We are pleased to share that Maxwell Alexander Gallery represented and facilitated the sale of Maynard Dixon’s Cloud World to The Petrie Institute of Western American Art at the Denver Art Museum.
From the outset, our intention was to help place this painting into a public institution, where it could be studied, contextualized, and experienced by a wide audience over time. Cloud World holds a central place in Dixon’s career and in the development of Western Regionalism. In our view, it is the most important painting ever created within the genre of the West.
Cloud World elevated Dixon from a Western Regionalist to an American Modernist.
Beau Alexander from Maxwell Alexander Gallery presenting Cloud World to its future new owners in a super secret location - this is before the much needed re-frame.
Maynard Dixon “Cloud World” Oil 34” x 62” 1925
For Dixon, this painting marked a transition away from narrative driven imagery toward a more considered focus on composition and atmosphere. The expansive sky and simplified landscape reflect his shift toward the modern sensibilities for which he would later become best known. The openness of the desert offered him a way to distill form, light, and space to their core elements.
This approach signaled a broader shift within American art, moving from illustrative interpretations of the West toward a more modern visual language. Cloud World stands at that point of transition, helping redefine how the West could be depicted.
We are especially grateful to the late Don Hagerty, whose knowledge was essential in reconstructing the painting’s history. Don assisted in locating ownership provenance and exhibition records, bringing clarity to a work that had spent much of its life outside of public view. Don once noted in our conversations, Cloud World was “the most famous painting that was seen the least [publicly].”
During our review, an original exhibition sticker was found on the back of the painting, confirming its inclusion in exhibitions alongside artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Marsden Hartley at the Museum of Modern Art. This detail offered a tangible link to the painting’s early public life and its place within the broader conversation of American modernism. A Maxwell Alexander Gallery label can now be found on the back as well.
Following a necessary frame change (as the original frame was discarded by previous owners) Cloud World is now on view at the Denver Art Museum. The painting currently greets visitors as the first work encountered when entering the Petrie Institute of Western American Art floor, reintroducing it to the public in a powerful way.
Maxwell Alexander Gallery label on Verso of Cloud World by Maynard Dixon
We would like to acknowledge the vision and dedication of JR Henneman, Curator of the Petrie Institute of Western American Art, and Christoph Heinrich, Director of the Denver Art Museum. Their commitment and careful work were instrumental in making this acquisition possible. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Trustees of the Denver Art Museum, whose dedication to the institution made this acquisition possible.
The acquisition of Cloud World further reinforces the Petrie Institute’s standing as one of the most significant repositories of Western Regionalist art in the nation.
It was an honor for us to represent Cloud World and to take part in placing this painting into a public collection.
As always, if you have an important painting in your collection that you are considering selling, please contact us. We have clients at all levels of collecting who are eager to acquire significant works for both private and public collections. info@MaxwellAlexanderGallery.com or 213-275-1060
Image shown: Maynard Dixon “Cloud World” Oil 34” x 62” 1925
