Fine Art Exhibit & Online Auction
July 20, 2024 – September 20, 2024
Art in the West is an annual juried exhibition and silent auction featuring traditional and contemporary art that celebrates the landscapes, wildlife, people, cultures and history of the High Desert—a region that stretches from the eastern slope of the Cascades and Sierras to the Wyoming Basin and Colorado Plateau.
Proceeds from the Art in the West auction help support the participating artists and the Museum’s exhibitions and programs, bringing science, art and history education to lifelong learners through the region.
The entire collection will be on exhibit at the High Desert Museum and will be available for viewing through our online auction page beginning July 13. Get ready to fall in love with your favorite pieces and bid from your computer or mobile device!
Art in the West Winners – 2024
Buffalo Hunt under Three Stars by Monte Yellow Bird Sr.
Winner of the Jury’s Choice Award at the 2024 Art in the West exhibition
Monte O. Yellow Bird Sr., better known in the art world as Black Pinto Horse, is an Arikara/Hidatsa from the Three Affiliated Tribes and grew up in White Shield, North Dakota. The award-winning and internationally recognized artist has refined his heritage into a focal point, incorporating his tradition and spirituality through a contemporary form of visual art expression and education. He grew up on a reservation in a large family of limited means and discovered art at an early age. He attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at age 16. He studied studio art and history education at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota and graduated from Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota, with a bachelor’s degree in studio art. What began as a solution for a child’s idle hands turned into a path to heartfelt success and a lifelong journey to share culture and traditional teaching to worldwide audiences through artistic expression. Inspiration for his diversity of mediums, visual narratives and cultural subjects is influenced by his culture, his mother’s faith and teachings, his father’s dedication and tenacity, and all the people who share their world with him.
The Gift by Analee Fuentes
Winner of the Curator’s Choice Award at the 2024 Art in the West exhibition
Raised in the Southwest and an Oregonian since 1982, Fuentes comes from a family of artists, from painters to potters. Her Mexican and Cherokee heritage instilled in her an appreciation of bright colors and rich patterning that is the lens through which she views the world around her and Oregon’s great natural beauty. She spends much of her time outdoors in the summer, and even though Oregon is often a green-gray palette, she believes that the colors of the Northwest are comparable to any Southwest sunset. An avid fly-fisher and amateur birdwatcher, Fuentes feels most at home on the water. She has a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. She has been a professional artist for more than 30 years, participating in many exhibitions, residencies and regional curatorships. Fuentes retired after teaching art for two decades at Linn–Benton Community College is a public community college in Albany, Oregon. She has juried many exhibitions in the region and has curated shows across the state. Her preferred mediums are oil paint and watercolor.
Banner image | Crooked River Tranquility by Margaretha Linwood
Thank you for your interest in Art in the West. Please share this exhibit with friends, family and colleagues who are interested in collecting art while supporting regionally and nationally acclaimed artists and the High Desert Museum.
If you are interested in participating as an artist or have general questions, please contact our Art in the West Coordinator, Gail Hodge, at ghodge@highdesertmuseum.org or 541-699-1086.
Made possible by
With support from
Jurors – 2024
Dustin Cockerham
Senior Curator of Exhibitions and Collections
Bend, Oregon
Sweet Pea Cole
Designer, printmaker and mixed media artist
Bend, Oregon
Charles Froelick
Portland, Oregon
Wendy Johnson
High Desert Museum Supporter
Bend, Oregon
Cameron Kerr
Trustee, Collections Committee Chair and Lifetime Volunteer
Bend, Oregon
Alicia Renner
Designer and Maker at Howl Goods
Bend, Oregon
Ana Varas
Arts Program Manager at Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts
Sisters, Oregon
Preview of Featured Works – 2024
Jemez Series 7, No.2 by Jake Trujillo
Sunset Snake River by Richard York
Horse Whispering by Barbara Van Cleve
Oregon Mountains by Stuart Breidenstein
Strong Stance – Black Bear by Kat Houseman
Merlin the Great Horned Owl by Shannon Schacht
Queen of the Waterway by Ott Jones
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