Bunnell Artwork Featured In Lost City Museum Exhibit

By WESLIE STRATTON

Moapa Valley Progress

The Lost City Museum in Overton is hosting an exhibit of Max Bunnell artwork throughout the month of June. Visitors to the museum are invited to appreciate the work of the local artist which is on display in the main hall. Attendees will also have the option to purchase various paintings from the museum gift shop.

Paintings on display include watercolors, oil paintings, landscapes and seascapes. The art fits in perfectly with the museum’s goal of celebrating Nevada’s natural and cultural heritage as many of the images are of surrounding areas to Moapa Valley. While not in Nevada, one portion of the exhibit includes paintings done of nearby Zion National Park and Kolob Canyon in southern Utah.

Bunnell is responsible for starting the Moapa Valley Art Guild back in 1959. According to a museum press release, Bunnell gathered artwork from many artist friends and acquaintances in the Moapa Valley region and included the work of his art students to present to the town in the form of a spring art show. Members of the new art guild traveled from Laguna Beach, Calif., Salt Lake City and everywhere in between to transport paintings for the show.

The resulting art guild now hosts annual exhibits and events throughout the calendar year including fundraisers to finance art scholarships for Moapa Valley High School students.

According to museum curator Virginia Lucas, various artists are featured monthly but Bunnell’s work is special to the community.
“I mean his stuff is really good and he’s pretty well known,” Lucas said. “Especially within the region.”

Lucas said that, because of this, some of Bunnell’s paintings are priced higher that other art work the museum has previously featured.
“I hadn’t heard of him until I moved here but I was like, ‘Oh’. Then you hear about his reputation and it’s like, ‘Oh wow’,” she said. “So I mean, his stuff is a little higher priced than some other people.”

The museum is open seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and those who wish to purchase a specific painting can do so without paying admission by visiting the gift shop right inside the front doors. The museum is located at 721 S. Moapa Valley Blvd.