions are visible in Pepion’s work.

Medicine Bird also houses locally-made, tangible art for everyday use including Jumping Jackalope pottery and Copper Dot leather bags. Each piece of artwork and craftsmanship reflects the maker’s deep-seated love for Greater Yellowstone, bringing a piece of the ecosystem into the customer’s everyday life.

Astoria Fine Art

35 E. Deloney Ave., Jackson, WY

Just steps from the bustling boardwalks of Jackson’s Town Square, Astoria Fine Art offers a serene escape into museum-quality art that captures the essence of the American West. The paintings and sculptures housed here remind you to slow down and appreciate the magic of the culture, landscapes and wildlife of the Rocky Mountains that continue to capture the hearts of locals and visitors alike.

Astoria offers a diverse collection of works by museum-held and award-winning artists, such as Carl Rungius, Frederic Remington and Martin Grelle. They also have a collection of secondary market works by late wildlife masters such as Bob Kuhn and Wilhelm Kuhnert. From figurative, still-life, traditional and contemporary wildlife, Western and even seascapes, each piece encourages the viewer to appreciate the subtleties and beauty around them.

“I think that artwork can embody the spirit of a place,” says Owner and Director Pierce Tome. “I’ve noticed that after looking at certain landscape paintings I’ll go outside into nature and notice little elements that I never had before — the glint off a grove of aspen trees or the way the summer haze plays off of the mountains.” Pierce and the rest of the staff in the gallery are warm, kind and knowledgeable, and take the time to help clients find the perfect piece to bring more beauty and joy to everyday life.

The works that Astoria has collected over 18 years embody the romanticism that continues to surround the American West — vast, striking landscapes, wild creatures, and the rugged individualism unique to the Rocky Mountain region. The art brings that special sense of wonder, freedom and authenticity to life. 

Horizon Fine Art Gallery

30 S. King St., Jackson, WY

Located just steps from Jackson Hole’s iconic Town Square, Horizon Fine Art Gallery showcases a spectacular and eclectic array of art, including Contemporary and International art featuring myriad subjects and styles. For 27 years, Horizon Fine Art has featured a diverse collection of pieces from paintings and photography to textiles, ceramics and more.

“I pride myself on bringing in both emerging and internationally-renowned artists,” says gallery founder and owner Barbara Nowak, also highlighting that pieces represent a price point for every art enthusiast. The gallery welcomes and encourages both first time buyers and experienced collectors to peruse a collection that has both international and regional art. Nowak is committed to ensuring that every visitor who enters Horizon Fine Art is met with warmth and enthusiasm. “My doors are open to everyone, whether they’re buying their first piece or their fiftieth.”

Breathtaking dimensional pieces include sculpture and ceramics that bring compelling color and intrigue to any space. Similarly, the gallery’s stunning jewelry collection showcases pieces that are at once distinctive and inspired by the materials and wild shapes of arrestingly-beautiful landscapes. No matter how you’re looking to bring distinctive beauty into your life or home, you’ll discover something unforgettable at Horizon Fine Art.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Horizon Fine Art Gallery’s collection, however, is the superbly diverse and engaging constellations of paintings. No matter your aesthetic, style or the space that you’re looking to adorn, Horizon Fine Art Gallery has plenty of options to bring the perfect piece into your home.

Theresa Stirling Fine Art

www.theresastirling.com

Theresa Stirling brings to life breathtaking light-scapes, landscapes, and wildlife through beeswax and fire. Using an ancient technique reimagined with modern artistry, Theresa builds each custom piece by using a blowtorch to melt thousands of brushstrokes into twenty layers of beeswax and oils. The result is a textured, luminous and earthy color palette that lends life to her subjects.

Theresa works exclusively through the commission process, working closely with clients to make the perfect, large-scale statement piece for their space. “We keep it fun and easy for everyone.” She says, “I love this work, 23 years in and still staying curious, using many hard-won tricks and techniques.” Those hard-won tricks have created some of the most unique western art on the market. Her pieces reflect many of the special qualities of the American West, revered by those that live in these big landscapes: they are timeless, contemporary, accessible, textured, visually arresting and forward facing.

Each piece allows the client to connect with a sense of place in a striking way. In one commission — a ceiling mural within a home theater — an eagle swoops down talons outstretched to snatch a trout, and the viewer, looking up from the dark room, has the distinct sensation of being the next fish in the pool, watching the talons plunging toward their unsuspecting companion. Other pieces feature larger than life portraits of wolves or bison, emerging from the depths of a blizzard and stunning abstract light on mountains or golden aspen trees.

For Theresa, “art that makes us feel something is what it’s all about.” She strives to create pieces that bring people connection to humanity and the wider ecosystem “through imagery, texture, high-relief, moods and feelings.” Her larger-than-life beeswax masterpieces certainly evoke a sense of awe that mirrors the wonder of the natural landscape.

Gallery Wild

80 W. Broadway, Jackson, WY

A showcase of Jackson Hole’s natural world, Gallery Wild offers an inspiring collection of contemporary art from established and emerging artists. The gallery features artwork in a variety of mediums including both oil and acrylic paintings, bronze sculpture, mixed media and photography. 

Gallery Wild is owned and operated by Jackson Hole-based wildlife painter, Carrie Wild, and her husband, wildlife photographer Jason Williams. 

Raised on a small horse farm in Southern Michigan, Wild’s love and appreciation for animals began at an early age. Also a photographer, Wild uses her photographs as a foundation and inspiration for her art.

Williams has worked as a professional wildlife photographer since 2005, combining his passion for the outdoors with his work in photography and as the founder and CEO of Jackson Hole Wildlife Safaris. His work has taken him across the globe, capturing illusive and threatened species, and even underwater.

Both Wild and Williams’ work is influenced by the thousands of hours they spend outside observing “all things wild.”

The pair brought in a thoughtfully curated collection of work from other artists who share their passion for wildlife, natural landscapes and conservation. Other artists include sculptor Jeremy Bradshaw, spray paint artist Rudi Broschofsky, painter Caleb Meyer and many others. All of the work in Gallery Wild is meant to inspire others to learn about and protect wildlife and open spaces. 

Keep an eye on Gallery Wild’s website for show dates. Browse the collection or purchase online at www.gallerywild.com or visit the gallery, opposite the historic Wort Hotel.

Turner Fine Art

545 N. Cache, Jackson, WY

Located in downtown Jackson Hole, Turner Fine Art features museum-quality paintings, sculpture and mixed media artwork by nationally renowned artists. 

Kathryn Mapes Turner, artist and owner of the gallery, is a fourth-generation native to Jackson Hole. Growing up on the Triangle X Ranch in Grand Teton National Park fueled her passion for the natural world and the animals that occupy it, and her work represents that love. For her, painting became a way to express her appreciation for the beauty of where she was raised. Her unique prints range from bison and bears, to birds and horses, to mountains and rivers.

Turner’s work has been showcased in the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Charlie Russell Museum, the Buffalo Bill Cody Center of the West, The Phippen Museum, the Brinton Museum and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. 

Turner Fine Art features dozens of other landscape and wildlife artists who share her love for the natural world — from those right here in Jackson Hole and beyond. The art within the gallery is meant to engage visitors in that same broader understanding and appreciation of the natural world. The collection of artists include sculptor Mark Edward Adams, award-winning artist Kathy Anderson, painter Quang Ho, Australian artist Anthony Pridham and many more.

Keep an eye on Turner Fine Art’s website for themed exhibition dates. Browse the collection or purchase fine art prints online at www.turnerfineart.com or visit the downtown gallery.