Sorrel Sky Gallery Artists Achieve Notable Recognition in Major Shows and Publications

Several Sorrel Sky Gallery artists have garnered prestigious awards and recognition in prominent exhibitions and publications throughout 2024 and early 2025, reinforcing their significant contributions to contemporary Western and wildlife art.

Native American artists continue to lead in their fields, with Darryl Dean and Rebecca Begay’s work featured in the February/March 2025 Native American Art Magazine along with the work of their son Robert. Their legacy includes the Best of Show at Santa Fe Indian Market, with their pieces held in numerous prestigious collections. Shane Hendren, renowned metalsmith and jewelry artist, received the distinguished 2025 Mellon Foundation Fellowship at Diné College and was featured in the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage Magazine's January 2025 profile "When Working with Metal Is Like Riding a Bull."

Maria Samora received top honors with Best of Jewelry at the 2024 Heard Museum Show, building on her selection as a participating artist at the prestigious Smithsonian Craft Fair. Kathryn Ashcroft earned recognition at the Southeastern Wildlife Expo and was featured in Art of the West Magazine in 2024, while Julie Chapman achieved international acclaim as a Finalist in The Almenara Art Prize 2024 in Spain, securing the Williamsburg Oil Color prize in the Animals and Wildlife category.

Master sculptor Gerald Balciar marks an extraordinary milestone with his 42nd year participating in the Prix de West show. His work has been featured in eleven museums nationwide and has garnered numerous awards from the Society of Animal Artists, the National Sculpture Society, and the Masters of the American West at the Autry Museum.

Marlin Rotach was awarded the 2024 People's Choice Award at the Hold Your Horses Exhibition in Prescott, AZ along with the Award of Excellence from Western Art Collector Magazine. His work was chosen as the official artwork for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo 2024 poster. For the fifth year in a row, Peggy Immel was an invited artist to the 2024 Small Works Great Wonders Exhibition at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK. Also for a fifth year, she was an invited artist to the 2024 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art sponsored by the Grand Canyon Conservancy which took place from September 2024 to January 2025, and one of 17 invited featured artists to participate in the 2025 California Desert Plein Air Festival sponsored by the city of Palm Desert, CA.

The renowned Coors Western Art Show continues to showcase exceptional talent, with Edward Aldrich winning the distinguished Art of the West Award and the Artist’s Choice Award in 2025. Notable museum acquisitions include Cindy Long's "Come Rain or Come Shine," which received the Museum Purchase Award from the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in 2024. The piece will join the museum's permanent collection and was featured in the 2024 CFD Art Show and Sale catalog. Meanwhile, Robert McCauley was recently designated as a “National Treasure” by the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming, and as a “Legacy Artist” by the Museum of Northwest Art.

David Yarrow was one of the Top Ten artists inquired about in 2024 on Artsy, the world’s largest online art marketplace. He is in excellent company with Andy Warhol, Banksy, Damien Hirst, Yayoi Kusama, Keith Haring, David Hockney, Pablo Picasso, Alex Katz, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Jewelry artist and Santa Fe icon, Douglas Magnus, is capturing his fifty-year career in photography and jewelry making in a nine-volume digital publication available on his website.

Looking ahead to 2025, several artists have secured invitations to prestigious exhibitions. Maeve Eichelberger will be featured in two significant shows at the Buffalo Bill Museum: the Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale-Rendezvous Royal and the "POP! Goes the West" museum exhibit. Chuck Middelkauff's work has been selected for inclusion in the Booth Western Art Museum's Art Gala and Art Auction.

Patricia Griffin continues to make waves with upcoming appearances at the National Museum of Wildlife Art's Plein Air Fest and Western Visions exhibitions, along with the Fall Arts Festival in Jackson, WY. Rosetta will have a solo retrospective show at the Loveland Museum from June 28 through September 21: “Rosetta: Animal Artistry, a 40-Year Journey.” She is also the featured “Legacy Artist” in this year’s “Colorado Governor’s Art Show” at the Loveland Museum from May 3 through June 14. Her recent awards include First Place in the Master Signature category for “Panther’s Pride” and the 2024 American Women Artists Annual Juried Show and Best in Show, Sculpture 2023 and 2024 at the annual Cowgirl Up! shows for "High Country Totem" and "Spirit Brothers”.

These accomplishments underscore the continuing excellence and innovation of Sorrel Sky Gallery’s artists in contemporary Western art, wildlife art, and Native American crafts.