KIm Wiggins

Kim Douglas Wiggins’ distinct style and modern vision of the West has made him one of the most recognizable artists in America today. He is acknowledged as a creative forerunner behind the current New West Movement and is a prominent speaker in the art industry encouraging innovation in Western art. Growing up on a ranch in southern New Mexico, at the age of twelve he was discovered by a traveling art dealer. As a young prodigy, by the mid 1970’s his sculpture and paintings soon found representation at Jim Clark Fine Art in Scottsdale, AZ. While still in high school his creative talent also opened the doors for a position as a graphic artist for a national equine magazine. In 1976 he entered the military serving four years in Europe. Much of his free time was spent painting and studying the grand masters of Impressionism and Modernism. By 1983 he was admitted as the youngest member of the Society of American Impressionists. Here he exhibited alongside American originals such as George Carlson, Robert Daughters, Everett Raymond Kinstler and Sandy Scott. Although primarily self-taught, during this time he was mentored by masters such as Henriette Wyeth and Alexandre Hogue. The mid-1980’s also brought about experimentation with various forms of Impressionism, Expressionism, Magical Realism, Symbolism and Modernism eventually leading to his distinctive approach.  Today, his unmistakable style can be recognized clear across the room. His uniquely modern vision of the West often places his work alongside celebrated icons of Western Realism as a powerfully, contrasting voice of creative vision.  

As a modern innovator, Wiggins’ finest work merges symbolism with the American West. His provocative Western historical paintings are viewed by many as his finest work bring numerous awards and accolades. Some of his career highlights include group exhibitions with the Autry Museum’s Masters of the American West since 1999. He has also exhibited with the Briscoe Western Art Museum, Booth Western Art Museum, Denver Art Museum, National Museum of Wildlife Art, C. M. Russell Museum, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, De Young Museum, The Society of American Impressionists (SAI) and the Other Side of the West (OSW). 

As a native New Mexican, Wiggins embraces his ranching heritage by focusing on his own roots. “My father always told me, ‘Paint what you know.’ I paint my people, my land, my history and my heritage. Much of my work centers on New Mexico, Southwestern cultural traditions and the history of the old West.” Being a descendant of a raconteur tradition has inspired him as well, for his paintings seem to tell a story of their own. His artwork breaths new life into the West through compelling images with high keyed color, modernistic design, dramatic light and simplified forms. As a student of children, he constantly watches their response to his artwork. “Watch children... Children see art with a purity that has not been affected by the prejudice or partiality of society.” Thus his heartbeat is centered on reaching the next generation by encouraging them to experience their cultures past through Western art. His deep seated belief that Western art is the very soul of American society inspires him to passionately pursue this objective. His New West images are aimed at a generation of young people, collectors and patrons who have not been inspired by traditional methods. Wiggins states, “I don't believe we are going to reach a new generation by saying the same thing in the same manner as artists of the past. If we are to reach them, it will be expressed in a passionate new language they understand and are attracted to... a vibrant language that transcends handheld devices and other forms of modern technology.” As Laurie J. Rufe, Executive Director of the Tucson Museum of Art states: “Like Van Gogh, Wiggins' style is based on a pictorial language of heavily impastoed brushwork, bold color, and dynamic surface movement. Wiggins draws upon Post-Impressionism, Expressionism, American Regionalism, and muralist and folk art traditions, and it is this union that makes his paintings truly unique and unexpected.”

