The day before the 2024 Santa Fe Indian Market was set to start, the artists gathered in the Santa Fe Community Convention Center to learn if their artwork had won any of the top prizes. It’s a unique time during the market because all the award-winning pieces are in the same room together. It’s the one and only time that particular grouping of artwork will ever be on view together. 

Merlin Little Thunder (Southern Cheyenne), The New Grandma Bags, acrylic, 4 x 8 in.

The Plainsmen Gallery, Young Cheyenne Brave, oil, 9 x 12 in., by David Yorke; Cindy Sorley-Keichinger, Morning on the Maligne River, acrylic, 7 x 12 in. 

Small works wield a power over collectors that big works will never have. There is just something wonderful about standing in front of a miniature masterpiece and admiring its size, how the artist achieved it and how it says so much with so very little. These pieces can be fully realized paintings, like those of Little Thunder, but they can also be other types of artwork as well. For instance, small works can be preliminary sketches on paper or watercolor studies, which artists will use to guide a larger piece of the same subject. 

 

 

Small works extend into sculpture as well. Consider Glenna Goodacre’s petite bronze busts. They are barely 4-inches tall and they are filled with life. Goodacre died in 2020, but her estate is still very active in keeping her name on collector’s lips, and these tiny bronze pieces are gems for any occasion, or any space in a home or office. 

Winfield Trading Company, Multi Corn Maiden Fetish, stabilized turquoise, 3 x 2 x 1½ in., by Chad Quandelacy (Zuni); Winfield Trading Company, Untitled, 1997, watercolor and ink, 8 x 10 in., by Baje Whitethorne Sr. (1951-2023, Navajo); Winfield Trading Company, Canteen, sterling silver, by Sunshine Reeves (Navajo).

Mentioning space, that is another aspect related to small works that factor into collectors’ minds. When walls are full and shelves have bronzes and pottery filling them, small works present unique opportunities to collect new art without having to make sacrifices with existing art in a collection.

Finally, small works also offer opportunities for artists, especially those who feel locked into a subject or style. Small works represent a chance to branch out, explore, be daring or take on special pet projects unique to the artist. Consider, Albert Bierstadt’s beautiful butterfly watercolors. These are far removed from his iconic landscape scenes that fetch millions of dollars at auction. Top collectors may want Yellowstone imagery, but Bierstadt was active in other areas, and some of them are smaller, more affordable and easier to attain. 

As you head out into the art market, don’t forget to look at the small pieces as you consider adding to your collection. They are the gems hiding in plain sight. 

Legacy Gallery, The Sharpshooter, oil, 16 x 12 in., by Morgan Weistling; Legacy Gallery, The Best Teacher is Mother Earth, oil, 12 x 12 in., by Jerry Jordan.

Legacy Gallery, with locations in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, represents some of the finest Western artists working today. Many of these artists also make small works, and are featured in the Scottsdale gallery’s annual Holiday Miniature Show on December 12. Taos-based artist Jerry Jordan, for example, “works small” in pieces like the 12-by-12-inch painting, The Best Teacher is Mother Earth. 

Morgan Weistling is known for his paintings of the American frontier spirit. His intimate portrayals shed new light on the Old West as he captures the mood and atmosphere of the past. His oils are filled with lush brushwork of thick and thin paint that create a realistic impressionism, even found in his small works like The Sharpshooter. Jeremy Winborg, who also shows at Legacy Gallery, is best known for his figurative work of Native American subjects, as in Bullseye,that blends realism with abstract backgrounds. He grew up in Utah working in an art studio alongside his father who was an illustrator.

Glenna Goodacre (1939-2020), Cleo, bronze, 6¾ in. 

Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, presents the artworks of significant contemporary and historic Western and Native American art. Maynard Dixon (1875-1946) is one artist found at the gallery. “The recent acquisition of a rare, 4½-by-6-inch Dixon snapshot of New Mexico’s Isleta Pueblo, Chiles Drying in the Sun, 1902, is the perfect addition to our newly opened Maynard Dixon and Native American Art Museum,” says owner Mark Sublette. 

