2022 Prix de West Collector's Bolo: Golden Wings by Gerald Balciar

Prix de West Artist Gerald Balciar and the National Cowboy Museum have long shared a close relationship. 2022 was the Colorado artist’s 40th year participating in Prix de West, including in 1985, when Balciar was awarded the Prix de West Purchase Award for his sculpture River Companions. And in 1995, Balciar gifted the Museum the 15-foot, 8-ton
marble sculpture Canyon Princess — which has since stood watch over the West Wing of the National Cowboy Museum.

Indeed, Balciar was an obvious choice to design the collectors’ bolo for the 50th Prix de West celebration. Since 1986, an artist has been chosen annually to produce a design for that year’s Prix de West collectors’ bolo. Balciar himself had the honor of designing three previous collectors’ bolos. These include a depiction of an otter, called Water Sport, in
1989; his monumental Canyon Princess reimagined in bolo form in 1996; and in 2007 a bolo with the state bird of Oklahoma, the scissortailed-flycatcher, depicted in silver in honor of the state’s 100-year anniversary.

Balciar felt honored when asked to design the 2022 bolo for Prix de West. “It took two seconds to answer yes,” he said. “Then, when told it would be for the 50th celebration of the show, I immediately thought ‘golden’,” as in golden celebration … and golden eagle.

“My inspiration for the bolo comes from an image stuck in my memory of a golden eagle I saw at about 13,500 feet while I was climbing Mount Lindsey,” Balciar said, referring to a 14,000-foot mountain peak in Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains. “I was on a rock cliff when the eagle soared under me about 30 to 40 feet away.”

Thus, the inspiration for Balciar’s Golden Wings, the 2022 collectors’ bolo celebrating the golden anniversary of America’s premier Western art exhibition and sale, planted itself in the artist’s mind. Later, like many of the works of painting and sculpture found in Prix de West, this long-dormant idea would be culled from the artist’s mind and given life in physical form — a single moment representing the profound beauty and natural perfection of the American West.

The Collectors' Bolo tradition began in 1986.

Add to your collection of our Prix de West bolos or start your collection today! These bolos are replicas of the original artwork. Each bolo comes with a braided horsehair bolo tie.

Discounts are not available for this item.