Los Alamos graduate wins New Mexico state art honor

Catherine Price’s barrel-racing-inspired piece Thrill earned New Mexico State Winner status in the Celebrate the West 2026 High School Art Competition, adding another statewide honor for the Los Alamos High School graduate and placing her work before public voting in the regional contest. The recognition matters in Los Alamos because it is not an isolated prize. It comes out of a school arts program that has repeatedly turned out students who can compete well beyond the county line.

Celebrate the West is run by the Western Governors’ Foundation and is open to students in grades 9 through 12 across Western Governors’ Association member states and territories. Entrants submit original two-dimensional artwork inspired by their state or by the American West. For the 2026 competition, applications opened Jan. 5 and closed April 24. State winners advance to overall judging and are also eligible for the public People’s Choice vote, with top prizes listed at $600 for Overall First Place, $500 for Second Place, $400 for Third Place, $250 for People’s Choice, $200 for each State Finalist and $300 for the Chairman’s Award for an outstanding high school art educator.

Price said she was drawn to the speed and movement of barrel racing and wanted Thrill to capture the balance between athletic force and careful grace. She also moved to New Mexico from the Northeast when she was 12 and remembers going to the rodeo for the first time, giving the work a personal link to the state that helped ground it in a distinctly Western perspective.

The award also points directly to Mary Grace, Los Alamos High School’s art teacher, whose classroom work has helped shape a steady line of student recognition. Grace called Price an exceptional artist and said the win did not surprise her. Grace herself has been recognized by the New Mexico Art Education Association, receiving the Award of Excellence and Appreciation in 2025 and the Outstanding Teacher Award in 2024 for her work supporting students in art competitions.

Price’s record now stretches across multiple contests. She won the 2024 Congressional Art Competition for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District, and her earlier work CowBoy Dog was selected for display at the New Mexico Public Education Department building. She also earned several Gold Key awards in the New Mexico Scholastic Art and Writing Competition over the past three years, along with a Silver Key for her portfolio and a scholarship. In 2024, nine Los Alamos High School art students won 13 awards in the state Scholastic competition, with Price taking Gold Key honors for Splashes of Joy. In 2025, Los Alamos High School art students collected 18 awards in the same competition, showing that the district’s arts program is producing repeated results, not a one-time success.