The Combined Total Of The Top 2 Works Of Art Was $825,000
When one thinks about a rodeo, riding horses and bucking bulls likely come to mind first.
However, if you’ve been to a rodeo, then you know that there’s often a myriad of skillsets showcased.
At the ongoing Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which runs from March 2 to March 22, a subsection of the rodeo focused on the artworks of area students.
There, on Sunday, March 15, a record-breaking auction was held, with the top painting nearly doubling the highest bid from the year before, bringing in $525,000.
See The Record-Setting Art For The Houston Rodeo
Around 200,000 students across 151 Texas school districts and private schools participated in the Rodeo’s School Art Program.
From that pool of work, teachers selected nearly 4,000 pieces for preliminary judging, the Houston Rodeo details, adding, “The judges selected 796 pieces to advance to the next round of judging, from which 90 students were chosen to participate in the School Art Auction.”
Works selected for the Rodeo’s School Art Program “promote an awareness of agriculture, Western heritage and Rodeo activities through artistic competitions for students.”
With 90 students having work auctioned off, the competition was high… and the reward was high, too.
Joshua Washington, a senior at Pasadena Memorial High School, was the Grand Champion of the rodeo auction, with his painting, titled Between Boots and Moccasins, being sold for $525,000.
This nearly doubled the highest bid from the 2025 auction, which was $276,000.
Washington’s painting depicts a Native American seated by a cowboy, with the two appearing to be in dialogue with one another. At their feet, a dog is resting.
Stating that the painting was the result of a photograph he took, Washington told attendees of the Houston Rodeo that he hoped it would “touch people’s hearts” through its depiction of “two people from different backgrounds just having a normal conversation.”
Speaking in a video produced by the Pasadena Independent School District, Washington said that it has been a dream of his since the 5th grade to be an accomplished artist.
Watch artist Joshua Washington discuss his painting, Between Boots and Moccasins, here:
The second highest bid was for a colored pencil drawing done by Clements High School senior Mingyi Li, titled Head On, depicting bulls moving through the dust. This work was auctioned off for $300,000.
See her work up close, here:
While the artworks are being auctioned to benefit the area school districts, the students in the top positions are compensated.
Artists in the Grand Champion and Reserve Champion positions are guaranteed a premium from the sale of their artwork, with the Grand Champion receiving $40,000 and the Reserve Champion earning $25,000.
“Once guaranteed premiums are paid to the exhibitors, the net proceeds from the auction are contributed to the Educational Fund to support the Show’s commitment to the youth of Texas and education,” the Houston Rodeo website notes.
See more works auctioned at the rodeo, including the breakdown of how the Pasadena Independent School District’s students brought in $1 million through student art, here: