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Billy Schenck Biography

Billy Schenck Biography

View Billy Schenck's available paintings

Billy Schenck, The Sheep, Oil on Canvas, 28 by 36 inches

Billy Schenck has been known internationally for 44 years as one of the originators of the contemporary "Pop" western movement. Schenck has had over 100 solo shows and is included in 44 museum collections. He is an American painter who incorporates techniques from Photo-Realism with a Pop Art sensibility to both exalt and poke fun at images of the West.

Billy Schenck, Antonito, Oil on Canvas, 28 by 22 inches

Career highlights for the artist include the 2013 Utah Museum of Fine Art’s Bierstadt to Warhol: American Indians in the West exhibit, the Denver Art Museum’s “Western Horizons” and a retrospective of serigraphs created by Schenck from 1971 through 1996 at the Tucson Museum of Art.

Billy Schenck, The Trail Less Travelled, Oil on Canvas, 32 by 38 inches

Museum collections include the Mesa Southwest Museum, The Tucson Museum of Art, The Denver Art Museum, Museum of the Southwest, Midland TX, Albuquerque Fine Arts Museum and the New Mexico Museum of Art. Private collections include the estate of Malcolm Forbes, Steve Forbes, Chris Evert, Elaine Horwitch, Louis Meisel, Martina Navratilova, Laurance Rockefeller, the estate of Fritz Scholder and Sylvester Stallone. Corporate collections include: American Airlines, I.B.M., Raymond James Financial, Wells Fargo Bank, Hilton Hotels, Sturm Ruger and The National Bank of Switzerland.

Billy Schenck, Hopi Maiden, Oil on Canvas, 24 by 20 inches

“What has remained constant throughout Schenck’s career is his individuality in dealing with the subject matter of the west. Using the artistic formula of classic western film direction and the photographically reliant systems of contemporary art, he has bridged two genres that resonate with the American experience. From early depictions of cinematic cowboys to real-life cowboys and cowgirls to poetic reveries about the Native American existence in the Southwest, Schenck melds the real with the imagined, autobiography with fantasy.”

-Julie Sasse, Chief Curator and Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Tucson Museum of Art

Born:

Rural America 1947

Education:

1965-1967 Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio
1967-1969 BFA Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

Select Awards / Honors / Public Speaking

2014 - Patron Choice Award, “Night of the Artists” The Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio, TX
2014 - Best of Western Books Award in the Modern Western Art category, True West Magazine, for his book Schenck in the 21st Century: The Myth of the Hero and the Truth of America
2013 - U.S. Literary Award for Fine Arts for his book Schenck in the 21st Century: The Myth of the Hero and the Truth of America
2013 - Silver Medal Winner for Painting, “The West Select” Phoenix Art Museum, AZ
2010 - Tucson Museum of Art, Panel Discussion, Cinematic Influences on Western Art
2006 - Booth Western Art Museum, Saturday Evening Lecture with Billy Schenck

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

2021 New Works, Solo Show, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2014 "The Myth of the West," Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2013 Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2011 Tucson Museum of Art, "Bill Schenck Serigraphs 1971-1996 Retrospective", Tucson, AZ
2010 The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho, Bill Schenck Serigraphs 1971-1996 Retrospective, Idaho Falls, ID
2010 Strong Schenck Galleries, Bill Schenck: "New Paintings", Santa Fe, NM
2010 Strong Schenck Galleries, "Bill Schenck New Paintings", Scottsdale, AZ
2009 Strong Schenck Galleries, Grand Opening Solo Exhibition, Santa Fe, NM
2007 Tadu Contemporary/Schenck Southwest, "'Till the End of Time" Graffiti paintings, Santa Fe, NM
2006 Booth Western Art Museum, "Post Apocalyptic Pop", Cartersville, GA
2002 West Valley Museum, "New Directions", Surprize, Arizona
2001 Museum of the Southwest, "Point of Departure", Midland, Texas
1996 Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art, Ten Year Retrospective, "The West as it Never Was", St. Joseph, Missouri
1990 Wyoming State Museum, Cheyenne, Wyoming, "Bill Schenck, A 10 Year Retrospective 1980 - 1990"
1987 Kimball Art Center, Park City, Utah
1983 Scottsdale Center for the Arts, "Bill Schenck 1968-83, 15 Year Retrospective", Scottsdale, Arizona
1978 West Nebraska Arts Center, Scottsbluff, Nebraska
1975-76 Concord Courthouse Bicentennial Exhibition, Concord, Massachusetts
1971 "100 + 101" Loft Exhibition, New York, New York

Selected Group Exhibitions:

