Wildlife painter Timothy Mayhew, whose work was featured in this year’s National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Western Visions, Miniatures and More Show & Sale, writes that he has been invited to be part of the 2012 Beaux Arts, a fundraising auction of fine art donated by nationally recognized artists in support of the Scottsdale Artists School, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Funds raised support the continuation of instruction in the fine arts, and creates scholarships for aspiring artists from around the world. The exhibit, now on display, holds a grand celebration and auction on November 10, 2012.
Although he is a New Mexico resident, most of Mayhew’s field studies are done in the Jackson and Yellowstone region. “Reflecting,” shown above, depicts an adult Sandhill crane wading in the shallow water at its winter home at the Bosque del Apache wildlife reserve in southern New Mexico.
Sandhill cranes are a favorite subject for Mayhew.
“Thousands of Sandhill cranes in this western flyway migration will
arrive at the Bosque del Apache reserve each November to spend the winter,” Mayhew reports. “By the time February arrives, they begin their return migration to their habitats and breeding grounds in the northern US, Canada, and Alaska. Although it appears that the crane is looking at its reflection, prompting the name of this painting, in actuality it is busily searching for crustaceans and other bits of food on the muddy bottom of the water.”
Mayhew recently returned from Boston, where he gave an “enthusiastically attended” lecture at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. And there’s more: Mayhew’s work is included in the American Art Invitational’s Small Gems exhibition, a partnership between the Saks Galleries in Denver, and Southwest Art magazine. Paticipating artists are masters in the field of contemporary realism, utilizing classic techniques of draftsmanship and composition. Award-winning painters and sculptors from California to New York, and from Texas to Montana take part; this exhibiton benefits the Denver Children’s Hospital.
“In addition,” says the artist, “the prestigious Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University acquired two of my drawings in natural chalks for their permanent collection.” Mayhew has been exhibiting at NMWA, at Western Visions, for eight years, and was 201o’s Lanford Monroe Memorial Artist-in-Residence.
Congratulations on your extraordinary achievements, Timothy! http://www.timothydavidmayhew.com/
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A recent New York Times article on the troubles L.A.’s MOCA museum is having included this comment: “Few things are more dangerous to (an institution) reliant not on gate receipts but on individual philanthropy for its survival than the sense that it is out of control.” That is a quote from one of MOCA’s highest ranking board members! We’re talking MOCA. Huge.
If it’s out on the street that funds are dear and difficult to raise, it’s destructive. Any major non-profit relying on the people’s good will and their money should publicly announce major staff and board changes when they occur. Doing so may not deliver immediate good news, but it’s honest, and can represent positive change. The announcement can be brief. Interested, invested parties are then free to inquire about any changes with a clear conscience. Transparency really does count, and transparency is more than talking about transparency.
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Tammy Christel 
