Scottsdale Artist Kenneth Freeman Receives the Arizona Art Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award

Freeman, known as the Rembrandt of the Rodeo, was the illustrator for Louis L'Amour and other authors...Freeman are in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum, Library of Congress, American Art Academy, and Booth Museum as well as distinguished private collections. Oil on Canvas - Ken Freeman's most famous painting Art Alliance Gallery - Fine Art Scottsdale, AZ (Vocus) November 29, 2010 The big awards for Kenneth M. Freeman chronicle the importance of this Scottsdale, AZ-based artist...Freeman, the cowboy hat and boots was not a gimmick or shtick...Ken Freeman may have grown up in a traditional Jewish home in Chicago, Illinois but make no mistake he was a cowboy...Freeman was the featured artist for the Art Alliance Art Show that was held at the Scottsdale Civic Center. Fine Art" located at the Scottsdale Pavilions Shopping Center. John Fontana, founder and chairman of the board for the Arizona Art Alliance spoke recently about Freeman...Having a successful artist, with a recognizable name that Ken Freeman had, set an example through his talent and quality of work...Ken was always generous with his time and advice, sharing his experience with members of the Art Alliance. He had a wonderful wry sense of humor, a larger-than-life persona, and was very proud to be called a Jewish Cowboy. Ken painted each piece three times, said Bonnie Adams, the curator of The Kenneth M...First Ken sketched on the canvas or board with pencil and then did a full value, burnt umber painting where he worked out all the values and final composition...Adams adds, This was the style of the old masters and members of the press dubbed Ken Freeman The Rembrandt of the Rodeo. Ken was a graduate of the American Academy of Art in Chicago ( http://www.aaart.edu ). He began taking classes at the American Academy of Art in the summer of 1950 at the age of 15. He won a scholarship to the school from the Latham Foundation...Of all the artists from the Academy I've met over the years, Ken really stood out as one of a kind, said Aron Gagliardo of the American Academy of Art. Ken's old masters' technique was very time consuming but the outcome is extraordinary. It is the only way to achieve the depth of colors and warm layers of content that will pass the test of time. This painting technique will last for hundreds of years, said Edward Holmes, president of Western Artists of America whose organization presented Freeman with a Lifetime Achievement Award, hereafter named the Freeman Lifetime Achievement Award. Save the Date: Date: December 4, 2010 Time: 6-9 PM Presentation of Award 8 PM The Arizona Art Alliance Gallery The Scottsdale Pavilions 9011 E. Indian Bend, Suite E-1 (next to Sports Authority), Scottsdale, AZ Contact: 602.503.1686 Recent Kenneth M. Freeman Awards of Excellence: Lifetime Achievement Award from Western Artists of America (Jan. 2010) Western Heritage Award from Parada del Sol Rodeo (March 2010) Cowboy Spirit Award from the National Festival of the West (March 2010) Special Award from the World's Oldest Rodeo Prescott, AZ (July 2010) Arizona Art Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award Scottsdale, AZ (December 2010) Kenneth M. Freeman Legacy Museum Exhibition Schedule: Two collections are traveling retrospectives of the late Kenneth M...Artist at Work and Portraits of the West present a cross-section of Freeman's lifetime body of work and range of mediums. In 2010, the exhibitions have been shown at The Booth Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum, and at The Phippen Museum in Prescott, AZ. A selection from Artist At Work can now be seen at Wickenburg, AZ's Desert Caballeros Western Museum through February 2011. Another selection of Freeman masterpieces will be on display at The Pearce Museum in Corsicana, TX in January/February 2011 with the 7th Annual Show and Sale of Western Artists of America.