Matt Smith’s small work, Blooming Ironwoods, highlights the beauty of one of Arizona’s most cherished trees. “The Ironwood’s purple flowers are only visible in years when the rainfall allows them to show their true colors. It is a plein-air masterpiece,” Sublette says, who also shares some info about a small gem by Amery Bohling. “The piece, View of the Unkar Delta, reads as a monumental Grand Canyon work, yet is only 8 x 10 inch.” Bohling’s work is also featured in the Maynard Dixon Museum’s inaugural exhibition; Those Who Follow. 

Artists found at Gallery Wild draw inspiration from their own personal journeys within nature and life, translating their experiences and emotions into stunning works of art. “Their works invite audiences to notice the often-overlooked moments that happen in the natural world,” says gallery owner Carrie Wild, who adds that “collecting small art pieces is like gathering special snippets of life that tell a unique story. It also is a great way to start a collection, give a gift or add the perfect finishing touch to a small space.”

Top: Gary Johnson, Western Tanager, mixed media on handmade silk paper, 6 x 8 in.; Gallery Wild, Rainbow Bear, hand blown glass, 8 x 12 in., by Dan Friday.  Bottom: Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, View of the Unkar Delta, oil, 8 x 10 in., by Amery Bohling; Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Blooming Ironwoods, oil, 12 x 16 in., by Matt Smith.

Small works offered at Gallery Wild include Dan Friday’s hand-blown glass piece Rainbow Bear; Patricia A. Griffin’s moose depiction in Mr. Rodgers Winter; and the encaustic and milk paint landscape by Bridgette Meinhold, titled Origins.

Santa Fe Art Auction celebrates its 30th anniversary this November with expansive offerings of historic and contemporary fine art, classic Western art and Native American artworks. The Signature Annual Live Salehas long been a staple of the Western art circuit, and this year boasts more than 300 lots that exemplify the finest pieces and most popular categories that Santa Fe Art Auction brings to auction throughout the year. Collectors will find an exceptional selection of smaller scale works as well. “Known familiarly to many seasoned collectors as ‘small treasures,’ these paintings are often the ‘cream’ that rounds out and enhances the peak of long years of careful and strategic collecting,” says auction representatives. “They vary in subject from small studies that are intimate in very specific ways with the artist’s own process, to expressions of the artist’s inclination and capacity to see and iterate the vast or monumental in the space of the mind’s eye. Due to their intimate size, for the viewer these works can often feel more personal, allowing collectors and enthusiasts to discover a unique connection to the artist or the subject matter. They typically add dimensionality and nuance to a large and established collection, and occasionally providing an avenue for newer collectors to enter the market.”

Top: Legacy Gallery, Bullseye, oil, 10¾ x 19¾ in., by Jeremy Winborg; Gary Johnson, Morning Bugle, mixed media on handmade mulberry paper, 9 x 12 in. Bottom: Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Chiles Drying in the Sun, Isleta, NM, pastel, colored pencil and graphite on paper, 4½ x 6 in., by Maynard Dixon (1875-1946); Darcie Peet, First Cutting Below the Missions, oil, 12 x 12 in.

David Yorke’s Western paintings, found at The Plainsmen Gallery in Dunedin, Florida, vividly convey the emotions and messages of the people he portrays. “His artwork is collected internationally, and his paintings are included in the permanent collections at the Booth Museum in Georgia, and the James Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida,” explains gallery representatives. “Yorke participates in many museum and gallery shows throughout the country, and he recently won three awards in the 2024 Bosque Art Classic in Texas.” The gallery is thrilled to represent Yorke’s small works as well, including the 9-by-12-inch Young Cheyenne Brave.

Heritage Auctions, Butterfly, 1895, watercolor and gouache on paper, 8 x 10 in., by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902)

For 70 years, Winfield Trading Company has provided a vast array of quality hand-crafted Native American artwork, crafts and artifacts. Winfield Trading also features one of the largest selections of Lone Mountain turquoise and jewelry. A fine example of turquoise offered at Winfield, and in small format, is Multi Corn Maiden Fetish, made by Zuni artist Quad Quandelacy. Also featured is a one-of-a-kind, gorgeous canteen by Navajo silversmith and jewelry artist Sunshine Reeves. Collectors will also find small, fine art paintings available, like the untitled watercolor and ink piece by acclaimed Navajo artist Baje Whitethorne Sr. (1951-2023). His talent in storytelling, as well as depicting his homeland and culture are quite evident.

