Under Western Skies:
The Halladay Collection

Under Western Skies: The Halladay Collection

October 3rd, 2026 - March 20th, 2026

Images of the sensationalized Wild West from the late nineteenth century were populated by reckless outlaws and rugged cowboys. However, for many Western artists, it is the landscape—from quiet mountain groves to dramatic cliffsides—that are the monumental and enduring figures of the West. These settings reward those willing to invest the time and effort to experience them and offer a bounty of views with the changing of seasons and light. 

Under Western Skies: The Halladay Collection highlights both the subtle and sublime aspects of the western landscape. Artists in the collection, notably John Hafen, LeConte Stewart, Maynard Dixon, and Birger Sandzén, were dedicated to experiencing the West firsthand, often undertaking extensive journeys to observe its distinctive landscapes by horseback, pack animal, railcar, and foot. These artists celebrated the simplicity of the West’s quiet rural towns, dirt roads, and slanting fences just as much as its dramatic wide-open fields and canyon vistas. The works in this exhibition span a century of experience and were made with different approaches, mediums, and techniques. What unites these pieces are the artists’ persistent efforts to explore and record their personal connections to landscape, under the same western sky.