Ucross Gala To Feature 10 Artists From The West

On September 3, Ucross Foundation announced the 10 contemporary Western artists who will be featured in the Ucross Gala on Thursday, September 24, in support of its acclaimed artist residency program, art gallery and 20,000-acre ranch. The festivities will honor Ucross Trustee Naoma Tate of Cody, Wyoming, with the Outstanding Patron of the Arts Award.

Held in the heart of Ucross, the evening will begin with a cocktail reception during which Ucross Fellow Tracy Stuckey, a Western painter from Fort Collins, Colorado, will finish a painting live that will be later be auctioned off.

Guests may also peruse a curated silent auction with works by Ucross Fellows David Brock of Sheridan, Wyoming; Sandra Harris of Hardin, Montana; Adrianna Hinds of Cheyenne, Wyoming; Martin John Garhart of Powell, Wyoming; Susan Moldenhauer of Laramie, Wyoming; Sue Sommers of Pinedale, Wyoming, and Mark Spragg of Red Lodge, Montana; all of whom generously donated their work for this cause. The silent auction will also include a painting by the acclaimed Theodore Waddell, donated by Ucross Fellow and Trustee Arin Waddell and John Heyneman, and a hand-crafted Apsáalooke belt.

Guests will then enjoy dinner in a heated tent with a performance by Ucross Fellow Jesse Blake Rundle, a singer-songwriter from Boise, Idaho.

Attendees may further support Ucross during the evening’s live auction by raising their paddles for Stuckey’s painting, a weekend at Ucross, a guided Ucross trip to New York City in November 2026, a Ucross dinner for 10, a guided Ucross trip to the Sundance Film Festival in January 2027 and a sourdough workshop hosted by Ucross Chef Jackie Vitale.

Finally, the festivities will culminate in the awards ceremony honoring Tate for her generosity, leadership and unwavering commitment to the arts. Tate serves on the Boards of Ucross Foundation and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, as well as the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming. In addition, she is on the National Board of the Smithsonian, Smithsonian Natural History Museum Gemology Board, Utah Symphony | Utah Opera, National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA, Leakey Foundation and Berkeley Geochronology Center. Tate is a proud member of the Utah and Wyoming Westerners, the Utah Daughters of the Pioneers, Daughters of the American Revolution and American Friends of the Louvre.

Artist Gary Staab will introduce Tate, who led the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History celebration of the American bison earlier this year. Three larger-than-life bronze bison statues, made by Staab, undertook a week-long, cross-country journey from Colorado to their permanent home at the entrance of the Smithsonian on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

All funds raised before and during the Ucross Gala will support residency time for 150-plus artists each year, continued investment in community engagement activities and responsible stewardship of Ucross’s historic ranch. Each ticket and table will help Ucross remain a meaningful and relevant resource for artists, the community and the state of Wyoming.

Details and reservations for the Ucross Gala are available at ucross.org or by calling 307-737-2291.

About The Artists – Jesse Blake Rundle, a composer, songwriter and producer based in Boise, Idaho, will perform live during the Ucross Gala. Since 2020, he has released four albums blending folk songwriting with intricate, classically influenced arrangements. In his work, he explores identity, longing and transformation. His latest album, “WAIT, SKY,” was funded in part by the Alexa Rose Foundation and supported by residencies. When he is not on stage, he runs Mixed Metaphor Studios, producing records for regional artists and leading songwriting workshops. Rundle was in residence at Ucross in Spring 2026.

David Brock is the painting and drawing professor at Sheridan College. He graduated from University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing and received a Master of Fine Arts in 2D Studies from Bowling Green State University. Previously, he taught in the University of Wisconsin and the Bowling Green State University art departments. He has also been the Gallery Director of the Janet Carson Gallery at the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center. Brock has lived and traveled around the globe and now resides in a 1960s ranch house with his family at the foot of the Bighorn Mountains. Brock was in residence at Ucross in Fall 2021.

Raised in rural Iowa, Sandra Harris’s passion for painting people was kindled early. Her artist aunt introduced her to oil painting at age 11, and by 14 had painted her first commissioned portrait. As a young woman she followed her heart West, finding inspiration in the people, cultures and vast landscapes of Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. Harris was in residence at Ucross in Fall 2017.

