25th Paul Farrell Memorial Art Auction Returns to OPSU, Showcases Panhandle Artists

The Paul Farrell Memorial Art Auction returned to Oklahoma Panhandle State University’s new Student Union Ballroom on March 6, continuing a student-led tradition that funnels half of auction proceeds directly to participating Panhandle artists and the other half to OPSU art scholarships, awards, equipment, recruitment, and departmental needs. The auction, organized by the OPSU Art Department and the Images Art Club, marks the event’s 25th edition and builds on a fundraising record that has generated more than $200,000 in scholarships for OPSU art students.

OPSU promoted the event in the weeks before March 6 with a LinkedIn post that read, "Tickets for the 25th Annual Paul Farrell Memorial Art Auction are now available: The event will be held in the new Student Union Ballroom on campus, and seating will be limited," and included QR codes for ticketing. Organizers had warned that seating would be limited, and OPSU’s organizational page captured in promotion showed 14,773 followers on the platform at the time of posting.

The auction’s 50/50 proceeds split remains central to its mission: 50 percent goes directly to participating artists, while the remaining 50 percent is designated for scholarships and departmental support. Past descriptions of the OPSU-side allocation include scholarships, awards, and departmental equipment expenses, and alternatively scholarships, recruitment efforts, and departmental needs, language that OPSU materials and prior coverage have used interchangeably to describe how funds benefit students and the department.

The Paul Farrell Memorial Art Auction began as a student-organized tribute to Paul Farrell, a former OPSU student and local artist whose practice spanned painting, sculpting, and woodworking. Farrell continued making art after losing an eye to melanoma, returning to classes at OPSU to regain depth perception, and students organized the Auction after he passed to honor his influence. The 24th Annual auction previously brought together more than 200 attendees and featured 26 artists, reaffirming the event’s regional draw.

J. Bryon Test, chair of the OPSU Art Department and founder of the Paul Farrell Memorial Art Auction, has deep Panhandle arts ties: born and raised in Guymon, he earned a BA in 1981 from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and an MA in 2001 from West Texas A&M University, founded local galleries including Soaring Eagle and Wild Horse Gallery, and received the Arts in Education Award at the 2005 Oklahoma Governor’s Arts Awards. Test is credited with establishing the auction that, collectively, "has raised more than $200,000 in scholarships for OPSU art students."

Local artists used social media to promote individual lots ahead of the March 6 event. An artist’s Instagram post announced, "THIS FRIDAY, my painting, 'An Evening in the Panhandle' will be auctioned off at the Paul Farrell Memorial Art Auction on the campus of OPSU." OPSU had also said artist spotlights for the 2026 participants would roll out in the week leading up to the auction.

As OPSU moves the auction into its new Student Union Ballroom, the event remains both a marketplace for Panhandle artists and a revenue stream for OPSU art students and departmental needs, maintaining a model that directly rewards creators while underwriting scholarships and resources for future cohorts.