Donna Howell-Sickles (Texas, b. 1949), "Buckskins", mixed media on paper, with original gallery tag from Meyers Gallery (Santa Fe, New Mexico)

sight: 15 x 11 in., frame: 20 x 16  in.

Provenance: Property from a home in Bryan, Texas

Donna Howell-Sickles is a Western artist best known for her distinctive, empowered cowgirl figures, a subject she began exploring in the 1970s after encountering a vintage postcard depicting a cowgirl of the Southwest. Her work reimagines the historical women of Wild West shows and rodeo culture, creating a generalized Western persona that emphasizes independence, confidence, and joy rather than specific individual identities. Working in mixed-media paintings on paper and oils on canvas, Howell-Sickles employs stylized forms and bold, graphic color combinations, particularly blues, whites, and grays accented with red, black, and turquoise. Her work has been exhibited and collected by major Western institutions including the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, the Tucson Museum of Art, and the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, and she has been featured in publications including Southwest Art and American Cowboy Magazine.