2021 "Night of Artists" Briscoe Western Art Museum, TX
2019 "New Works" Group Show, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2019 "Along the Distant Mesa: An Homage to Maynard Dixon" Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2019 "Night of the Artists," Briscoe Western Art Museum
2017 "25th Anniversary Celebration" Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2014 “Night of the Artists” The Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio, TX
2014 Museum of Fine Arts “New Mexico and the Arts of Enchantment, St. Petersburg, FL
2014 LA Art Show, Los Angeles, CA
2013 National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum “Small Works, Great Wonders,” Oklahoma City, OK
2013 “The West Select” Phoenix Art Museum, AZ
2013 NM Museum of Art, “Back in the Saddle”, Santa Fe, NM, curated by John Torres Nez and Joseph Traugott
2013 Briscoe Western Art Museum, “Night of Artists”, San Antonio, TX
2013 The Coeur d'Alene Art Auction group, “March in Montana”, Great Falls, MT
2013 Utah Museum of Fine Arts, “Bierstadt To Warhol: American Indians in the West”, Salt Lake City, UT
2012 The West Gallery, “Grand Opening”, Berlin, Germany
1983 Alberta College of Art Gallery, "2nd Annual Wild West Show", Calgary, Alberta, Canada
1982 Centro De Arte Moderno, Guadalajara, Mexico
1976 Grand Hornu Gallery, "U.S.A. Contemporary Artists", Grand Hornu, Belgium
1976 "U.S.A. Contemporary Artists", Mons, Belgium
1976 Fiore Internationale D'Art, Group Show, Comtebrain, Paris, France
1974 Gallery Moos, Ltd., "Aspects of Realism", Toronto, Canada
1974 Gallerie Trois Porte, Mons, Belgium

Works at Auction:

2010 Artairial Briest Le Fur Poulain F. Tajan, Paris, France
2010 Altermann Galleries & Auction, Santa Fe, NM
2010 Altermann Galleries & Auction, Santa Fe, NM
2005 Bonhams & Butterfield, San Francisco, CA
2005 Christie's, New York, New York
2001 Butterfield's, San Francisco
1994 Sotheby's, New York, New York
1993 Sotheby's, New York, New York
1980 Christie's, New York, New York
1975 Sotheby Park-Bernet, New York
1973 Post Pop Painting Auction, Paris, France
1973 Realist Painting Auction, Paris, France

Selected Publications:

2021 Western Art Collector, October
2021 Western Art Collector, May
2021 Southwest Art, May
2021 Western Art Collector, April
2021 Southwest Art, March/April
2021 Western Art Collector, January
2020 Western Art and Architecture, October-November
2020 Western Art and Architecture, June-July
2019 Western Art Collector, November
2019 Western Art Collector, June, "Meeting the Rising Sun" by John O'Hern
2019 Western Art and Architecture, June/July
2019 Western Art Collector, January
2018 "Maynard Dixon's American West: Along the Distant Mesa" by Mark Sublette
2018 Western Art Collector, November
2018 Western Art Collector, August
2018 Western Art Collector, July
2018 Western Art and Architecture, June/July issue
2018 Western Art Collector, February issue
2017 Western Art Collector, December issue
2017 Western Art Collector, November issue
2014 Poster for Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Durango, CO, October 2 - 5.
2014 Poster for Santa Fe Wine Festival, Santa Fe, NM, July 5 – 06.
2014 “Billy Schenck: Artist Profile,” Horse Around New Mexico, March/April 2014, pp. 14 - 15.
2014 Stinson, Anne. “Tidewater Review,” Tidewater Times, March 2014, pp. 71 - 76.
2014“Western Images,” Western Art Collector, March 2014, Pp. 134 - 135.
2014 “New Mexico and the Arts of Enchantment,” Mosaic, Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL, Cover illustration, p. 3.
2014 Medicine Man Gallery Advertisement, “Billy Schenck: New Works,” Western Art Collector, Jan. 2014. Image, p. 14
2013 “Things We Love.” Western Art & Architecture. Dec. 2013/Jan. 2014.
2013 Henderson, Holly. “Billy Schenck.” Cowboys & Indians Magazine. Nov./ Dec. 2013. pp. 33, 82 - 83.
2013 The West Select Ad. The New Mexican. Oct. 20, 2013. C-5.
2013 Phx Art Magazine. “The West Select.” October 2013 - January 2014. Cover illustration.
2013 Booth Bulletin: A Publication of the Booth Western Art Museum. Vol. 10, Issue 3. Fall 2013. Cover image.
2013 Rosebrook, Stuart. “Building Your Western Library: Billy Schenck’s Favorite Reads.” True West, October 2013, pp. 58.
2013 Abatemarco, Michael. “Bill Schenck’s Varicolored Take On Cowboys & Indians.” Pasatiempo, July 26, 2013, pp. 68 - 70.
2013 “The Briscoe Night of Artists.” Cowboys & Indians, July 2013, p. 76.
2013 El Palacio: Art, History and Culture of the West, front cover illustration, Summer 2013 Vol. 118/No. 2.
2013 Carlson, Jeffrey. “Western and Pop Art Collide in the Paintings of Bill Schenck,” Fine Art Connoisseur, May 8, 2013.
2013 Alexander, Beau. “All Things Western,” Western Art Colector, May 2013, pp. 90 - 91.
2013 Poulton, Donna. “Bierstadt to Warhol: American Indians in the West.” Utah Museum of Fine Arts catalog, Illustrated.
2013 Poulton, Donna. “Perspective: Bierstadt to Warhol-American Indians in the West,” Western Art & Architecture, February/March, 2013.
2013 Fulton, Ben. “New UMFA exhibit chronicles the American Indian in Art,” The Salt Lake Tribune, February 18, 2013.
2013 Abatemarco, Michael. “This Old Horse,” The New Mexican Pasatiempo, February 8, 2013, pp. 42 - 44.
2013 “State of the Art: Arizona,” Western Art Collector, January 2013. Illustrated p. 65.
2012 Davies, Donna. “Helga and Erivan Haub Collection Of Western Art, Volume III.” Ilustrated pp. 84 - 85.
2012 The Santa Fean Magazine (Front Cover). Summer issue 2012.
2012 “ The West in a Wing of Its Own,” The Wall Street Journal, July 6, 2012.
2012 Kolpas, Norman. “Schenck: Pop Maverick,” (Front Cover & Article) Southwest Art Magazine, August 2012.
2012 Boggs, Johnny. “The West Gets Wilder,” New Mexico Magazine, June, 2012, illustrated pp. 24 - 25.
2012 Activity Guide Tucson Museum of Art. (Front Cover). June 2012
2012 “Tacoma Art Museum receives gift from Haub family.” ArtFortune.com, July 11, 2012
2012 “Gift of 280 works of American Western art.” Tacoma Art Museum Press Release, July 9, 2012
2012 “Tacoma Museum To Get Collection.” Seattle Times, July 8, 2012.

