"My arrival in Montana in 1982 brought me into intimate contact with some of the most storied places of the historic West and also gave me the opportunity to study the paintings of two of the most influential codifiers of western imagery, Frederic Remington and Charlie Russell. I became aware of how decisive an effect their work, and the work of other western illustrators, had on the formulations of filmmakers like John Ford, William Wyler, and Howard Hawks. At the same time, I recognized how distinctly different the formalized imagery of western films, in its temporal, technological, and theatrical mediation, is from any painting."
—Gordon McConnell
The Captain, 2015, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 inches
Curriculum Vitae
Born 1950, La Junta, Colorado
Selected Individual Exhibitions
2020 Gordon McConnell: When the West Was Won, traveling throughout Montana: Missoula Art Museum, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Holter Museum of Art, Mondak Heritage Center. Catalog available.
2019 Gordon McConnell: Moving Pictures
kind of a small array, Magdalena, New Mexico
2018 Gordon McConnell: When the West Was Won, Northcutt Steele Gallery, Montana State University, Billings, Montana. Catalog available.
Resounds: Arts and Culture on the High Plains. Leanne Gilbertson interviews Gordon McConnell on Yellowstone Public Radio (listen).
2017 Gordon McConnell: Tales From The Solitary Edge, Visions West Gallery, Bozeman, Montana. Checklist of the exhibition
2017 Recent Paintings by Gordon McConnell, White Apple Gallery, Whitefish, Montana.
2016 Outdoor Adventure: Recent Paintings by Gordon McConnell
Jessie Wilber Gallery, Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture, Bozeman, Montana
2015 Ride, Boldly Ride: Paintings by Gordon McConnell
University of Wyoming Art Museum, Laramie, Wyoming
2014 Gordon McConnell's Wild Wild West, Carbon County Arts Guild, Red Lodge, Montana
The Big Read. Yellowstone County Museum, Billings, Montana.The YMCA Writer's Voice and the National Endowment for the Arts presented the work of artist Gordon McConnell in association with The Big Read True Grit celebration. Interview with Rebecca Gross
2013 West of Everything: New and Selected Paintings, Churchill Arts Council, Fallon, Nevada. download invite | download catalog
2012 Wild Riders, Charles M. Bair Family Museum, Martinsdale, Montana (opening July 20) download brochure pdf
Staged Relics, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Great Falls, Montana
2010 Spaghetti Western/Gordon McConnell Paintings, EVOKE Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2009 The Kiva Presents: Gordon McConnell, Koshare Indian Museum, La Junta, Colorado
Good Earth Market, Billings, Montana
2008 Once Upon a Time in the West: Paintings by Gordon McConnell, Ucross Foundation Art Gallery, Clearmont, Wyoming (catalog)
2007 Toucan Gallery, Billings, Montana
2005 Gordon McConnell: Paintings, Yellowstone Art Museum, Northwest Projects Gallery download brochure pdf
2004 Recent Paintings by Gordon McConnell, g2 Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
Gordon McConnell: Recent Paintings, Botanica Fine Arts, Bozeman, Montana, and 1998, 2001
2003 The Kiva Presents: Gordon McConnell, Koshare Indian Museum, La Junta, Colorado
2001 Westering: Watercolors by Gordon McConnell, The Dana Gallery, Missoula, Montana
Gordon McConnell: Recent Paintings, Botanica Fine Arts, Bozeman, Montana
2000 West of the Screen: Small Paintings by Gordon McConnell, Toucan Gallery, Billings, Montana
Gordon McConnell, Peterson Hall Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
1999 Phantom Empire: The West of the Western, Paintings by Gordon McConnell, Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper, Wyoming
1998 Gordon McConnell: Recent Paintings, Botanica Fine Arts, Bozeman, Montana
Selected Joint Exhibitions
2020 Curate/Instigate: Gordon McConnell and Stephen Gleuckert, Kirk's Grocery, Billings, Montana
2017 MIXX7, 4ZERO7 Gallery, Billings, Montana
2015 My Montana: Jerry Iverson and Gordon McConnell, Stremmel Gallery, Reno, Nevada
2010 Teresa Elliott + Gordon McConnell / two contemporary views of the west, EVOKE Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2008 Joint Exhibition with Duke Beardsley, Mountain Trails Gallery, Jackson, Wyoming
Joint Exhibition with Randy Horst, Jailhouse Gallery, Hardin, Montana
2007 Joint Exhibition with Thomas Carlson, g2 Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
2003 Joint Exhibition with Bale Creek Allen, Sala Diaz, San Antonio, Texas
2001 Out West—Adam Jahiel, Photographs; Gordon McConnell, Paintings, Ucross Foundation Art Gallery, Clearmont, Wyoming (catalog)
[B]old New West–Charles Ringer and Gordon McConnell, Toucan Gallery, Billings, Montana
Selected Group Exhibitions
2015 Cowboy Christmas, Rodeo Paintings by John Hull, Walter Piehl, Jr. & Gordon McConnell, Catherine Louisa Gallery, Billings, Montana
