Exhibition of Wally Cuchine Art Collection

Saint Mary's Art Center
55 North R Street
Virginia City 89440

An exhibition of selected works from the Wally Cuchine Art Collection will be at the Saint Mary's Art Center from May 1 – June 19, 2011. The public is cordially invited for the reception for the collector, Saturday, May 14, 4 - 6pm. The Center is open to the public Fridays through Sundays, 11am to 4pm.

Wally arguably owns largest individual collection of work by Nevada artists, now with more than 1,000 pieces, in the state. The exhibition includes a selection of work from the collection including pieces by Ron Arthaud, Robert Caples, Larry Jacox, Jean LeGassick, Jim McCormick, Marilyn Melton, Jeff Nicholson, Craig Sheppard, and Sidne Teske.

This spring, Wally recently received the Judith Winzeler Award for Excellence in the Humanities and a Governor's Arts Award for Leadership in the Arts. He was awarded a Tourism Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nevada Commission on Tourism in 2010 and was named a Distinguished Nevadan by the Nevada system of Higher Education in 2006 for advancing the cultural well being of Nevadans.

Wally recently retired as Director of the Eureka Opera House and Eureka Sentinel Museum and Director of Cultural Tourism and Economic Development in Eureka County. In these roles he regularly brought music, poetry, theater, and literary events to Eureka County. He also created a permanent art collection of work by Nevada artists for Eureka County that is on permanent exhibition at the Eureka Opera House.

[text and photograph of Mr. Cuchine from the St. Mary’s Art Center press release]