Phoenix Art Museum Presents THE WEST SELECT for Fourth Consecutive Year Today

PHOENIX (October 16, 2014) -The West Select: A Western Art Invitational Sale and Exhibition is an annual celebration at Phoenix Art Museum that brings together collectors, fans, and leading artists of the American West. The sale is today, November 14, 2014 and is a major Men's Arts Council fundraiser for Phoenix Art Museum with proceeds assisting the museum with the acquisition of Western American art and general operations. The exhibition will be at the museum from November 14 to December 28, 2014.

There are 37 highly accomplished and decorated artists from across the nation, into Canada and even England who are scheduled to have works of art shown in this year's exhibition. On display will be more than 100 new works of art in a variety of media including paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs that feature landscapes, still-lifes, historical and contemporary genre scenes of cowboys, settlers, American Indians, wildlife and the modern, or "New West." The exhibition offers diverse representations of the American West that all tell the story of this remarkable region.

Jerry Smith, Ph.D., curator of American and Western American art at Phoenix Art Museum, commented, "The American West is more than just a place indicated on a map, it is also a larger concept that brings together myth and reality." Adding, "Artists are drawn to the West for this reason. It explains why we have artists in West Select who are creating western works, but come from places like Maryland, Florida, and as far away as England, in addition to those who live and work in the West."

The 37 artists in this year's The West Select: A Western Art Invitational Sale and Exhibition are: Bill Anton, Scott Baxter, Christopher Benson, George Carlson, Arturo Chávez, Len Chmiel, Glenn Dean, Jay Dusard, Josh Elliott, Teresa Elliott, Tony Foster, George Hallmark, Donna Howell-Sickles, David Kessler, Steve Kestrel, T. Allen Lawson, Richard Loffler, Merrill Mahaffey, D. LaRue Mahlke, Walter Matia, William Matthews, Ed Mell, Dean Mitchell, Dan Ostermiller, Tom Palmore, Robert Peters, Howard Post, Cynthia Rigden, Bill Schenck, Bill Shepherd, Bob "Shoofly" Shufelt, Gary Ernest Smith, Matt Smith, Don Stinson, Kent Ullberg, Curt Walters, and Benjamin Wu. The four showing in this exhibition for the first time are Christopher Benson, Glenn Dean, Teresa Elliott and David Kessler.

"The West Select is recognized around the country for the remarkably high-caliber artists who participate. All are represented in museum collections throughout the country and, in some instances, around the world. They are some of the finest artists working today," said James K. Ballinger, The Sybil Harrington Director at Phoenix Art Museum. He added that, "For more than 50 years our visitors have expressed a strong interest in art of the American West, and this exhibition demonstrates the great diversity that can be found in this engaging subject matter and our continued commitment to leadership in the field."

The West Select: A Western Art Invitational Sale and Exhibition is organized byPhoenix Art Museum and presented by the Men's Arts Council, a support organization of Phoenix Art Museum. It was made possible with support from Western Art Associates, a support organization of Phoenix Art Museum, and Art Solutions & Installations, LLC. For additional information about the exhibition please visitphxart.org/exhibition/TWS2014.