Throughout his career Wiggins has used the tool of painting in series to develop and expand various subjects. The Goodnight/Loving Trail Series began in 2011 when Wiggins was commissioned by the Roswell Museum and Art Center to paint a major historical work focused on the Goodnight/Loving Trail. The next year, Cattle Kings of the Pecos, Oil, 72 x 96, was installed in the museum’s permanent collection. Within the research on Charles Goodnight, Oliver Loving and John Chisum the artist found incredible inspiration allowing him to pursue a series of paintings based on the first massive cattle drives in American history. Another unique series came to fruition in 2007. Wiggins fulfilled a lifetime dream when he was honored with a one-man show in New York City.  He traveled to the city documenting the iconic metropolis in a mammoth series of 40 cityscapes for a cutting-edge show with Altermann/Modern of New York. In 2005 Wiggins was honored when his monumental work, Lewis & Clark Among the Mandan, oil, 84 x 108, was purchased by Jackie Autry at the Masters of the American West and added to the permanent collection of the Autry National Center. This painting was part of a series of major historical works celebrating the Bicentennial of Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery. Another work from this series, Lewis & Clark meet Cameahwait, oil, 60 x 76 is in the permanent collection of Tulane University. Over the past fifteen years Wiggins has focused on a series of major depictions of historic battles and conflicts of the old West. These have included: Coronado’s Quest, oil, 40 x 60; The Pueblo Revolt, oil, 48 x 60; The Bear Flag Revolt, oil, 48 x 36; Fall of the Alamo, oil, 48 x 60; Custer’s Last Stand, oil, 48 x 60; Red Cloud’s War - The Fetterman Massacre, oil, 48 x 60; Second Battle of Adobe Walls, oil, 30 x 48 and other works. In 1999 Wiggins was commissioned to paint a series of ten historical works and one mural focused on the history of California for the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. Completed in 2005, this series has been a center piece for many of the backstage interviews held for the Grammy Awards and other key events. Another powerful tool thriving within his various series is the use of symbolism, due to his deep faith in Christ and fascination with the early 1930’s New Mexico Transcendentalist Movement . “I want people to think when they view my work. I want them to be drawn in and confronted with the deeper meanings of life. Much like the Biblical parable or allegory, ‘I will utter dark sayings of old that hide important truth… that the generation to come might know them.’ I believe my most important works should contain allegory and meaning within the image. Why not allow the viewer the possibility of unraveling a deeper message hidden within the image?”

Other key events in Wiggins career included the Painters and the American West exhibition In 2000.  This pivotal and historic event emerged in conjunction with a major book by Yale University Press on the history of the art of the American West.  The show opened at the Denver Art Museum and then traveled the country to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Art Institute of Chicago.  Every American master from George Catlin to C. M. Russell and Ernest Blumenschein to Georgia O'Keeffe was included in the exhibition.  Wiggins complex work, Merging Cultures on the Santa Fe Plaza, was voted People's Choice - Most Inspiring to Youth at the exhibition in Denver with over 40,000 visitors. In 1996 Philip F. Anschutz commissioned Wiggins to paint a key historical work for The Anschutz Collection in Denver focused on the merging cultures and forces that established Santa Fe as the art Mecca of the West. Merging cultures on the Santa Fe Plaza, oil, 60x84, now one of the focal points for the American Museum of Western Art in Denver. This modernist depiction of the Santa Fe Plaza fuses the past with the present and amalgamates the Taos Society and Santa Fe School with the American Scene and Modernist section of the museum. It remains one of the most popular works in the collection. Another early breakthrough for the artist occurred in 1995 when Wiggins was selected as one of a handful of up and coming artists included in a groundbreaking show entitled, American Realism & Figurative Painting.  Wiggins exhibited along side the legendary masters of American Art including the renowned Andrew Wyeth, Georgia O'Keeffe and Elaine de Kooning, from New York.

Wiggins has been a key speaker at numerous Western art events including the Autry Museum in 2020, the Briscoe Museum, the American Museum of Western Art, The New Mexico Historical Society, The Roswell Museum and Art Center and the Booth Western Art Museum to mention a few. In 2017 Wiggins was asked to assist the American Museum of Western Art in Denver with the Audio Tour Guide for the museum’s vast collection. Visitors using the audio guide now take a walk through Western art history as Wiggins and two other historical experts expound on the backgrounds of various artists and works of art within the museum’s collection. The Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles houses two of Wiggins' major works.   Other collections include the Briscoe Western Art Museum, Museum of New Mexico, American Museum of Western Art, The Anschutz Collection, Booth Western Art Museum, James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art, Phippen Museum, Roswell Museum & Art Center and Tulane University.  The Staples Center in Los Angeles houses a collection of ten major historical works focused on the history of California.  This collection has been used as the backdrop for many backstage interviews including the Grammy Awards.  Wiggins work has appeared or dawned the cover of such publications as American Psychologist, Western Art Collector, Southwest Art, The New York Times, Art of the West, Architectural Digest, Cowboy & Indians, Wildlife Art, Western Art & Architecture, International Artist and Elle Decor.