Gallery Wild, Mr. Rodgers Winter, oil on linen, 20 x 16 in., by Patricia A. Griffin; Gallery Wild, Origins, encaustic and milk paint, 20 x 20 in., by Bridgette Meinhold; Santa Fe Art Auction, Dorothy Brett, 1933, charcoal on paper, 15½ x 12¼ in., by Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955). Estimate: $8/12,000

Found at J Watson Fine Art is the small work On the Top of the World, by world-renowned artist Mark Maggiori. His striking paintings of the American West, often featuring billowing clouds, have been well received by collectors. His career has had relatively fast success with sold-out shows in 2023. Originally from France, Maggiori has a great appreciation for the West. He began painting his Western scenes in 2013 after being inspired by a trip to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Prior to that, he graduated from the Académie Julian in Paris, and worked as an illustrator and background artist for Disney Animation studios in France.

Artist Gary Johnson shares that most of his small and miniature artworks are done using his unique technique of mixed media on handmade paper. “I developed this technique, and the resulting image has a sense of realness in the texture and three dimensionality, as well as a modern flair in the presentation that cannot be achieved by traditional medias,” he says. This is reflected in the artist’s wildlife pieces Morning Bugle and Western Tanager. 

Santa Fe Art Auction, The Riders, ca. 1947, watercolor on paper, 123/8 x 157/8 in., by Gerard Curtis Delano (1890-1972). Estimate: $12/18,000; Santa Fe Art Auction, Waiting to be Counted, 1954, woodcut on aluminum leaf, ed. 56 of 125, The Gregory Warren Nelson Collection, New Mexico, by Gustave Baumann (1881-1971). Estimate: $6/9,000

“Using handmade silk and mulberry papers, I sketch the subject with pastel pencil then apply 40 to 50 layers of watercolor and gouache paint,” Johnson continues. “The amount of painting layers adds to lifelike quality of the image with many of the underlying layers of paint peeking through. I experiment with applying gold and black mica around the torn edges of the paper...”

For Darcie Peet’s 12-by-12-inch painting First Cutting Below the Missions, she explains the grand adventure that led to its creation: “Bidding farewell to a week of hiking in Glacier National Park, our journey took us through the rolling ranch land south of Kalispell. What a contrast to the steep, snow-dotted peaks and alpine lakes of the park. Dramatic in a different way, here, are the undulating rows of newly cut hay as the late afternoon sun creates strong backlighting for tall, dark evergreens framing and dwarfing the nearby barn. The pastel, muted peaks of the Mission Range in the background add a plane of simplicity to the more complex hayfield patterns and are also a quiet reminder of the stunning high country we left behind. Wildflowers tossed in the uncut edges of the hay meadow add that finishing sparkle to top off special memories of our Montana experience…”

Cindy Sorley-Keichingerlikes painting in a smaller format to depict her nature and animal scenes. This is partially because it can be a challenge to make a composition that draws someone in for a long period of time, and for more practical reasons, it’s cheaper to ship to shows. “Just because a painting is in a small format, does not mean they necessarily take less time and thought to produce,” the artist remarks. “Sometimes they are to work out details for a future larger piece, sometimes to create an intimate experience with a subject. Smaller pieces tend to draw the viewer closer to engage with it…They are far more intimate and, because of this, subjects that are engaging work best—a small bird, a tiny flower, a close view of a face, a peek at a sleeping creature...”

Top: Cindy Sorley-Keichinger, Early Bird, acrylic, 7 x 9¾ in.; Cindy Sorley-Keichinger, Conflict of Interest, acrylic, 16 x 16 in.; J Watson Fine Art, On the Top of the World, oil on canvas, 12 x 9 in., by Mark Maggiori.  Bottom: Calvin Nicholls, Tremolo, cotton archival paper by Strathmore, 14 x 14 in.; Steve Hastings, Luna Turquesa, oil on canvas, 60 x 48 in.; Steve Hastings, The Thorn Blooms, oil on canvas, 60 x 48 in.

