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, Wyoming

Ian Cumming, Leucadia Corporation, Salt Lake City

John Huntsman, Huntsman Chemical Company, Salt Lake City

Canadian Embassy

Leaning Tree Museum, Colorado

Long Grass Prairie Preserve, Oklahoma

Wells Fargo, Provo, UT

Thomas S. Monson, Salt Lake City, Utah

Christopher Forbes

COMMISSIONS:

1995    National Wildlife Art Museum, Jackson, Wyoming

1985    Boone and Crockett Club, Brown Bear Conservation Stamp

1986    Alaskan Professional Hunters Association, Grizzly Stamp

1987    Alaskan Professional Hunters Association

            Hyatt Regency, Aspen, Colorado

            Leaning Tree Museum, Colorado

FILMS:

The Romantic Western Landscape of Michael Coleman, Ian Mandan producer

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

2009    A Wing and A Prayer, Western Art Collector, July

2009    Under Eagles’ Wings: The Art of Michael Coleman, by Peter Hassrick, published by Coleman

            Studios.

2008    A Family of Art: The Colemans, Western Art Collector, July

2008    Illuminations: Michael Coleman, Western Art & Architecture, Summer/Fall

2003    New Horizons, Michael Coleman Pushes His Envelope, by Rebecca H. Rowland, Wildlife Art,

            March/April

2002    Drawn to Yellowstone: Artists in America’s First National Park, Peter H. Hassrick, Autry

            Museum of Western Heritage in association with University of Washington Press

1999    Masters for the new Millenium (The Important and Enduring Work of America’s Twelve

            Most Compelling Artists), Art of the West, November/December (12th Anniversary Issue)

1998    Artists to Watch in ‘99, U.S. Art, December

1996    Salt Lake City, November/December

1995    Southwest Art, Commemorative Edition, Covering The West: The Best of Southwest Art,

            July

1992    Art of the West, March/April

1992    Salt Lake City, January

1990    WildLife Art, November/December

1990    Top Ten Investments For the 90’s, USA Today

1988    Sporting Classics, May/June

1987    Southwest Art, November

1987    Sports Afield, October

1985    Grays Sporting Journal, Summer

1984    American Way, May

1984    Sports Afield, July

1984    Southwest Art, January - Cover

1983    Sports Afield, April

1978    Rocky Mountain Magazine

1977    Southwest Art, February

1976    Ten American Landscape Artists and How They Work, edited by Susan Meyer, published by

            Watson Guptill

1975    American Artist, January, Western Art

GALLERY REPRESENTATIONS:

Legacy Galleries, Jackson, Wyoming

J.N. Bartfield Galleries, New York, New York

LIMITED EDITION PUBLISHER:

Coleman Studios, LLC.,

117 N. University Ave

Provo, UT 84601

PH:   801-225-5766

www.colemanart.com