Date(s): 9/10/2009 All Day

Widely recognized as one of the premier cultural events in the Rocky Mountain West, the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival is celebrating its Silver Anniversary! Thousands of art enthusiasts are drawn each year to experience the diverse artwork and breathtaking natural surroundings that make Jackson Hole a leading cultural center. The 2009 Festival will take place September 10-20. Experience the world-class installments of contemporary, culinary, landscape, Native American, wildlife, and Western, arts. Visitors will appreciate the works of nationally and internationally acclaimed artists along with an exceptional array of music, cowboy poetry and cuisine. More than fifty events round out our eleven-day festival.

2009 Featured Artist Tom Gilleon

Tom Gilleon's grandfather immigrated to the United States from Scotland, His grandmother, a full-blooded Cherokee, was descended from a band of tribal members who refused to partake in the infamous Trail of Tears. During the early 1960s, he joined the Navy and when he got out he started working at Cape Kennedy, in a contract for the Pan-Am Corporation, as an illustrator. Later, he moved to California with a team of illustrators to work at Disney's Imagineering studio placed in charge of designing Epcot Center. After a move to Montana, he began showing work in galleries.

Starting with landscapes then progressing to the iconic images of the American West, he is now recognized as one of the leading figures in the Western Contemporary genre. Gilleon's connections to the aboriginal inhabitants of this continent, echoing throughout his work, are real. Gilleon himself has slept inside the teepee rings, sat, meditated and sketched within the circles, reflecting on the stories of his grandmother.

Gilleon says, "Simplicity is a key to fine art. By eliminating all the unnecessary elements and being as direct as possible, an artist has the opportunity to tell a story and to guide the viewers eye and emotions."

View Tom Gilleon's Artwork.