June 4 - June 30
The Brinton Museum is proud to present Sandra Harris: Land & Legacy, an exhibition celebrating the artist’s evocative portraits and landscapes inspired by life in the American West. Harris, a former Brinton Artist-in-Residence, draws deeply from her Montana roots and the spirit of the land and people around her.
Opening Reception: June 8 | 2PM to 4PM
Sandra Harris
Raised in rural Iowa, Sandra’s passion for painting people was kindled early, painting her first commissioned portrait in oil at age 14. As a young woman she followed her heart West, finding inspiration in the people, cultures and vast landscapes of Colorado, Montana and Wyoming.
Without formal training, Sandra pursued artistic growth through perseverance and dedicated workshops with master artists Howard Terpning, Bettina Steinke, Rose Frantzen, David Leffel, Sherrie McGraw, Bob Wygant, Daniel Gerhartz and others. She was awarded artist residencies with The Brinton Museum, Jentel Artist Residency, Ucross Foundation and Tongue River Art Residency, enabling her to explore her passion for plein air landscape painting. Recently, her landscape and portrait paintings have received recognition with the PleinAir Salon and Oil Painters of America.
Sandra’s work is represented in many private and public collections, including the National Park Service, United States Air Force Academy, The Brinton Museum, Big Horn County Historical Museum and Western Heritage Center of Billings, Montana.
She makes her home with husband Shane in Big Horn County, Montana, the heart of Apsaalooke (Crow) country. There she finds vision and authenticity to celebrate the beauty of the human spirit and surrounding landscape.
Land and Legacy
a collection of portraits and plein air paintings by Sandra Harris
Something inward drives me to search for stories.
I’m drawn to people.
I want to hear stories of a well-lived life,
a legacy woven with beauty and brokenness.
I’m seduced by the land.
Immersed in the colors and smells of the seasons,
I’m captivated, awestruck, humbled by God’s creation.
I paint real people and real places, and we share a genuine connection.
That’s what gives my paintings life.
Inspiration flows as I discover what makes every person and place
unique and interesting. Everyone has a story that needs to be told.
Like my friend, the musician, whose hands have slowed their pace over time,
though music still dances and sings in his heart.
Like my friend, the wise Apsaalooke teacher, whose prayerful spirit
blesses, comforts and instructs generations to come.
Like my friend, the loving mother, who guides her children
with dignity and strength imparted by her mother and grandmothers.
Like my friend, the hardworking ranching woman, fearless and gentle,
a loving caretaker of horses and children and land.
Like the vast land and legacy of the Bighorn Mountains,
the deep canyons and forests, mountains and rivers, prairies and skies.
When I walk out into this beautiful land carrying my paint colors and a box of empty white panels,
I feel the presence and stories of the people who walked before me.
And immersed in the colors and smells of the seasons,
I’m captivated, awestruck, humbled by God’s creation.
And I return carrying a box of glorious skies and streams and hills,
wind-blown grasses and snow covered mountains.
“If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable,
those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.” – Rainer Maria Rilke.