Books

2013 Abrams, Amy. Schenck in the 21^st Century: The Myth of the Hero and the Truth of America, Western Skies Publishing, 2013, 194 color reproductions of Schenck artwork from 2000-2013, winner of 2013 US Book Award in Fine Arts: http://unitedstatesliteraryaward.blogspot.com/, winner of True West magazines, “Best of Western Books for 2014,” Modern West Art.
2013 Schenck, Bill. “The Illustrated Chronology of Billy Famous-An Authentic Story.” Western Skies Publishing, 2013, 38 original Schenck drawings.
2010 Sasse, Julie. Bill Schenck Serigraphs 1971 - 1996, catalog raisonne, 71 pp., Schenck Southwest Publishing.
2010 Traugott, Joseph. Sole Mates Cowboy Boots & Art, Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe, NM, illustrated pp. 73, 104 - 105.
2005 Winchell, Terry. Molesworth, The Pioneer of Western Design. Gibbs Smith Publisher, pp. 20, 147 illustrated.
2003 Clemmer, David. Serenading the Light - Painters of the Desert Southwest, Schenck Southwest Publishing.
2002 Moulard, Barbara, Re-Creating the Word, Schenck Southwest Publishing.

Television and Film

1995 John Howe. PBS, KUED-TV, “Winds of Time,” 1 - hour documentary. January.
1984 David Gallager, Director, United Cable Channel 33, Scottsdale, AZ, “Bill Schenck”, 1/2 -hour television documentary, September.
1980 “On The Town,” feature story, KAET-TV, Tempe, AZ, May 2.
1977 Painting featured in the movie “Network.”

Selected Museum Collections:

Superstition Mountain Historical Museum, Apache Junction, Arizona
Mesa Southwest Museum, Mesa, Arizona
Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Scottsdale, Arizona
West Valley Art Museum, Surprise, Arizona
Matthews Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona
Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Wickenberg, Arizona
The Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Anaheim, California
Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
Housatonic Community College, Westport, Connecticut
Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
The Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, Georgia
Brigham Young University-Idaho, Rexburg, ID
Notre Dame Business College, Bloomington, Indiana
Midwest Museum, Elkhart, Indiana
Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Brandeis University Museum, Boston, Massachusetts
Babson College Art Collection, Wellesley, Massachusetts
Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, Missouri
Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art, St. Joseph, Missouri
Yellowstone Art Center, Billings, Montana
Missoula Museum of the Arts, Missoula, Montana
Albuquerque Fine Arts Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Pickard Gallery, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York
Otterbein College, Westerville, Ohio
C.B. Goddard Center for the Arts, Ardmore, Oklahoma
Fred Jones Museum of Art, Norman, Oklahoma
Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, Oregon
Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas
Museum of the Southwest, Midland, Texas
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
Rose Art Museum, Richmond, Virginia
Clymer Museum, Ellensburg, Washington
Nicolaysen Museum, Casper, Wyoming
Wyoming State Museum, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Cody, Wyoming
The Nelson Museum of Western Art, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, California
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, Washington
West Texas A & M University, Canyon, Texas

