Out & About: The Westmoreland spotlights young Native American artists

Though some of us might think we peaked as teenagers, not many of us created art that would be collected by a prestigious museum and then included in an exhibit traveling to other art institutions around the country.

Such is the case with “Action/Abstraction Redefined: Modern Native Art, 1945-75,” showing through May 28 at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg.

Guests at a Feb. 25 reception got the first look at the show, featuring works by 32 artists, many of whom were Native teens studying at an art high school in Santa Fe, N.M.

The school became the Institute of American Indian Arts, a public tribal land-grant college that also houses the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.

The exhibit includes works by artists as young as 15, along with those by their instructors.

“It’s amazing to know how young some of these artists were,” said Kitty Hricenak, a member of the Committee for The Westmoreland, who was perusing the gallery with Doug Evans, director of collections and exhibit management.

Eric Widing, deputy chairman of the world-renowned art auction house, Christie’s America, was familiar with some of the featured artists and intrigued to learn more about the others. He was accompanied by his wife, Laurie, a member of the museum’s collections committee.

Guests queued at the bar to sample a bourbon blackberry smash or mead martini, the evening’s signature drinks created — and taste-tested beforehand — by museum staff. Elegant Catering provided light bites.

The Mojo Makers, a three-piece classic rock/folk/country group from Greensburg, entertained in the community room.

Members of the museum’s leadership team, including Jeremiah William McCarthy, Suzanne Wright, Rhonda Madden, Erica Nuckles and Claire Ertl, mingled with the crowd.

Seen: Barbara Jones, Brendan and Natalie Kelley, George and Linda Austin, Linda Blum, Pamela Cooper, Natalie Kasievich, Dan Moore, Gene and Barbara Kravits, Chuck and Sally Loughran, Sally Ann Novak, Mark and Kaaren Tintori, Richard and Eileen Stoner, Stuart and Nora Thompson, Lisa Nativio, Marcy Stein, Bob Errett, Mike and Maddy Rolla, Suzan Gingery, Barbara Bonnet, Jim and Karen O’Connor, Alice Troy, Mac and Merriann Grant and Paul and Alison Oehler.