Every fall, the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson holds an annual fund-raising show that gives art collectors a chance to rub shoulders with high-caliber wildlife artists.
Partygoers, dressed in everything from cocktail gowns to cowboy hats, are sipping drinks while admiring paintings and sculptures created by one hundred premiere wildlife artists. Bettina Whyte, a museum trustee, is among those admiring the art.
"I've been coming for many years. I can tell you the art, year after year after year after year has gotten better and better and better. And this is just incredible tonight," Whyte says.
Now in its 27th year, the annual show and sale continues to be an important fundraiser for the museum, according to the museum's Becky Kimmel.
"In the case of the sketches in the gallery, a lot of these artists don't do sketches for anybody else. So the fact that they're willing to do a sketch for us and donate 50 percent of their proceeds to the museum becomes a really important fund-raiser for the museum," Kimmel says.
Kimmel says about 60 of the one hundred artists are here, some traveling from as far away as Tanzania and the Netherlands.
"We are working very hard to bring the best wildlife artists in the world here to our community," Kimmel says.
Although the party's over, the show will be on view through September 21. You can also view the art and learn more about the artists online at westernvisions.org.