Selected Public Collections:

University of Arizona Libraries Special Collections, Tucson, Arizona
Arizona State University Libraries Special Collections, Tempe, Arizona
Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, Arizona
Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix, Arizona
St. Luke's Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona
Edward Shaw Cancer Clinic, Vail Hospital, Vail, Colorado
Presbyterian Ear Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Governor's Mansion, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe Public Library, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Lander Valley Medical Center, Lander, Wyoming
Sam and Diane Stewart Foundation, Salt Lake City, Utah
St. John’s Medical Center, Jackson, Wyoming

Selected Corporate Collections:

American Airlines, Phoenix, Arizona
Jim Simmons (United Bank), Phoenix, Arizona
Valley National Bank, Phoenix, Arizona
Est, Est, Scottsdale, Arizona
I.B.M., Tucson, Arizona
United California Bank, Los Angeles, California
Wells Fargo Bank, Los Angeles, California
Art Programs, San Francisco, California
Hilton Hotel, Grand Junction, Colorado
McDonald's Corporation , Chicago, Illinois
Bob Burnett (Meredith Corporation), Des Moines, Iowa
Pioneer Car Stereo, Tokyo, Japan
Suntory Liquors , Tokyo, Japan
Sturn Ruger Corporation, New Jersey
Security Pacific Bank, New York, New York
National Bank of Switzerland, Geneva, Switzerland
First Interstate Bank, Salt Lake City, Utah
Jackson State Bank, Jackson, Wyoming
Mountain Bell, Laramie, Wyoming
Northern Trust Bank, Phoenix, Arizona
Raymond James Financial Collection, St. Petersburg, Florida
Vermillion Editions Limited, Amarillo, Texas

Selected Private Collections:

Albright, Jakarta, Indonesia
Benbassat, Milan, Italy
Daniele Bodini, New York / Milan, Italy
Cinqualbre, Strasbourg, France
John Duffield, Geneva, Switzerland
Estate of Malcom Forbes, New York, New York
Kip Forbes, New York, New York
Steve Forbes, New York, New York
Fruh, Strasbourg, France
Genevieve Gilles, Paris, France
Erivan & Helga Haub, Cologne, Germany
Daniel Hechter, Paris, France
Housez , Antibes, France
International Gallery, Des Moines, Iowa
Larry Kristowiak , Utah Jazz (NBA)
Pierre Kubel, Paris, France
Galleria Levi, New Haven, Connecticut
Limereau, Paris, France
Maytag, Jackson, Wyoming
Alexandra Monnett Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Spence, Moriarity & Schuster, Jackson, Wyoming
Terry Muholland, NY Yankees/Philadelphia Phillies
Elfreide Pfaff, Reichershofen, Germany
Edmund Pillsbury, Zurich, Switzerland
Phillipe Reichenbach, Paris, France
Bernhard Reudy, Detikon, Switzerland
Lawrence Rockefeller, New York, New York
Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, New York
Victor & Marina Savoie, Geneva, Switzerland
Fritz Scholder, Scottsdale, Arizona
Senator Allen Simpson, Cody, Wyoming
Dr. J.L. Silverman, Brussels, Belgium
Sylvester Stallone, Los Angeles, California
Warren Benedek, New York, New York
Dr. W. Bowden II, Columbis, Ohio
John Cushman, Los Angeles, California
Victoria DuPont, Jackson, Wyoming
Bob Egleston, Los Angeles, California
Chris Everett, Boca Raton, Florida
Dr. Ivan Gerhardt, Bayport, New York
Peter Hassrick, Cody, Wyoming
Tom and Mary James, St. Petersburg, Florida
Ivan Karp, New York, New York
Stacey Keach, Corpus Christi, Texas
Joe and Helga Loeffler, Aspen, Colorado
Robert Mayer, Chicago, Illinois
Dr. Norman Messite, New York, New York
Monroe Meyerson, Milford, Connecticut
Martina Navritalova, Aspen, Colorado
Watson Powell, Des Moines, Iowa
Dr. and Mrs. Howard Raskin, Baltimore, Maryland
J. T. Sollar, New York, New York
Saul Steinberg, New Yoek, New York
Dr. James F. Tams, Nashville, Tennessee
Dr. Linelle Wagner, Chinle, Arizona
Bill Weiss, Cody, Wyoming
Paul Westphal, Phoenix, Arizona
Valerie Williams, Jackson, Wyoming