AUGUST 2019 • WWW.SOUTHWESTART.COM 61representation
McLarry Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM; Coeur
d’Alene Galleries, Coeur d’Alene, ID;
Bozeman Trail Gallery, Sheridan, WY;
Dick Idol Signature Gallery, Whitefi sh,
MT; http://www.abigailgutting.com.upcoming show
Miniatures by the Lake, Coeur d’Alene
Galleries, September 22.cGave ’em Something to Talk About, oil, 24 x 36.
eMind Your Own Business, oil, 18 x 24.
A COWBOY LEANS against a fence,
holding a piece of paper, while a horse
props its head on his arm. The curious
equine pokes its nose over the cowboy’s
shoulder, as though the pair is reading
a letter together. In the painting MIND
YOUR OWN BUSINESS, Idaho-based art-
ist Abigail Gutting displays her passion
for telling stories about the contempo-
rary West. Her modern tales offer the
viewer visual slices of life, often with a
dash of wit.
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS is current-
ly on view at Coeur d’Alene Galleries in
Idaho, where gallery owner Buddy Le
has represented Gutting since 2013. Le
notes that the “tenderness and humor”
conveyed in MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS
is evidence of Gutting’s talent and sen-
sitivity. “She’s fantastic at capturing
the unique personalities and emotions
of her subject matter,” Le says. “I love
how she is able to take a simple moment
in time and evoke a variety of emotions
we can all relate to. Her paintings grab
your attention at fi rst glance, but then
your appreciation also grows as you no-
tice her tremendous brushwork.”
An array of four-legged creatures
populate Gutting’s canvases, but horses
often play the starring roles. Even in
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, where the
cowboy could become the focal point,
it’s the steed that steals the show, of-
fering a sweet, comedic touch. Gutting
says that anthropomorphism—impart-
ing human characteristics to animals—
is not a “dominant mindset” in her