Michael Coleman
Michael Coleman was born and raised in Provo, Utah and spent his boyhood hunting, fishing and trapping throughout the Rocky Mountains, often taking a sketchbook with him. Early on, he decided on a career in art, and traveled broadly for subject matter.
Coleman quickly became a prominent Southwestern artist when in 1978, at the age of 32, he was given his first retrospective at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. He exhibited at the National Academy of Western Art and at Kennedy Galleries in New York. Then, in 1999, he won the Prix de West Award at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame for his bronze of a moose titled “September,” which work has joined the permanent collection of the Hall of Fame.
He paints primarily in oil on board or gouache, but his work also includes bronzes. His style is greatly influenced by many of the key early 19th century masters of the Hudson River School, such as Henry Farny, Thomas Moran and George Inness, and the 20th century animal painter, Carl Rungius.
His paintings are rich in detail and muted in tone, true to the remote landscapes he chooses to illustrate. The Indian encampments, wildlife and hunting subjects portrayed against these magnificent areas are rendered in such a way as to give the viewer a sense of gazing on the past.
Coleman loves best the dusky-grey, misty, muted tones of fall and early winter and is known for his landscapes of rich colors and detail. He combines realism and atmospheric styles, often with animals depicted in those autumn settings when they are in their prime, but his pieces always suggest a balanced harmony between artist, animal, and nature.
Coleman’s works can be found in the private and public collections of Clint Eastwood, Ian Cumming, John Huntsman, Stan Kamen, President George Bush, Sr., Vice-President Dick Cheney, the Corning Museum, the Anschutz Collection, the National Wildlife Art Museum, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, the Canadian Embassy, and the National Museum of Dubai, just to name a few.
Born: June 25, 1946, Provo, Utah
Education: Brigham Young University
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS, HONORS, AND AWARDS:
2014 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2014 Briscoe Western Art Museum Night of Artists, San Antonio, Texas
2013 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2013 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2013 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California
2012 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2012 Briscoe Western Art Museum Night of Artists, San Antonio, Texas
2012 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2012 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California
2011 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2011 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2011 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California
2010 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2010 Briscoe Western Art Museum Night of Artists, San Antonio, Texas
2010 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2010 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California
2009 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2009 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2009 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California
2008 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2008 Birds in Art, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin
2008 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2008 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California
2008 One-man show, Legacy Gallery, Jackson, Wyoming
2007 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2007 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2007 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California
2007 The Paintings of Yellowstone: A Retrospective Show, Montana Trails Gallery, Bozeman, Montana
2006 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2006 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2006 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California
2005 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2005 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2005 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California
2004 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2004 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2004 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California
2003 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2003 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2003 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California
2003 Governor’s Mansion Artist, Salt Lake City, Utah
2002 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2002 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California
2002 Most Honored Artists of Utah-Olympic Curatorial Committee
2001 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
2000 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
1999 Buffalo Bill Show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
1999 Prix de West Award, National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1996 One-man show, National Hunting Museum, Munich, Germany
1993 National Academy of Western Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Gold Medal Award (Watercolor)
1992 National Academy of Western Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Silver Medal Award (Oil)
1992 International Wildlife Exposition, Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
1992 Hubbard Award for Excellence
1992 International Exhibition of Wildlife and Natural History
1991 Hubbard Award for Excellence
1989 One-man show, J.N. Bartfield Gallery, New York
1988 One-man show, J.N. Bartfield Gallery, New York
1986 One-man show, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1985 One-man show, Wunderlich & Co., New York
1985 One-man show, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1984 Museum of Western Art, Denver
1984 One-man show, Wunderlich & Co., New York
1983 Mongerson Gallery, Chicago
1983 Charlie Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana
1981 Palm Springs Museum, Palm Springs, California
1979 Gold & Silver Medal, Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1979 One-man show, Kennedy Galleries, New York
1977 One-man show, Kennedy Galleries, New York
1977 One-man show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
1976 One-man show, Kennedy Galleries, New York
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
The White House, Washington, D.C.
National Museum of Dubai
NuSkin International, Provo, Utah
Gulf States Paper Corporation, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Texas Commerce Bank, Houston
Anschutz Collection, Denver
Corning Museum, New York
Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
Charlie Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana
William Middendorf, Washington, D.C.
Mack Pogue, Dallas
Sports Afield Magazine, New York
Burt Reynolds, Los Angeles
Hal Wallace, Los Angeles
Clint Eastwood, Carmel
Los Angeles Athletic Club, Los Angeles
Steven L. Rose, Los Angeles
Stan Kamen, Los Angeles
National Wildlife Art Museum, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale, Missouri
Bill Kerr, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Ian Cumming, Leucadia Corporation, Salt Lake City
John Huntsman, Huntsman Chemical Company, Salt Lake City
Canadian Embassy
Leaning Tree Museum, Colorado
Long Grass Prairie Preserve, Oklahoma
Wells Fargo, Provo, Utah
Thomas S. Monson, Salt Lake City, Utah
Christopher Forbes
COMMISSIONS:
1995 National Wildlife Art Museum, Jackson, Wyoming
1985 Boone and Crockett Club, Brown Bear Conservation Stamp
1986 Alaskan Professional Hunters Association, Grizzly Stamp
1987 Alaskan Professional Hunters Association
Hyatt Regency, Aspen, Colorado
Leaning Tree Museum, Colorado
FILMS:
The Romantic Western Landscape of Michael Coleman, Ian Mandan producer
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
2012 The Ties That Bind, Western Art & Architecture, Feb/Mar by Laura Zuckerman
2009 A Wing and A Prayer, Western Art Collector, July
2009 Under Eagles’ Wings: The Art of Michael Coleman, Peter H. Hassrick, published by Coleman Studios.
2008 A Family of Art: The Colemans, Western Art Collector, July
2008 Illuminations: Michael Coleman, Western Art & Architecture, Summer/Fall
2003 New Horizons, Michael Coleman Pushes His Envelope, by Rebecca H. Rowland, Wildlife Art, March/April
2002 Drawn to Yellowstone: Artists in America’s First National Park, Peter H. Hassrick, Autry Museum of Western Heritage in association with University of Washington Press
1999 Masters for the new Millenium (The Important and Enduring Work of America’s Twelve Most Compelling Artists), Art of the West, November/December (12th Anniversary Issue)
1998 Artists to Watch in ‘99, U.S. Art, December
1996 Salt Lake City, November/December
1995 Southwest Art, Commemorative Edition Covering The West: The Best of Southwest Art, July
1992 Art of the West, March/April
1992 Salt Lake City, January
1990 WildLife Art, November/December
1990 Top Ten Investments For the 90’s, USA Today
1988 Sporting Classics, May/June
1987 Southwest Art, November
1987 Sports Afield, October
1985 Grays Sporting Journal, Summer
1984 American Way, May
1984 Sports Afield, July
1984 Southwest Art, January - Cover
1983 Sports Afield, April
1978 Rocky Mountain Magazine
1977 Southwest Art, February
1976 Ten American Landscape Artists and How They Work, edited by Susan Meyer, published by Watson Guptill
1975 American Artist, January, Western Art