INDIANAPOLIS — Admirers of Western American art and some of the country’s top Western artists will convene at the Eiteljorg Museum on Sept. 9-10 for an exciting weekend of bidding on artwork during the Quest for the West Art Show and Sale. One of the top Western art shows in the nation, Quest for the West brings artists and collectors together at the museum for two fixed-price, luck-of-the-draw sales and a weekend of festivities.
This year’s Quest for the West will be significant for another reason: It will be the final Quest for John Vanausdall as the Eiteljorg’s president and CEO. Vanausdall, who has served as emcee of the Quest events and awards presentations, recently announced his upcoming retirement from the museum after 26 years, effective next June 30.
The show features 50 artists of the Western American genre, and 42 will be there in person. On Saturday, Sept. 10, pre-registered Quest attendees can participate in a fixed-price, luck-of-the-draw sale. Before the larger Saturday sale, the Quest weekend of art viewing and bidding kicks off on Friday, Sept. 9, during the miniature art sale. Many Quest artists create additional smaller works, appealing both to first-time and experienced collectors who seek smaller pieces at lower price points. Buyers can take miniature art purchases home that evening.
Artworks by Quest artists are eligible for awards presented in multiple categories Saturday, Sept. 10. The acclaimed Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award goes to a work purchased by The Western Art Society and is added to the museum’s collection.
The sale weekend, Sept. 9-10, kicks off a one-month exhibition, during which Quest artworks will remain on view at the Eiteljorg for the public to see and enjoy, before the paintings and sculptures are shipped to their buyers. Experience the artworks of the Quest for the West show from Sept. 11 to Oct. 9 in the special exhibition gallery. Also, landscape paintings by last year’s Quest Artist of Distinction award winner, Denis Milhomme, will be on exhibit in the museum’s Gerald and Dorit Paul Gallery. That exhibition, Natural Wonders: The Art of Denis Milhomme runs Sept. 9-Oct. 16.
