Morgan Weistling (American, b.1964), well-known for his paintings of early American pioneer life, began his art career as a movie-poster illustrator. After 14 years, he left illustration to pursue Fine Art. Interested in the effects of light, Weistling’s paintings capture the mood and atmosphere of the past. His attention to the historical aspects of his subjects comes from his desire to portray the truth and beauty of America’s pioneering spirit. His paintings have graced the covers of Art of the West, Persimmon Hill, Southwest Art, Western Art Collector, American Artist, and other renowned art publications. At the Autry National Center’s Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale, Weistling won the David P. Usher Patrons' Choice Award and Booth Museum of Western Art Artists' Choice Award for his paintings The Country Schoolhouse in 1874 in 2010 and The First Dance in 2008. He also received the Patrons' Choice Award and the Artists' Choice Award in 2007 for The Quilting Bee, 19th-Century Americana; the Trustees' Purchase Award in 2002 for The Family Trade, which was acquired for the Autry's permanent collection; and the Patrons' Choice Award in 2000. In 2001, he was the youngest person to win the Prix de West Purchase Award and also won the Nona Jean Hulsey Buyers' Choice Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, OK. In 2008, he won his second Prix de West Purchase Award for his painting titled Indian Stories. Weistling and his wife, JoAnn, also an artist, reside in California with their daughters, Brittany and Sienna.