Nicholas Coleman

Nicholas Coleman was born in Provo, Utah in 1978. Nicholas Coleman’s work emphasizes the key elements of a good story: scene, structure, event and plot. Every intentional brush stroke builds a story that evokes the common narrative of struggle, fortitude, and resiliency through both characters and the characterization. His romantic paintings inspire his audience to join his mission to preserve the fading heritage of the American West. Much of this is a result of his upbringing under his father, famed Western American artist Michael Coleman. 

Western American Art has long defied categories and stylistic borders. Pioneering artists, shunned by traditional galleries, ripped assorted styles from classical works and artists. Yet these artists deviated from the usual classical subjects of delicate kings and queens or religious dogma; they were deemed rogues in their refusal to depict a natural world tamed by human hands. Many of the earlier artists in this genre applied impressionism, realism and expressionism to rougher motifs deemed unfit for white-gloved parlors and salons: rugged trail-breakers, fearless explorers, weary cowboys, wild game hunters, Native American warriors, contested ancestral lands and the ancient cultures who roamed their expansive landscapes. Western American art, throughout all its pivotal movements, guides the observer from a mere subject to a sense of wild places and wild people far outside of modern society.

Yet Western art continues its struggle to take its rightful place among mainstream audiences and the celebrated gallery walls long held hostage by curators and critics who evade both its artists and their work. For modern Western artist Nicholas Coleman, this culture clash serves as an appealing element that draws in an audience eager to trade modern life and art for wild landscapes. It’s a source of inspiration that leads him to cast Western American art with a wider lens. His work emboldens free-spirited imagination, while his cultural outreach encourages his followers to experience the West for themselves. This desire to push his audience to explore the raw landscapes in their own lives emanates from his core belief that those who cherish Western landscapes will, in turn, come to protect them. Nicholas Coleman is known for his efforts to increase access to America’s wild places, but accessibility to art is a recurring theme in his approach to his clientele as well. 

Studied: Brigham Young University, UT; 2000-2002, BA in Fine Arts

Books:

• 2005  Michael Duty and Susan Deats, Western Traditions – Contemporary Artist of the American West, Fresco Fine Art Publications, 279 pages (color)
• 2009  Nicholas Coleman – Author and Illustrator, In the North Woods (children’s book), Sunstone Press, 42 Pages (color)
• 2009 Jackson Stone — Illustrator — Six Guns and Scalping Knives: Short stories of the Old West
• 2010  George Lucas and J.W. Rinzler, Star Wars Art : Visions, Abrams Books, 223 Pages (color)
• 2015  Donna and James Poulton, Painters of Grand Teton National Park; Gibbs Smith, 288 Pages (color)

Museum & Private Collections:

• Anshutz Collection, Denver, Colorado.
• Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, Vermont.
• Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin.
• George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd.
• Christopher Forbes, Forbes, New York, New York.
• Raymond James Financial Center, Clearwater, Florida.
• Adirondack Museum, Blue Mountain Lake, New York.
• Bass Pro Shops, Springfield ,Missouri. 
• Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, Georgia.
• Top of the Mountain Motorcycle Museum, Tirol, Austia.
• Eat Dust Clothing, Antwerp, Belgium.
• El Solitario MC, Galicia, Spain.
• Blue Blanket Jeans, Lanciano, Italy.
• Schott, Tokyo, Japan.
• Bobby Green, 1933 Group, Los Angeles, CA.

Exhibition Record (Museums, Institutions and Awards):

• 2003 Top 100 Arts for the Parks, Jackson Hole, WY.
• 2003 Bennington Center for the Arts, Art of the Animal Kingdom, Bennington ,VT.
• *(Award of Merit for Wildlife.)
• 2006 Bennington Center for the Arts-Art of the Animal Kingdom, Bennington, VT.
• 2017 Bennington Center for the Arts-Art of the Animal Kingdom, Bennington, VT.
• 2006, 2009, 2020 Leigh Yawkey Birds in Art, Wausau, WI.
• 2008-2013 Masters of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA.
• 2019-2023 Masters of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA.
• 2007-2009 Gilcrease Musuem, American Art In Miniature Show, Tulsa, OK.
• 2020 Great Works Small Wonders Show, Nat'l Cowboy Hall of Fame, OK.
• 2009-2011 Coors Western Art Show, Denver CO.
• 2009-2023 Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale, Cody, WY.
• 2023 Spirit of the West Award, Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale, Cody, WY.
• 2009-2016, 2020,2023  C.M. Russell Museum Show and Sale, Great Falls, MT.
• 2013-2023 Briscoe Country Western Art Museum, San Antonio, TX.
• 2021-23 Western Visions, Wildlife Museum, Jackson, WY.
• 2015 Briscoe Country Western Art Museum *(Artist Choice Award for ‘Come and Take It.’) San Antonio, TX.
• 2014 Wheels and Waves Show and Exhibition, Biarritz, France.
• 2016 Wheels and Waves Show and Exhibition, Biarritz, France.
• 2017 Wheels and Waves Show and Exhibition, Cayucos, CA.
• 2015 Arc International Salon, Award of Merit* 
• 2023 Arc International Salon, Award of Merit -Landscape*
• 2016 Arc International Salon, Director’s Award* 1st Place Landscape Painting*
• 2015 Star Wars Visions, Special Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan.
• 2015 Clutch Show, Yokohama, Japan.
• 2015 BOLT - One Man Show - Hackney, London, UK.
• 2017 BOLT - One Man Show - Hackney, London, UK.
• 2016 American Masters - Salmagundi Club, New York, NY.
• 2016 Motorcycle Studies Conference (IJMS) and Motorcycle Cultures Exhibition  - Chelsea College of Arts - London, UK.