Loveland Museum, Loveland, CO April 24-June 6
Few art events combine the rich pleasures offered and good deeds achieved by the Colorado Governor’s Art Show & Sale. Now celebrating its 35th year, the event presents a multitude of works—three or four each from 64 participants this year—by many of the state’s top professional artists, all juried in by a panel of their peers. “The state of Colorado is home to some of the most superb artists in the country,” says Ruth Scott, the show director and curator. As if that were not impressive, the event, presented by the Loveland and Thompson Valley rotary clubs, also dedicates itself to giving sale proceeds to charitable projects and causes that include scholarships for local art students and the Thompson Education Foundation (TEF) Resiliency Fund for Unhoused Youth.
The show launches the evening of Friday, April 24, with a ticketed Opening Night Gala at its venue, the Loveland Museum. Highlighting the evening is a silent auction of 15 to 17 separate works donated by this year’s jury members, with 100 percent of their selling prices going to TEF. “Purchasers of those pieces get to take them home that night,” notes Scott. All other artworks remain on view through the exhibition’s duration, with fixed-price purchases possible in person or online.
Including, as it does, well more than 200 creations, the exhibition offers something for every taste. The pleasures begin with works submitted by artists who have participated since the very first year, including the sleekly stylized SEATED CHEETAH, a bronze by animal sculptor Rosetta; and OLD FRIENDS, a heartwarming sculpture of a man feeding birds from George Lundeen.
Another standout is ONCE UPON A MOONLIT TRAIL by Crystal DeSpain, from the northern Colorado town of Windsor, who was recognized as Best in Show at last year’s event. Her oil nocturne evokes the romance and mystery of a horse and rider making their way through a wintry woodland. Based in the Denver suburb of Golden, painter Faye Crowe presents an energetically angular, abstracted autumn scene in WHISPERS OF FALL. One of the most arresting images on view may be COLD PURSUIT, a bobcat portrait finely rendered in colored pencils by J.R. Hess. And Scott can’t resist CHAMPION, Laport-based Daniel Slack’s hand-built, glazed and stamped terra-cotta sculpture of an equine balancing on a sphere. “I love its combination of turquoise and rust colors,” says Scott. “And that horse just looks like it’s on top of the world.”
Lovers of fine art will feel equally elated not merely by the abundance of works but also by special events Scott has been planning. Every Saturday, several participating artists will meet and chat with show visitors. In addition, on a date that will be announced on the show website, as many as 16 artists will convene in the museum to paint from live models and a still life display, and then sell the completed paintings. In these, as in so many other aspects, the show fulfills its commitment, says Scott, “to presenting the highest quality of art we have to offer in the state of Colorado.” —Norman Kolpas
contact information(970) 670-0035governorsartshow.org
This story appeared in the April/May 2026 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Subscribe today to read every issue in its entirety.
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