Bear 399 and an art show...

Last night, I headed into Jackson hoping to attend a much anticipated presentation at the Teton County Library on a world famous grizzly, Bear 399. Internationally-renowned wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen and nature writer Todd Wilkinson were the speakers. I arrived 30 minutes early to get a seat in the auditorium, but quickly realized when the line of cars stretched around the block for 1/2 mile that it was not to be. Overflow doesn't even begin to describe the crowd ;(

Bear 399 is a social media sensation, 20 years old and mother to 16 offspring over the years. Last Fall she was rumored to have been killed by a hunter but miraculously reappeared this spring... with a cub! Then last month, the cub, probably her last due to her advanced years, was hit by a car and killed in Grand Teton National Park.

From Nationalgeographic.com...

Bear 399 first became a star when, in 2006, she appeared along the roadside in Grand Teton Park, supposition from biologists being that because a male bear had killed her first cub in the backcountry she wanted to find a safer place to raise subsequent broods. A year later, 399 was nearly destroyed after she and her triplets mauled a hiker in Grand Teton who accidently stumbled upon an elk carcass they were feeding on. After the hiker pleaded to have 399 spared and park officials examined evidence, they ruled that the mother was only behaving naturally and shouldn’t be lethally removed. Over the last decade, 399, in fact, has shown no aggression toward people even as she and her offspring navigate huge crowds of people gathered along the highway in “bear jams.” In recent years, 399 became arguably better known than Scarface, the male bruin in Yellowstone, and Cecil the lion, who made his home in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. But in 2015, both Scarface and Cecil were killed by hunters when they wandered outside national parks. 399 has been a muse for legendary Jackson Hole nature photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen, who features her in the new book Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek. He’s spent the equivalent of two full years assembling a large portfolio of images focused on 399 and her extended family. Mangelsen was overjoyed by the latest news of the bear. “Every year she’s still with us is a miracle," said Mangelsen. "This could be the last cub she ever has because she’s pretty old in bear years," he adds. "Most bears don’t reach that age.”  More than half of 399's cubs or descendants have already died, often from run-ins with people or other bears, Mangelsen adds."

I needed a new game plan, so I drove a few blocks into town to attend an art opening and auction at the Heather James Fine Art Gallery just off the town square. Fine art indeed... I was offered an iPad when I walked in to "bid", and pieces were displayed on a screen as bids came in and were updated, both live and online.

I knew they were going to have works by Picasso, Calder, and Norman Rockwell, but was still impressed by the number of original works by these and other artists in a small Jackson gallery.There were paintings and sculpture by Salvadore Dali...

A full wall of Calder works for sale...

And of course, some ORIGINAL Picasso sketches... "only" $100k. I saw one piece with a $17,000 price tag and actually contemplated buying it on my credit card, then realized it was "just" a signed, numbered lithograph and not a true Picasso original. ha-ha.

I really enjoyed the room filled with Norman Rockwell art, much of it inscribed to various friends for whom he had created the pieces.

The gallery's collection also included some Andrew Wyeth watercolors, and a wall of Marilyn Monroe photographs by Lawrence Schiller... also for sale during the auction ($5,000 each!) ;)

I keep forgetting that Jackson isn't just a little Wyoming town, but one of the wealthiest zip codes in the country with so much culture and so many unique experiences to offer. Not to mention that the wine and passed hors d'ouevres were pretty good too ;)