The estate of acclaimed artist Harry Jackson is inviting art dealers and collectors from across the country to evaluate Jackson’s life work. It’s part of an ongoing effort to sell the collection that’s housed in Cody.

After Harry Jackson’s death in 2011, his family hoped to maintain the extensive collection of paintings, sculptures, sketches, and journals as a museum in Jackson’s Cody studios. When no major donors stepped forward, the estate began selling individual works last fall to pay the bills. Now, the estate as a whole is available to a private collector or institution outside of Wyoming. Harry Jackson’s son, Matt Jackson, oversees the estate.

“It’s almost like selling Harry Jackson. It’s just an amazingly comprehensive collection of a complete person’s life.”

Jackson says the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which is why the family wants to sell the work together. Cody-based Life’sWork, LLC is representing the estate. The eventual buyer can then put the collection to various uses. Jackson says portions of it would have commercial, cultural, or educational value. He says there’s strong interest in the future of the collection. The challenge is converting that interest into a sale.