GaryNiblett. (Photo courtesy of Carlsbad Museum)
‘Gary Niblett: His Life & Art’ coming to Carlsbad Museum
Over 50 pieces from famed New Mexico artist Gary Niblett, inluding works of his Western art, European paintings and for Hanna-Barbera Inc., are set to be exhibited at Carlsbad Museum from Nov. 5 through Feb. 4, 2023.
Gary Niblett: His Life & Art, an exhibit organized jointly by Niblett and Carlsbad Museum, opens with an artist reception Saturday, Nov. 5, from 4-7 p.m. Community members will have a chance to meet the artist and his wife and see his work in Carlsbad Museum. Food will be provided by HX Chuckwagon of Lubbock, with music by Niblett’s good friend Rhone Prather.
The exhibit is described as a retrospective of the Carlsbad native’s storied career. Along with his many Western and Native American works, it surveys his early days as a background artist on Scooby Doo, The Jetsons, and Charlotte’s Web for Hanna-Barbera Inc., as well as his subsequent works on European street scenes and his more recent New Mexico landscapes.
Born in 1943, Niblett spent his childhood immersed in the outdoors of the American West, and while in high school, area ranchers paid him to paint portraits of their horses.
He attended Eastern New Mexico University before moving to Los Angeles and enrolling in the ArtCenter School. He soon landed a job with Hanna-Barbera Inc., where he “developed his skills and knowledge of lighting and color as well as design and composition,” according to the Museum. He left the studio in 1973 and returned to New Mexico to focus on Western art, where he started to gain national recognition.
Niblett was invited to join the Cowboy Artists of America in 1976, then the next year was the CAA Silver Medal for Oil with his his paining “Gold Fever.” He would go on to win multiple awards over the coming decades and his works were exhibited internationally.
“Gary has also been selected to be a member of Carlsbad’s Hall of Fame, and his induction ceremony will be held in January,” Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway stated in his blog. “He’s another outstanding Carlsbad citizen and is well deserving of the Hall of Fame.”
