HISTORY OF THE HEREFORD INDUSTRY

“History of the Hereford Industry,” by Tom Phillips in 1974 graces one of the walls of the American Hereford Association (AHA) in Kansas City, Mo. It is remarkable for the history it captures and its sheer size — 7.5 feet long and 4.5 feet high.The Farm and Ranch Division of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company commissioned Phillips to paint the mural and then gifted it to the AHA.

The artist provides a description below the mural. This is a portion:

“The story of this mural begins at the bottom center with the trailing of Texas Longhorn Cattle to the railheads of Kansas and on to the marvelous grazing lands of the upper great plains. The cattle pass the Indians who have now been subdued. The Buffalo the Indians hunted are now gone from the plains, symbolized by the Buffalo Skull at the lower left.

“In the upper left is the introduction of Hereford bulls onto common Texas Longhorn cows. Then begins the upgrading process across the top of the painting, where the cows gradually change to the more modern type bred today. ANXIETY the Fourth, the most important bull to influence American cattle, is just to the left of center. This bull was imported from England in 1881 by the firm of Gudgell & Simpson of Independence, Missouri. ANXIETY the Fourth is the progenitor of practically every Hereford in America today, all being descendants from his line...”