Michael Coleman Limited Biography scroll down to view works

Michael Coleman was born and raised in Provo, Utah and spent his boyhood hunting, fishing and trapping throughout the Rocky Mountains, often taking a sketchbook with him. Early on, he decided on a career in art, studying at Brigham Young University and traveling broadly for subject matter.

Coleman quickly became a prominent Southwestern artist when in 1978, at the age of 32, he was given his first retrospective at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. He exhibited at the National Academy of Western Art and at Kennedy Galleries in New York. Then, in 1999, he won the Prix de West Award at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame for his bronze of a moose titled “September,” which work has joined the permanent collection of the Hall of Fame.

He paints primarily in oil on board or gouache. He marks out key areas including the horizon line, working from the top to the bottom and adds highlights towards the end. His style is greatly influenced by many of the key early 19th century masters of the Hudson River School, such as: Henry Farny, Thomas Moran and George Inness, and the 20th century animal painter, Carl Rungius.

His paintings are rich in detail and muted in tone, true to the remote landscapes he chooses to illustrate. The Indian encampments, wildlife and hunting subjects portrayed against these magnificent areas are rendered in such a way as to give the viewer a sense of gazing on the past.

Coleman loves best the dusky-grey, misty, muted tones of fall and early winter and is known for his landscapes of rich colors and detail. He combines realism and atmospheric styles, often with animals depicted in those autumn settings when they are in their prime, but his pieces always suggest a balanced harmony between artist, animal, and nature.

Coleman’s works can be found in the private and public collections of Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Ian Cumming, John Huntsman, Bill Kerr, Stan Kamen, Mack Pogue, President George Bush, Sr., Vice-President Cheney, the Corning Museum, the Anschutz Collection, the National Wildlife Art Museum, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, the Canadian Embassy, and the National Museum of Dubai, just to name a few.

Born: June 25, 1946, Provo, Utah Education: Brigham Young University

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS, HONORS, AND AWARDS:

2009 Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

2008 Birds in Art, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin

2008 One-man show, Legacy Gallery, Jackson, Wyoming

2007 The Paintings of Yellowstone: A Retrospective Show, Montana Trails Gallery, Bozeman, Montana

2003 Governor’s Mansion Artist, Salt Lake City, UT

2002 Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California

2002 Most Honored Artists of Utah-Olympic Curatorial Committee

1999 Prix de West Award, National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

1996 One-man show, National Hunting Museum, Munich, Germany

1993 National Academy of Western Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Gold Medal Award

(Watercolor) 1992 National Academy of Western Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Silver Medal Award (Oil)

1992 International Wildlife Exposition, Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

1992 Hubbard Award for Excellence

1992 International Exhibition of Wildlife and Natural History

1991 Hubbard Award for Excellence

1989 One-man show, J.N. Bartfield Gallery, New York

1988 One-man show, J.N. Bartfield Gallery, New York

1986 One-man show, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

1985 One-man show, Wunderlich & Co., New York

1985 One-man show, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

1984 Museum of Western Art, Denver

1984 One-man show, Wunderlich & Co., New York

1983 Mongerson Gallery, Chicago

1983 Charlie Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana

1981 Palm Springs Museum, Palm Springs, California

1979 Gold & Silver Medal, Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

1979 One-man show, Kennedy Galleries, New York

1977 One-man show, Kennedy Galleries, New York

1977 One-man show, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming

1976 One-man show, Kennedy Galleries, New York

PRIVATE AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:

The White House, Washington, D.C.

National Museum of Dubai

NuSkin International, Provo, Utah

Gulf States Paper Corporation, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Texas Commerce Bank, Houston

Anschutz Collection, Denver

Corning Museum, New York

Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming

Charlie Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana

William Middendorf, Washington, D.C.

Mack Pogue, Dallas

Sports Afield Magazine, New York

Burt Reynolds, Los Angeles

Hal Wallace, Los Angeles

Clint Eastwood, Carmel

Los Angeles Athletic Club, Los Angeles

Steven L. Rose, Los Angeles

Stan Kamen, Los Angeles

National Wildlife Art Museum, Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale, Missouri

Thomas S. Monson, Salt Lake City, Utah

Bill Kerr, Jackson Hole