SELECTED AWARDS & ACCOLADES:

2022: The Briscoe Museum Purchase Award. Night of Artists Exhibition & Sale, Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio, TX. (Last Tally at the Bosque Grande, Oil, 40 x 60 in).

2020: The Stories of the West Award, Gold Medal for Best Narrative. Masters of the American West Art Exhibition & Sale, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA. (Fleeing Hell’s Fury - Range Fire, Oil, 48 x 60 in).

2018: The William B. Travis Award for Patron’s Choice. Night of Artists Exhibition & Sale, Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio, TX. (The Texians, Oil, 30 x 40 in).

2014: The Heritage Award, for passionate innovation and contribution to the arts. New Mexico Historical Society, Roswell, NM.

2005: Jackie Autry Special Purchase. Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition & Sale, Museum of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA. (Lewis & Clark Among the Mandan, Oil, 84 x 108 in).

2000: Patron’s Choice - Most Inspiring to Youth. Painters and the American West, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO. (Merging Cultures on the Santa Fe Plaza, 60 x 84 in).

Kim Wiggins’ presentation on The New West delivered at the Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA, February 8, 2020. This talk communicates the very soul of Wiggins’ passionate work as a Western art modernist. A look into The New West Movement and the unparalleled importance of Western art as it relates to American society and the art of ancient cultures.

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:

-Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA. (The Day Josie Chesser Died, Oil, 48 x 36; Lewis & Clark Among the Mandan, Oil, 84 x 108 in).

-American Museum of Western Art, Denver, CO. (Merging Cultures on the Santa Fe Plaza, Oil, 60 x 84 in; Down on the Santa Fe Plaza, Oil, 48 x 60 in).

-Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, GA. (Eve of St. Francis - Ranchos de Taos, Oil, 60 x 76 in).

-Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio, TX. (Fiesta Day on the Plaza, Oil, 36 x 48 in; Colonel Crockett’s Return from Cibolo Creek, Oil, 36 x 48; Frank Chisum - Wild West Icon, Oil, 60 x 40 in; Last Tally at Bosque Grande - 1867, Oil, 40 x 60 in).

-Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District, Fort Worth, TX. (Fleeing Hell’s Fury - Range Fire, Oil, 48 x 60 in).

-Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM. (My Ethereal World, Oil, 60 x 48 in).

-National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). (The Price of Cotton, Oil, 36 x 50; The Finger of God, Oil, 36 x 50; In the Midst of God, Oil, 36 x 50; Homecoming Reunion, Oil, 36 x 50).

-Phippen Museum, Prescott, AZ. (Full Moon over Ranchos, Oil, 30 x 40 in).

-Roswell Museum & Art Center, Roswell, NM. (Cattle Kings of the Pecos, Oil, 72 x 96 in).

-Staples Center, Los Angles, CA.  The California Series, 9 paintings and 1 mural depicting the history of California. (Nighttime in the San Fernando Valley, Oil, 48 x 60; Sunrise in the Vineyards of California, Oil, 48 x 60; One Summer Night in L.A., Oil, 36 x 48; City of Angels, Oil, 30 x 40; Life at Figueroa and 11th, Oil, 30 x 40; California Before, Oil, 40 x 30; Angelinos in a Promised Land, Oil, 36 x 48; The Hills of California, Oil, 84 x 60; Back on the Road Again, Oil, 30 x 40 in).

-The Anschutz Collection, Denver, CO. (The Departure of Don Wray, Oil, 60 x 84 in).

-The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art, St. Petersburg, FL. (Orchard near Tesuque, Oil, 30 x 40 in).

-Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. (Lewis & Clark Meet Cameahwait, Oil, 60 x 76 in).