People’s Choice: The Best Paintings of the Past 4 Years, According to BBAS Patrons
Thousands of people per year visit the Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale’s public exhibition inside the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming.
The exhibition hangs in the gallery from late August through September and features the work of more than 100 contemporary Western artists in oil, acrylic, watercolor, sculpture, and other mediums.
Since 2019, we have asked patrons and visitors in the gallery to share their favorite pieces with us using an anonymous ballot.
For each of the past 4 years, the people have chosen an oil painting as the best piece of the year. What do you think of their choices?
2019: Mark Kelso, The Indomitable (Oil, 36 x 48 inches)
The Indomitable by Mark Kelso
Mark Kelso’s 36- by 48-inch oil painting of a herd of bison with snow clinging to their coats was the People’s Choice award winner in 2019.
The artist said of The Indomitable, “my paintings of animals from the West are personal investigations into what the region symbolizes to me, and the emotions that it evokes. Through the Bison's story, the viewer is immersed in themes of power, grace, strife, perseverance, and spirituality--all indelible qualities of the American West both past and present.”
More About Mark Kelso:
Mark's art has been exhibited and collected globally from such places as Christie's in London, the National Geographic Society, National Museum of Natural History in Taipei, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and the Smithsonian Institute. Kelso has be inducted in the International Society of Animal Arts and Arts for Conservation organizations and featured in numerous magazines including Fine Art Connoisseur, Western Art Collector, Southwest Art, and Art of the West. He currently works out of his studio near Indianapolis, IN and continues to travel extensively gathering experiences in the wild for inspiration.
You can follow @markkelsoart on Instagram.
2020: Ty Barhaug, Caught by an Unexpected Snow (Oil, 38 x 60 inches)
Caught by an Unexpected Snow by Ty Barhaug
In 2020, viewers named Ty Barhaug’s 38- by 60-inch oil painting, a night scene of a pack team with an unexpected layer of snow on the ground, as the winner of the People’s Choice award.
Barhaug commented on the piece, saying “in the backcountry, always expect the unexpected. You learn to live with it.”
Although the gallery exhibit was open at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, many patrons of the 2020 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale participated virtually for health and safety concerns.
More about Ty Barhaug:
Wyoming native Ty Barhaug has great appreciation for wilderness and wildlife, and he uses it to inspire his artwork. Barhaug has always had a love for art and has been painting professionally since 1990. In addition to painting, he hand-crafts the frames for his work. Honors include Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale 2008 Artists’ Choice Award, four-time Jurors’ Choice Award, and the 1999 People’s Choice Award; C.M. Russell Auction of Original Western Art, Ralph “Tuffy” Berg Award; the Meadowlark Gallery Sponsor Award; and placing in the top 20 in the United States Forest Service Centennial Celebration.
You can follow @tybarhaug on Instagram.
2021: Heide Presse, Tall Tales (Oil, 40 x 30 inches)
Tall Tales by Heide Presse
Heide Presse’s 40- by 30-inch oil painting of two mountain men meeting on horseback in a stream was selected by viewers in 2021 as the most striking piece in the show.
Presse’s statement accompanying the piece reveals her thoughts behind the work: “Free trappers of the early 1800’s reminisce about old times and adventures. Spending time in a remote area of Montana with these two was a wonderful experience and adventure to watch those interested and passionate about a living history moment.”
Tall Tales was later chosen by a Rendezvous Royale committee as the featured artwork for a “Save The Date” card to signify the return to a full schedule of events for patrons of the Rendezvous Royale. After two years of modified or cancelled events, this painting represented the joy of reuniting with friends and acquaintances in Cody again.
More about Heide Presse:
Scenes of everyday life are among Heide Presse’s favorite subjects, and she uses lighting and rich color to emphasize beauty in the ordinary. Inspired by journals written by overland trail emigrants, she is currently creating a large group of artworks which will be an exhibition in 2023 at the Booth Western Art Museum and in 2024 at the Steamboat Art Museum. Heide received the People's Choice Award in the 2021 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale.
You can follow @heide.presse.studio on Instagram.
2022: Mark McKenna, Embrace (Oil, 40 x 40 inches)
Embrace by Mark McKenna
In what was only his second year participating in the Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, local artist Mark McKenna presented this 40- by 40-inch oil painting of two wild horses with their necks pressed together in embrace.
The artist stated he “chose the title ‘Embrace’ for this painting because of the familiar gestures of these wild and experienced horses. Hopefully, we can all learn to see and embrace the rugged beauty within ourselves and others after experiencing and surviving the struggles and the challenges that we all inevitably face."
Not only did Embrace receive the 2022 People’s Choice award, but the painting became the prize in an electrifying bidding war during the Live Auction, eventually fetching nearly three times its suggested retail value.
More about Mark McKenna:
Mark was born in Logan, UT in 1984 and has lived in the West most of his life. His work is inspired by what he loves, the beauty of the West. He grew up hunting, fishing, hiking, backpacking, and site seeing, and has personally experienced much of what the West has to offer.
Art has been apart of Mark’s life from very early on, but he started to show real promise as early as 9th grade when he began receiving commissions for his pencil portraits. After high school, he studied art at Brigham Young University – Idaho, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Art in Illustration as well as a Bachelor of Science in Art Education. Mark pursued illustration for a few years and worked with several publishing houses across the US.
You can follow @markmckennastudios on Instagram.
See the 42nd Annual Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale in 2023
The Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale is an invitational art show and sale featuring more than 100 contemporary Western artists.
Mark your calendars: BBAS will be back on September 18-23, 2023 in Cody, Wyoming.
To participate in People’s Choice voting for this year’s show, make plans to visit the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in September, 2023. The show will be on display from late August until the day of the Live Auction on Friday, September 22, 2023.