Artist, Jan Mapes, Presented With Steel Dust Award
Jan Mapes of Kim, Colorado, won the prestigious Steel Dust Award at the 13th annual America’s Horse in Art Show & Sale on August 14 at the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum in Amarillo.
Mapes was recognized for her superior quality work for her bronze, titled, “Tribute.” Selected by a panel of judges, the award is based on the artistic merit of the entire body of work submitted to the show. Mapes received a specially designed plaque, and half-page advertisement in the magazine Art of the West, valued at $1,780, courtesy of Art of the West.
Mapes discovered her love for horses and the outdoors at a young age on visits to her grandparents’ ranch. Through high school and college, her passion for horses and the western way of life grew. Horses became the subjects that filled her sketchbooks, but until she visited Santa Fe, New Mexico, on her honeymoon, she didn’t consider her art as anything more than a hobby. With encouragement from her horse trainer husband, Mapes developed her ability to express, first in clay and later in paint, the things that touched her heart.
For more than 30 years, Mapes has made her home in a rural ranch community, training her eye, honing her craft and working cattle.
Today, her work travels from her studio in southeastern Colorado across the United States, while her work for the National Cutting Horse Association takes her sculpture around the world.
America’s Horse in Art
The American Quarter Horse Foundation hosted an online auction on August 14 for the 2021 America’s Horse in Art Show & Sale. Pieces are still available to purchase through October 16. To purchase a piece to add to your collection, visit www.aqha.com/artshow. All purchased art work will remain on display at the Museum through the end of the exhibit.
For more information on the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum, visit www.aqha.com/museum.
AQHA News and information is a service of the American Quarter Horse Association. For more news and information, follow @AQHA on Twitter and visit www.aqha.com/news.
