VERSO
Label, Maxwell Alexander Gallery, Culver City, California

Western art writer Michael Clawson observed, “When Mark Maggiori was 15 years old, he flew from his home in France to New York for a month-long visit that would include a coast-to-coast drive through America’s vast natural and cultural landscape. From the steel and concrete of the big city, he traveled through the sprawling heartland and into the West, where towering rock formations beckoned his arrival. In On the Road, Jack Kerouac wrote, ‘I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future.’ Maggiori, transfixed by the desert’s beauty, had reached his own dividing line.

“Many of his pieces are imbued with motion: riders hunched back as their horses descend a sandy slope, a horse mane bouncing upward during a steady gallop, a rope in an accordion-like freefall as a bronco bucks. He also paints sumptuous nocturnes that would make Frank Tenney Johnson proud – his blues sparkle, subtle shadows dance on the soil, and moonlit clouds balloon out over the desert floor.

“Clouds also play a prominent role in Down the Wash, featuring a cowboy descending a dusty hill. The horizon line separates the warm earthy tones of the desert from the cool blues and whites of the sky. ‘I find that I’m mostly interested in the pose and the action. With that one it was the dynamic of the guy and the horse,’ Maggiori says. ‘Lately I’ve found models for my paintings. Sometimes they lean forward or stay very straight. Typically I tell them to stay very straight, and then I change the cowboy figure in the painting. I like to change what I’m actually seeing, to see how I can make it better or more interesting. There is so much to learn, so I just try to see what works best for me.’”

Reflecting on a pivotal moment in his practice, the artist noted, “This was a very important painting in my career from 2015, the beginning of finding my true voice in Western art. Clouds, motions, style. That’s where it all began.”

EXHIBITED
Alone in the Wild, Maxwell Alexander Gallery, Culver City, California, 2015

LITERATURE
Southwest Art, October 2015, p. 33, illustrated
Western Art & Architecture, October / November 2015, p. 124, illustrated
Western Art Collector, October 2015, p. 67, illustrated

Additional Resources

• Mark Maggiori’s Past Results
• View Condition Report

Condition ReportSurface is in excellent condition. No signs of restoration.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders and reflect educated opinions, not facts. All painting frames are sold “as is.” The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions.