Cody: Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale Ropes In $1.17 Million
Written by Andrew-Rossi on September 23, 2021
It was quite literally a million-dollar affair, as this year’s annual Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale brought business and big bucks to Cody once again.
The 40th Annual Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale can be called a resounding and artistic success, despite COVID-19. The most significant off-season event in Cody continued its year-after-year trend of “art thru adversity” that has put the community on the map as one of the best small-town art scenes in the nation.
Last year’s event was highly restricted due to the initial surge of COVID-19. Most notably, the large “tent event” where the auction occurs was largely empty due to social distancing.
This year, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West canceled their Patrons’ Ball for the second consecutive year. Luckily, that didn’t stop the momentum of the 2021 Rendezvous Royale and the annual art auction.
Courtesy Rendezvous Royale
By the time the gavel dropped on the last pieces of artwork, more than $1,178,000.00 worth of art was sold during the 40th annual Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale.
Pieces were sold online with the LiveAuctioneers platform through phone bidding and in-person bidding at the 15,000 square foot tent. The Live Auction’s highest-selling work went to Tucker Smith for his iconic mountain sheep entitled “Glacier Carved,” which sold for $65,000.
Overall, the art show – produced by the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce – generated more than $1.5 million in gross revenue. While in-person attendance was limited, hundreds of patrons, artists, and community members were able to enjoy the entire week of art-related events throughout the week culminating with the annual Quick Draw on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 18, and the auction later that evening.
The Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale benefits the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. This year’s event was held in conjunction with By Western Hands’ exhibit for Western Functional Art during our annual weeklong celebration of the arts known as Rendezvous Royale.
In recent years, the Royale and the sale have become the most important and successful “shoulder season” events in the Bighorn Basin.
Rendezvous Royale has tremendous value to the Chamber, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, and the community. Hundreds of people come to Cody each year to participate, either as artists or bidders.
Tina Hoebelheinrich, CEO of the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce, offered the highest praise to the team at the Chamber and our partners at the Center of the West.
“We truly could not have pulled this off if not for the tenacity and dedication of the best art show director in the West, Kathy Thompson, the volunteers who came from Nevada, Utah, and Washington to participate as well as the loyal volunteers from Cody who show up year after year. Workforce became an issue for our tent and food vendors, so a tremendous thank you to the Facilities Team at the Center of the West who never rested and helped us overcome every challenge.”
The Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale is a fine art sale with a contemporary Western theme, offering works relating to the land, people, and wildlife of the American West. Artists offer a broad range of stylistic interpretations of the West in oil painting, watercolor, pastel, sculpture, ceramic and mixed media. All works are original art.
Pieces are still available for purchase – check out rendezvousroyale.org for available works.
