58th Juried Exhibition at the Haggin Museum. Clark Gussin receives "Best of Show" with his oil painting, "The Whopper".

When it is branding time, ranchers get together and help each other out. After the branding is complete, the host rancher will put on a feed for everyone who participated. It is not long before all the wild stories, gossip, and jokes(whoppers) start flying. The scene in the painting depicts when the punch line was delivered with a resounding thud! The central figure is a friend named Ed Machado who is a rancher, and saddle bronc rider who also provides "rough stock" at PRCA rodeo events.

The Haggin Museum has an impressive collection of American and European art such as William Adolphe Bouguereau's, "The Nymphaeum". And more:

Albert Bierstadt's,  "Sunset in the Yosemite Valley",

Daniel Ridgway Knight's,  "Noonday Meal",

Jean-Leon Gerome's, "The Artist and His Model", and much more...

Clark Gussin receiving the coveted "Best of Show" award. What could be better than having  Adolphe Bouguereau's, "The Nymphaeum" as the back drop.