Spring Art Events You Can’t Miss

Celebrate the coming of spring with these upcoming Western and Indigenous art events, galleries, exhibitions, festivals, and more.

As winter comes to an end, we’re coming out of hibernation to a world blooming with festivals, galleries, exhibitions, and other spring art events featuring the West’s top draws.

Through March 30

Bok Abaiya: Practiced Hands and the Arts of Choctaw Basketry 

The work of generations of Choctaw basket weavers is displayed alongside contemporary Choctaw art in this exhibition. Learn more about the importance of rivercane to Choctaw basket weavers and how modern Choctaw artists are incorporating ancestral basket patterns within their work. Choctaw Cultural Center, Calera, Oklahoma, 833.708.9582, choctawculturalcenter.com

Through April 28 

William Matthews: Decades 

Paying tribute to the prominence of Colorado-based artist William Matthews in the international art world, this major exhibition brings together his prolific plein-air watercolors as well as his work in other mediums, such as album covers, posters, guitars, public art, and various other objects. Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, Scottsdale, Arizona, 480.686.9539, scottsdalemuseumwest.org

William Matthews, Oregon. Watercolor. Collection of the artist.

Through May 5 

End of the Range: Charlotte Skinner in the Eastern Sierra 

Besides original paintings and drawings by California artist Charlotte Skinner (1879–1963) and Panamint Shoshone baskets from her collection, this exhibition features works by artist-friends including Dorothea Lange, Maynard Dixon, Roi Partridge, Ralph Stackpole, and William Wendt. Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nevada, 775.329.3333, nevadaart.org

Charlotte Skinner, Silence (Lone Pine Sierra), 1938. Oil on canvas, 36” x 40”. Collection of the Nevada Museum of Art, promised gift of John A. White Jr.

Through May 30 

Seeing a World That Blind Lemon Jefferson Never Saw 

Photographs by award-winning writer, poet, photographer, and filmmaker Alan Govenar depict rural East Texas and the early Dallas neighborhoods traversed by legendary blues singer Blind Lemon Jefferson. Characterized with chromatic elegance and depth, the images encapsulate the spectrum of human experience. African American Museum, Dallas, 214.565.9026, aamdallas.org

Houston and Texas Central Railway Crossing, Calvert, August 10, 2020. According to Mrs. Earl Turner Livingston, a woman from Bryan named Rohemia, also known as Parthens, “bought Lemon a guitar and his first suit of clothes and got him to go around playing for tenant farmers there at Calvert settlement.” Photograph by Alan Govenar.

Through June 2 

Horizons: Weaving Between the Lines with Diné Textiles 

The horizon line is both a point of connection between sky and earth and a separation of space. This exhibit — featuring more than 30 historic and contemporary weavings alongside digital prints, photographs, and audio interviews — explores connections between weaving and photography as modes of engagement with place. Museum of Indian Arts + Culture, Santa Fe, 505.476.1269, miaclab.org

Through June 9 

Dorothea Lange & Pirkle Jones: Death of a Valley

Completed in 1956 for Life magazine by Dorothea Lange and Pirkle Jones, Death of a Valley was a collaborative photo essay documenting the final year of the Berryessa Valley in Napa County, California, as the area was becoming a lake with the construction of the Monticello Dam. The exhibition comprises historical and cultural documents as well as 20th-century photographs printed in vintage silver gelatin. Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, Georgia, 770.387.1300, boothmuseum.org

Pirkle Jones, Fire Is Part of the Demolition Process, from Death of a Valley,1956.Selenium toned silver gelatin print, 11” x 14”.

 Through June 30 

The Russells in Denver, 1921 

An examination of Charles M. Russell’s historic solo show in Denver, this exhibition features some of the artworks from the original show that are considered among Russell’s masterpieces. It also highlights the role of Russell’s wife, Nancy, who organized the 1921 show and, as his manager, business partner, and publicist, was instrumental in helping him become one of the most prominent narrative artists of the American West. Denver Art Museum, Denver, 720.865.5000, denverartmuseum.org

Through July 28 

Sagebrush and Solitude: Maynard Dixon in Nevada

The first comprehensive exhibition to document the early wandering and extended visits of Maynard Dixon to Nevada, Lake Tahoe, and the Eastern Sierra, this exhibit presents more than 100 paintings, drawings, poems, and printed ephemera created by the artist between 1901 and 1934. Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nevada, 775.329.3333, nevadaart.org

Maynard Dixon, Cowboy and Packhorse, 1934. Oil on canvas, 26” x 30”. Ray and Kay Harvey Collection.

March 22 – 24 

Tubac Art Walk 

Enjoy the offerings of more than 75 of Tubac’s art galleries, specialty shops, and dining establishments at this enduring tradition dating back to the 1970s. Meet artists inside the historic village’s galleries and artist studios and see demonstrations in watercolor, oil painting, sculpture, as well as pottery, metalsmithing, jewelry, leather crafts, and other arts. Special exhibits and artist receptions are being held at many of the galleries. Various venues, Tubac, Arizona, 520.398.2704, tubacaz.com

March 29 – 30 

St. George Art Festival 

This family-friendly juried event showcases original art, live entertainment on three stages, a kids’ area, and food of all kinds. Historic Town Square, St. George, Utah, 485.627.4516, sgartfestival.com

April 20 – 21 

Mvskoke Art Market 

This market brings together paintings, pottery, sculptures, jewelry, silverwork, beadwork, quilt work, and textiles depicting Mvskoke culture as well as that of other tribal nations. Experience Mvskoke cultural demonstrations about history, artists, and craftsmanship. River Spirit Casino Resort, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 918.549.2434, facebook.com/mvskokeartmarket

May 4 

Settlers West Summer Show 

This invitation-only show features roughly 80 paintings and sculptures by more than 40 premier and emerging artists, including Daniel Smith, Don Oelze, Brooke Wetzel, Jeremy Winborg, and Mark Boedges. All works are sold by intent-to-purchase draw. Settlers West Galleries, Tucson, Arizona, 520.299.2607, settlerswest.com 

From our April 2024 issue.