Honoring the Founder
The Mountain Oyster Club honors its late founder at its 49th annual show in Tucson on November 18.
The 49th annual Mountain Oyster Club Contemporary Western Art Show and Sale returns to Tucson, Arizona, on November 18, when more than 200 local and nationally known Western artists will exhibit work at the historic Pond Mansion, home of the Mountain Oyster Club.
This year’s sale will honor the show’s founder, John K. Goodman, who died on April
16 at the age of 97. Not only was Goodman responsible for organizing and promoting the show, he also helped select many of the artists, including oil and watercolor painter John Fawcett, who got his start at a Mountain Oyster show.
This year’s exhibition will take place November 18, from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 and must be purchased in advance. Admission is limited and the show often sells out, so early ticket purchases are encouraged.
Mountain oysters is another name for bull testicles, a Western delicacy depending on who you talk to. The name, like the group itself, has a rich and colorful history. “There are many colorful stories of how the Mountain Oyster Club came to be,” the group’s website says. “There is probably a thread of truth in most of them. The most common versions say that it was begun by a group of cowboys, playboys, ranchers, polo players, racehorse types, and others whose unacceptable behavior had gotten them thrown out of all of the respectable establishments in Tucson. Whether the real reason for its creation was to give ranchers and their wives a place in town where they could feel at home in their boots and Levi’s and shoot out the lights without offending the rest of the membership or some other less interesting purpose, we know it began in 1948.”
Artists in this year’s sale include Fawcett, Tim Cox, William Suys, Frederick Hambly, Barbara Hill, Lawrence Lee and many others. More than 350 works will be available for purchase. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.mountainoysterclub.com.