Sorley-Keichinger produces small beauties such as Early Bird, measuring at only 7 by 9 ¾ inches; a winter landscape scene, Morning on the Maligne River, at 7 by 12 inches; and a 16-by-16-inch painting of a moose titled Conflict of Interest. 

“It is indeed an honor to share my current sculptures from my ongoing exploration of paper as an art form,” says artist Calvin Nicholls. “My low relief sculptures are made from archival papers, which are displayed under UV reflecting ArtGlass for many decades of viewing. Fine detail is as alluring for me as is the harnessing of light to create form through subtle shadows and highlights.” New pieces are being added regularly to Nicholls website, including small gems like Tremolo, featuring a highly detailed screech owl.

Artist Janet Rawlings is a professional, self-taught, award-winning fine artist who has had a love for creating art throughout her life. As a young child, Rawlings loved to doodle and draw animals in accurate proportions. As a young adult, she chose pastel pencils as her medium, and painted wildlife as a hobby. Her artistic interests grew into a career as a technical designer/drafter for 10 years, which ended prematurely in her early 40s due to health issues. It was then that Rawlings dove solely into fine art. She then discovered a love for soft pastels as her primary medium. During the Covid shutdown, she added acrylics and color mixing to her portfolio. She has been commissioned by both commercial and private customers, and even produces small works like the 12-by-16-inch landscape Yellowstone in Sacajawea. 

Janet Rawlings, Yellowstone in Sacajawea, pastel on paper, 12 x 16 in.; Steve Hastings, The Wild Bunch, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 in.

“My fascination with the cactus plant is primal,” explains artist Steve Hastings. “[They] are the guardians of life in a world of harsh conditions and little water. To gain the life-giving water, one must avoid the needles. Art to me, like avoiding the needles, is my way to create something of beauty with my imagination, my two hands and if I’m lucky, my heart.” 

The artist adds, “There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart. Collect those.” Among Hastings collection, find his small cactus beauties like Luna Turquesa, The Thorn Blooms and The Wild Bunch. —

Featured Artists & Galleries

Calvin Nicholls
Ontario, Canada, (705) 928-3000
calvin@calvinnicholls.com
www.calvinnicholls.com 

Cindy Sorley-Keichinger
(780) 847-2294
goldfarm@telusplanet.net
www.goldenkstudio.com 

Darcie Peet
darciepeet.com
Facebook: /DarciePeet

Gallery Wild
80 W. Broadway Avenue, Jackson Hole, WY (307) 203-2322
203 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, NM, (505) 467-8297
www.gallerywild.com 

Gary Johnson
(760) 402-9986
www.garyjohnson.com 

Glenna Goodacre
www.glennagoodacre.com 

Heritage Auctions
2801 W. Airport Freeway, Dallas, TX 75261
(877) 437-4824, www.ha.com 

J Watson Fine Art
36 E. Broadway Avenue, Suite 3-1 Jackson, WY 83001
(661) 476-7558 info@jwatsonfineart.com
www.jwatsonfineart.com 

Janet Rawlings
www.rawlingsfineart.com 

Legacy Gallery
7178 Main Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 945-1113
225 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 986-9833
www.legacygallery.com 

Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery
6872 E. Sunrise Drive, Suite 130 Tucson, Arizona 85750
(520) 722-7798
sales@medicinemangallery.com
www.medicinemangallery.com 

Merlin Little Thunder
merlinlittlethunder.myshopify.com 

Santa Fe Art Auction
932 Railfan Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(505) 954-5858 www.santafeartauction.com 

Steve Hastings
El Paso, TX, (915) 474-1519
www.stevehastingsworks.com 

The Plainsmen Gallery
2141 Main Street, Dunedin, FL 34698
(727) 734-8200, www.plainsmen.com 

Winfield Trading Company
Gallup, NM - Appointment Only
(505) 778-5544
winfieldtradingco@gmail.com
www.winfieldtradingcompany.com 

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