Wyoming artist Adrianna Hinds uses multiple styles of weaving and basketmaking using naturally sourced items, American companies and repurposed items. Hinds aim to keep traditional Hispanic and American basketmaking alive while blending in newer techniques. Each piece is made with pure intent and positivity to serve a purpose, feeling or memory of the land. Hinds was in residence at Ucross in Spring 2026.

Martin John Garhart is a Professor of Art Emeritus from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he taught studio art for over 30 years. His works reside in over 40 institutions including The Brinton Museum, the British Museum, Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institute, as well as numerous private collections. He splits his time between his cabin studio in the Black Hills and his home studio in Powell, Wyoming. Garhart was in residence at Ucross in Fall 1993 and Spring 2002.

Susan Moldenhauer is a fine art photographer with a Master of Fine Arts from Penn State. She has a national exhibition record, is represented in numerous public collections and has self-published books. Her photographic work uses the landscape as a foundational element to explore light, shadow, time, place and the poetic symmetry of the moment. She previously worked at Penn State, Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville and the University of Wyoming Art Museum before retiring in 2017 to pursue her studio practice full-time. She co-founded Laramie Artists Project, Laramie Mural Project and the Laramie Public Art Coalition. In 2016 and 2023, she received Wyoming Arts Council Fellowships, and in 2017, her personal work and state-wide community achievements were recognized with a Wyoming Governor’s Arts Award. Moldenhauer was in residence at Ucross in Fall 2009 and Fall 2017.

Sue Sommers pursues printmaking, painting and mixed-media sculpture from her home on a cattle ranch in western Wyoming. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Wyoming. Her award-winning work is in public and private collections across the state. Sue participates in the Wyoming arts community as an artist, advocate, mentor, arts writer and donor. Sommers was in residence at Ucross in Fall 2022.

Mark Spragg lives in Wyoming with his wife Virginia and is the author of “Where Rivers Change Direction,” a memoir that won the 2000 Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers award, and the novels “The Fruit of Stone,” “An Unfinished Life” and “Bone Fire.” All four were top 10 Book Sense selections. Spragg’s work has been translated into fifteen languages. “An Unfinished Life” was chosen by the Rocky Mountain News as the Best Book of 2004 and was later adapted into a film starring Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Lopez, released in 2005. Spragg was in residence at Ucross in Fall 2018.

Gary Staab worked as a sculptor for seven years at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science before becoming a freelance artist in 1996. Since, he has worked for several notable clients, including the National Geographic Society, The Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and more. Staab’s work has been displayed in over 50 museums worldwide. In 2016, he was the focus of the PBS NOVA documentary “Iceman Reborn,” which chronicled his work to create a replica of the 5,300-year-old mummy known as Otzi the Iceman. A Fellow of the National Sculpture Society and The Explorers Club of New York, his accolades include being a five-time recipient of the Vertebrate Paleontology Award for Excellence in Paleontological Art, a three-time recipient of awards from The Society for Animal Artists and has received the silver medal from the National Sculpture Society.

The latest artist to be featured in the Big Red Showcase, Tracy Stuckey will be finishing a painting live during the Ucross Gala. Stuckey has exhibited his work extensively throughout the United States, with numerous solo and group exhibitions. He has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards. His work has been included New American Paintings, as well as several other publications. He lives with his wife and fellow artist, Erika Osborne, and their two children in Fort Collins, Colorado. As well as being a practicing artist, Stuckey has been a part-time instructor at several universities, where he has taught painting, drawing and other art classes. Stuckey was in residence at Ucross in Summer 2023.

Born in 1941 in Billings, Montana, painter, sculptor and rancher Theodore Waddell stands as one of the West’s most celebrated contemporary artists. His paintings and prints of landscapes with animals couple abstract expressionist technique with creatures — Black Angus cattle, horses and bison — that populate the high plains and mountain valleys of today’s ranching West. For more information go to ucrossfoundation.org

Artist’s photos courtesy of Ucross