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.
“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 21st 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