HOUSTON — Records fell Sunday at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo school art auction.
Gracin Nguyen, who goes to school in Pearland ISD, had the Grand Champion work of art – a colored drawing titled "In his Hands," which is a depiction of a bull rider down one a knee to pray.
Editor's note: Video above is from February when the grand champion and reserve grand champion were named.
Gracin’s masterpiece was sold for a quarter-million dollars to Randa and Ray Gilliam, Mary and Ken Hucherson, Julie and Alan Kent and Kristina and Paul Somerville.
“For her to put her faith on display is what this is all about,” said Paul Somerville. “God bless these kids and God bless Texas.”
Below is a photo of Gracin with her winning piece of art:
The Reserve Grand Champion work of art was created by Mia Huckman from Foster High School. Her art, titled "Partners in Time," sold for a record-breaking $265,000 to Cheryl and Gary Dietcher, Andrea and Scott Fish, Christina DiMaria and Alan J. Schwartz and Sheri and Rob Walker.
“I wanted to win the Rodeo for as long as I can remember, but I never thought I’d set a record,” said Mia. “I want to spend the rest of my life making things that people love.”
Thousands of students from 95 public school districts and 54 private schools entered the 2022 competition.
In January, Judges sorted through 3,000 pieces of artwork sent by teachers statewide and selected 739 pieces to advance to the next round. Then the grand champion and reserve grand champion were named in early February.
You can get a closer look at both works of art here. And check out a slideshow below of more winning Rodeo School Art finalists.
Photos: Rodeo School Art winners 2022
The Rodeo sets a cap each year for the champions and grand champions.
This year, Gracin will get $38,000 and Mia will get $19,000.
The class champion receives $7,500 and $6,000 goes to the reserve class champion.
All of the finalists are put up for auction with each student guaranteed at least $1,500. The cap for each finalist is $2,500.
Anything left over goes into the Rodeo’s Educational Fund to be used for scholarship and grant recipients.
According to a release from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the event has contributed more than $550 million to Texas youth and education since 1932.