Cottonwood Falls, Kan. – Every year, Symphony in the Flint Hills hosts a juried Prairie Art Exhibition that showcases the work of artists who capture the beauty of the Flint Hills. The 2016 Prairie Art winner is Virginia Grass Simmons of Wichita for her painting, Flint Hills Glory.
“The scene depicted in Flint Hills Glory struck me as I came upon the wide expansion of rolling prairie dotted with cattle in the distance,” said Simmons. “This scene included some of the many characteristics that make our Flint Hills so breathtaking.”
This year, 83 entries were submitted for the Prairie Art Exhibition and 42 paintings were selected. The work was co-juried by Dr. Stephanie Knappe and Issac Logsdon, curators of American Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
“Simmons’ painting … swiftly and fully transported me from a darkened, windowless basement conference room to the glory of the Flint Hills – that most moving and most thoroughly ‘Kansas’ of places – precisely where I longed to be,” said Juror Dr. Stephanie Knappe.
Flint Hills Glory isavailable as a limited edition commemorative print and can be purchased at the Symphony in the Flint Hills store in Cottonwood Falls, online store and the Signature Event on June 11.
The 2016 Prairie Art Exhibit will be on display at the Symphony in the Flint Hills Gallery — 331 Broadway in Cottonwood Falls — through June 1 and auctioned at the Signature Event on June 11. For more information, or to purchase tickets to the 2016 Symphony in the Flint Hills Signature Event, call 620-273-8955.