2014 The New West: Contemporary Perspectives of the Rocky Mountain Region, McNichols Civic Center Building, Denver
2012 Wings of Man: The Art of the Horse, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, Montana
2012 Best of the West featuring Gordon McConnell Paintings, Broschofsky Galleries, Ketchum, Idaho
2011 Icons of the West, Dana Gallery, Missoula, Montana
Masters in Miniature Invitational Show, Trailside Galleries, Jackson, Wyoming
2010 MIXX IV, Babcock Theater, Billings, Montana
10th Anniversary Show, TURMAN LARISON contemporary, Helena, Montana
2009 Seven Perspectives, Stremmel Gallery, Reno, Nevada
Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
Bighorn Galleries, Cody, Wyoming
2009 Montana Triennial, Missoula Art Museum, Missoula, Montana
2008 Visions West Gallery, Denver, Colorado
Western Art Roundup, Custer County Art and Heritage Center, Miles City, Montana (also 2007)
MIXX III, Ryniker Gallery, Rocky Mountain College, Billings, Montana
2007 Leading the West, Mountain Trails Gallery, Jackson, Wyoming
Introductions II, Stremmel Gallery, Reno, Nevada
Big Names, Small Works, Toucan Gallery, Billings, Montana
Range of Expression II: A Montana Invitational, Ucross Foundation, Clearmont, Wyoming (catalog)
The Wild Bunch, The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, Florida (catalog)
Out West: The Great American Landscape, Meridian International Center, Washington, D.C. (catalog). Exhibition traveled to the National Art Gallery, Beijing, and other museums in the People's Republic of China through 2007
MIXX, Grafix Studio, Billings, Montana
MIXX II, Grafix Studio, Billings, Montana
Looking West, Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, Missouri
2004 American Visions: The Contemporary West, Mountain Trails Gallery, Jackson, Wyoming
2003 Out of the Bullpen: Baseball in Contemporary Art, Art Museum of Missoula, Missoula, Montana (catalog)
2002 Inaugural Exhibit, National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, Fort Worth (catalog)
Series, Gallery of Contemporary Art, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and University of New Hampshire, Durham (catalog)
New Art of the West 8, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, Indiana (catalog)
Drawn 2, Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, Texas
2000 The Non-Romantic West: Bill Stockton, Patrick Zentz and Gordon McConnell, Beall Park Art Center, Bozeman, Montana
Contemporary Montana Painters, Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, Montana
1999 Art Equinox 1999: A Regional Survey of Contemporary Art, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Great Falls, Montana (catalog) and 1991, 1992
1995 The Contemporary West, Big Horn Galleries, Carmel, California (catalog)
1992 Crazy About Cowboys, Artworks Gallery, Seattle, Washington
Way Out West: Gordon McConnell, Walter Piehl, Larry Pirnie, Bob Seabeck, Big Horn Gallery, Cody, Wyoming
1992 New Art of the West 8, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, Indiana (catalog)
1991 Electrum XX, National Juried Exhibition, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, Montana, Best of Show Award
1988 Electrum XVII, National Juried Exhibition, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, Montana, Juror’s Award
Public Collections
Missoula Art Museum, Missoula, Montana
Custer County Art and Heritage Center, Miles City, Montana
Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming
Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper, Wyoming
United States General Services Administration, Battin Federal Courthouse, Billings, Montana
Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, Montana
Corporate Collections
Billings Clinic, Billings, Montana
Central Montana Surgical Hospital, Great Falls, Montana
El Chorro Lodge, Paradise Valley, Arizona
DCI Group, Washington, D.C.
Federal Reserve Bank, Helena, Montana
Federal Reserve Bank, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Forbes Trinchera Ranch, Fort Garland, Colorado
St. Vincent Healthcare, Billings, Montana
Switchback Ranch, LLC, Cody, Wyoming
Walkers American Grill and Tapas Bar, Billings, Montana
Awards
2020 Governor's Arts Award Recipient, State of Montana
2006 Artist of the Year Award, Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, Montana
2003 Studio Residency, Ucross Foundation, Clearmont, Wyoming
2001 Studio Residency, Ucross Foundation, Clearmont, Wyoming
2000 Studio Residency, Ucross Foundation, Clearmont, Wyoming
1992 Individual Artist Fellowship, Montana Arts Council
Education
1979 University of Colorado, Boulder, Master of Arts in Art History
1973 California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, post-graduate study, MFA program
1972 Baylor University, Waco, Texas, Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art, cum laude, Honors Program graduate “With Distinction,” Co-recipient Outstanding Art Student Award