Members of the Menlo Charity Horse Show Committee announced today that they had selected Sam Price, of San Francisco, to be the Official Artist for the 2010 event which will be a gala celebration of the show’s 40th year. Mr. Price’s collage, entitled “Jubilee” was the unanimous choice of the committee and will be featured on the event’s program, invitations, thank you notes, mugs, and website. Valued at $5,000.00, it will be auctioned off at the Friday night Sponsors’ Dinner which will be a tribute to Betsy Glikbarg of Atherton, the founder of the show, who stills serves as a Co-Chair of this nationally recognized, equestrian competition. “Jubilee” and other of Mr. Price’s works will be on display and for sale during the horse show.
A self-taught artist since childhood, Mr. Price says, “When I was young and could not afford to buy paints, I turned to cutting up magazines and newspapers and gluing them to a canvas. One of my earliest passions was photography, and now the starting point of my work invariably begins with photography. My portraits are created by cutting and assembling a number of scraps (primarily from recycled magazines) onto a canvas which houses the original photograph. They are then fixed onto the canvas with glue emulsion. This process can be defined as collage, or more specifically, photo montage.” Each piece of paper, picked meticulously for its color and shape, is cut by hand, and placed individually onto the working surface. The artist estimates that there are approximately 1,700 small pieces which make up the entire canvas of “Jubilee.”
Mr. Price is a lover of all animals. He and his wife, Leah own “2 spoiled cats” and a dog, named Buster. Buster, the artist’s constant companion, has been the focus of many of his previous works. His early works featured dog and cat portraits, but recently he has branched out to the creation of portraits of horses. “Horse portraiture is really a new challenge,” he says. “It has such a rich history and wide range of subject matter; horses are so large and still have so much personality.”
For the last 8 years, Mr. Price has been supporting his art career working at a Surgery Center in the Bay Area. He also volunteers at UCSF hospital. Coming from a family that has been involved in medical careers, he is in the final stages of applying to nursing school.
Betsy Glikbarg says, “We are very excited to welcome this unique artist to the roster of past “Official Artists.” LeRoy Neiman was the very first individual to hold this title, so Sam has joined a select club, the members of which are among the very best of sports artists.”
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This year’s Menlo Charity Horse Show, named “One of the Best Horse Shows in North America,” by the national membership of Phelps Media Group International in 2008, has been nominated for a “ Heritage Show” designation by the U.S. Equestrian Federation (the ruling body for American horse shows). It will take place August 10th through August 15th at the Menlo Circus Club, 190 Park Lane, in Atherton. Over 600 of the West Coast’s top horses and riders are expected to compete in Olympic-style jumping events in 3 on-going arenas, two of which are situated on the grass of the polo field.
Once again the event will benefit Vista Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired in Palo Alto. In 2009, the center served thousands of clients in San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties. Through the years, the horse show has raised millions of dollars for the Center, Last year’s show, despite the faltering economy, raised $420,000 for Vista Center, which is dedicated to the premise of “enabling clients to achieve their highest potential through programs that promote independence and improve the quality of life.”
For further information, please visit: www.menlohorseshow.com , or telephone: 650-701-0543
To view the entirety of Sam Price’s work, go to: www.sampriceart.com
