How French painter Chloe Gaillard Burk found her true canvas in the American West

By Rachael Lindley
Photography by Crystal Wise

Chloe Marie Gaillard Burk’s journey has spanned from the French countryside to Paris to New York, then New Mexico to Texas. Though she chose the road less traveled by, her winding journey led her to fall in love with the landscape of the American West and Southwest, inspiring her to follow her instincts to become a painter.

Chloe was born and raised in the French countryside where horsemanship was a cornerstone of her upbringing.

“I grew up close to nature and horses,” she says. “My father was a jockey in youth and later a farrier. We always had horses — breeding, riding and living with them. It was a way of life.”

Following Her Passion

Though she rode English and trained as a jumper, her deeper calling would take her to the London College of Fashion and Atelier Chardon Savard in Paris. Chloe eventually landed an internship and two year contract at Christian Dior Haute Couture where she assisted Anne-Charlotte Mercier and Rambert Rigaud in the John Galliano studio of the Rue Francois 1er in Paris’ 1st arrondissement.

Ultimately, Chloe felt pulled to art and changed course to pursue it full time, moving to New York City and then heading to Austin.

“My paternal grandmother was an oil painter, and I grew up watching her paint… I think I was always meant to be an artist but wasn’t sure of the path to choose when I was younger,” she says.

“I loved fashion as well, so I decided to go to fashion school, but my roots and passion for the arts quickly caught back up with me, and I decided to move on and teach myself how to paint.”

Meanwhile, Chloe was gifted a book of Frederic Remington’s artwork.

“It completely struck me,” she says. “His art brought back all the Western movies I watched with my father growing up. I knew instantly — I had to paint the West.

While on a pivotal trip to Taos, New Mexico in 2016, Chloe met Ashley Rolshoven Loveless. She and her father, Robert Parsons recognized Chloe’s potential and gave her an opportunity to showcase her work..

Chloe’s style is rooted in folk art but has matured into a deeply personal approach to her work. As a self-taught painter, she studied the art of Western greats like Remington, C.M. Russell, Farny and others like Dixon, Blumenschein, Sharp, Ufer and Higgins.

Chloe was able to perfect her personal style during this time as she has lived on many ranches and worked on several photoshoots and productions that have allowed her to travel all over the American West. Because of those deeply personal experiences, Chloe is able to paint from memory, photographs and even lived experience.

“It’s a privilege to live the life I paint,” Chloe says. “To know these people, this land.”
Chloe will be embracing her heritage in her next collection. A recent trip to her French homeland reawakened her grandmother’s influence after seeing her paintings of fox hunting and rural tradition, which still hang in her family home.

“It was emotional to see her work again after all these years,” she says. “I’ve started a line of paintings inspired by the same themes — a reconnection to where I come from and to her. I wish she could see what I’m doing now.”

Chloe will return to France this summer to continue her painting of equestrian and hunting scenes while continuing her exhibition schedule in the U.S. Patrons can find her art at Parsons Fine Art in Taos, New Mexico, where she’s been an artist-in-residence since 2018.
Upcoming shows include The Young West, The Big Summer Show in Taos, followed by The Far West Show in Austin, hosted by Mark Maggiori and Petecia Le Fawnhawk-Maggiori.

From France to the Fort

Since moving to Texas three years ago, Chloe has also found a creative home in Fort Worth.

“I was warmly welcomed — especially by Jackie and Rodger Chieffalo [of Chieffalo Americana], who were the first to host my work. It’s a very special place. The relationships I’ve built here have been deeply inspiring.”

Chloe has embraced the Western lifestyle with unflinching sincerity. She currently lives on a working cattle ranch outside of Fort Worth where she trains her own barrel horses, competes in barrel racing and paints.

“Some mornings I ride out with no destination, just chasing the horizon until it’s time to paint,” she says.

The result is art saturated with vibrant, intuitive color and evocative detail, capturing the grit, motion and quiet romance of the American frontier juxtaposed by the refined European hunting culture.

Chloe has learned to exist in the paradox of the two disparate worlds but blends them seamlessly.