Anna-Sophia grew up in a small rural neighborhood in Tomball, TX, with a view of cattle, horses, goats, and other livestock nearby. This fostered a love of these animals and an appreciation of those who cared for them, and greatly contributed to a love of western art. Watching many old hand-drawn Disney movies inspired her to begin drawing at a young age. Today, her art focuses on the themes of western heritage and preserving our culture in the 21st century.
She is a graduate of the MFAH Glassell Junior Studio Program. In the summer of 2014, she was invited to attend the prestigious Western Art Academy held at Schreiner College in Kerrville, Texas through the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. As a result of her dedication to painting and sculpting her surroundings in the Texas Hill Country, she received a Susan Kathleen Black Foundation scholarship to attend their annual conference and workshop later that year in Dubois, Wyoming and to work alongside master artists such as Morton E. Solberg, Andrew Denman, and John Ruthven. She attended the program on scholarship a second time in 2019. Her cow portraits and images of life on the Texas range were featured at the Pearl Fincher Museum in 2017 at her first solo exhibition, ‘The Millennial West.’ At the age of 18, she was the youngest artist in the museum’s history to be featured at their gallery. She has collaborated with western music talent Kristyn Harris on designing promotional items, as well as Megan Wilson of Witness Rodeo Co., for whom Anna-Sophia has designed western-themed apparel. Anna currently works and resides in North Texas and is attending UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design to pursue a B.F.A. in Studio Art.
Statement
‘My art focuses on the themes of western heritage—working cowboys, horses, cattle, and the landscapes they roam. I seek emotion and dramatic colors in each painting and try to branch off to focus on only portraits of people or animals. I enjoy spending time rendering figures and landscapes as realistically as possible, while stretching the reality of colors that might be expected. I find strength in being confident of what subject matter is most inspiring and appealing. I am also exploring themes of construction and the loss of land in Texas, and the gradual disappearance of the culture of our state. I want my work to preserve our past and present the culture that is still alive today.’ – Anna-Sophia Lagos