By : Lillie-Beth Brinkman//The Journal Record//June 20, 2025//
By : Lillie-Beth Brinkman//The Journal Record//June 20, 2025//
The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum will welcome art collectors and enthusiasts and others from around the country to showcase the best in Western art.
The 53rd annual Prix de West Art Sale Weekend kicks of Friday, June 20, and runs through Saturday, June 21, with two days of artist talks, demonstrations and shopping open to the public with museum admission. The sale and the related cocktail parties are sold out, but guests can also enjoy seeing this year’s Prix de West collection of more than 270 original paintings and sculptures by about 90 leading Western artists.
The public schedule, featuring Prix de West artists, includes:
Friday: A seminar on “Pencils, Brushes and Paint: Living a Dream,” taught by C. Michael Dudash at 9 a.m.; a seminar on “Blending Cultures: My Mexican Roots and Western Inspiration” by Gladys Roldán de-Moras and curator Gabriela Gámez at 10:30 a.m.; and a seminar on “Why Do I Like This?” by Greg Beecham.
Saturday: An artist talk with Thomas Blackshear II, 2024 Prix de West Purchase Award winner, on on “Stepping Out of the Box” at 10 a.m.; and live artist demonstrations featuring Abigail Gutting and Daniel F. Gerhartz at 1 p.m.
Both days also include Shorty’s Cowboy Hattery pop-up shop and Persimmon Hill trunk shows. For information go to nationalcowboymuseum.org.
The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden has welcomed three sets of babies in the last month, including an endangered Asian elephant, which was born Tuesday, June 17, inside the zoo’s Sanctuary Asia.
In the zoo’s Expedition Africa region, the lesser hedgehog tenrec Orona gave birth to four babies on May 23, and the zoo’s African bat-eared fox kit Jen gave birth to a baby fox on June 6.
The new elephant, named Xerxes, is the fifth Asian calf and the first male born at the zoo; parents are Achara,10, and Bowie, 11. It’s always great to hear about births at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden which are right in line with all the conservation efforts that the zoo advocates locally and overseas. Bowie and Achara were paired as part of a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan for Asian elephants, a news release noted. To support the research, go to the Oklahoma Zoological Society at ozsgiving.org, but check out the zoo’s social media channels for links to a Welcome, Xerxes, page for special merchandise and more.
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