Acrylic on Canvas · Contemporary Western Art · Currently at JG Art Gallery
Annie Hooker is a Northern California-based artist who has established herself in the American West. Born and raised in San Francisco, she is the great-granddaughter of S.F.B. Morse, founder of Pebble Beach — giving her deep Monterey Peninsula roots and, by family inheritance, a connection to a man who himself loved painting and associated with artists. She now makes her home in Auburn, California, with regular work in the Sierras around Truckee.
Her work is best described as Contemporary Western Art — figurative, equally dedicated to the human and the animal subject. She paints what she calls "iconic, classic American characters," human and animal: cowboys and cowgirls, wildlife, working-Western subjects rendered with a modern sensibility. The compositions are designed to be noticeable from a distance — silhouettes you recognize from afar, then richer in detail as you approach.
Hooker's signature move is the patterned background. Subjects are extracted from their typical landscape and set against intriguing surfaces — three-ring notebook paper, aged barn wood, finely rendered grids. "Notebook paper is nostalgic," she has said. "First I liked it as a design element, then I realized it was impactful to the viewer." The cowboys ride across schoolwork. The wildlife pose against grain.
She studied at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts) in Oakland after showing promise in high school. Her work has been featured in Western Art Collector Magazine (2020) and Carmel Magazine (2022 cover feature), and is represented at Gallery Mar in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Vickers Collection Galleries in Aspen, Colorado.
Annie's practice, in detail.
Origin & Education
- San FranciscoBorn and raised in San FranciscoChildhood surrounded by culture and the arts
- BFACalifornia College of Arts and CraftsNow California College of the Arts — Oakland, California
- LineageGreat-granddaughter of S.F.B. MorseFounder of Pebble Beach — himself a painter — deep Monterey Peninsula roots
Studio
- AuburnAuburn, CaliforniaCurrent home and studio
- TruckeeTruckee in the SierrasWorking presence in the high country
Practice
- StyleContemporary Western ArtFigurative — equally dedicated to the human and the animal subject
- InfluencesPop art · street art · outsider · traditional western illustration"Urban jungle" upbringing combined with migration to the mountains
- SubjectsCowboys, cowgirls, wildlifeIconic American characters, human and animal — bold contrast, hot color, big-statement compositions
Signature
- BackgroundsNotebook paper · aged barn wood · finely rendered patternsSubjects extracted from landscape — placed on patterned surfaces
- MethodRecognizable from a distance, richer up closeSilhouettes that resolve into detail
Galleries
- CarmelGallery Mar — Carmel-by-the-Sea, CaliforniaPrimary representation
- AspenVickers Collection Galleries — Aspen, Colorado
- JGJG Art Gallery — Bainbridge & Park CityProvenance Collection
Press
- 2020Western Art Collector MagazineFeatured artist
- 2022Carmel Magazine — "Bold Expressions"Cover feature
In Circulation at JG
- ProvenanceAces HighCurrently in The Provenance Collection at JG Art Gallery
As featured in.
Selected works.
A current selection from Annie's work, available through JG Art Gallery. The gallery responds within one business day with placement, dimensions, and indicated price for the work in question.
The gallery responds within one business day.
For current availability, pricing, or to commission new work, write directly. Worldwide shipping, payment plans, full provenance documentation.