Excitement is in the air at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum as we prepare for the 50th annual Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition & Sale, opening June 2, 2022.
Prix de West brings artists and patrons together to showcase the American West through the work of today’s finest contemporary Western artists. In celebration of the 50th Prix de West, we will be spotlighting artists, discovering works currently resting in the Museum vault and sharing the history of this long-running art exhibition & sale.
Today’s Prix de West artist in the spotlight is Andrew Peters. Peters will be returning to the exhibition & sale for his 16th year this June. He won the 2015 Prix de West Purchase Award, which he describes as the greatest honor of his career. Peters looks forward to returning to the 50th Prix de West this year.
“It is a great privilege to have this destination annually to share our friendship and news,” he said of Prix de West. “Also, my work will be seen in the context of the very best works of my contemporaries. It must not only stand up by comparison but on its own merit. This is simply the preeminent exhibition for an artist.”
Peters, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, is a landscape painter who was immersed in nature and was regularly hunting and fishing with his father during his childhood. His mother encouraged his early love of art by making frequent trips to the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, and arranging private painting lessons for him.
His fascination with birds ultimately inspired him to become an artist after graduating from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science in wildlife biology. Peters has lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Arizona where he can experience the beauty of the West and can pull inspiration for his paintings.
“The most beautiful landscapes are found in the American West,” Peters said. “It is seen on ranches, along streams and rivers, and high among mountain lakes and peaks. The pure atmosphere and bright sunshine bathe vistas in the clearest light. As an artist, I am privileged to pursue it endlessly and committed to portraying it honestly.”
As an artist, Peters aims to not only portray the beauty of nature, but also to inform viewers on the wonders that await them in the wild. He carefully considers the subjects of his paintings and only brings select works to Prix de West each year.
While not all the works for this year’s exhibition & sale have been selected, Peters did share a couple of pieces with us. The 30” x 44” oil and gold painting shown here, Wild Iris and Least Bittern, is heading to the 50th Prix de West.
Prix de West
Featuring paintings and sculptures by the finest contemporary Western artists working today, the 50th annual Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition & Sale at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum will open June 2, 2022, with the Art Sale Weekend scheduled for June 17 – 18.
Prix de West is the nation’s premier Western art exhibition and sale showcasing original works ranging from historical depictions of the American West to more contemporary and impressionistic pieces. Artwork from this world-renowned event will be on exhibit through August 7, 2022.
