INTRODUCTION

Assembled over nearly a third of a century, this private collection is currently comprised of 154 Western paintings by 72 artists who depict the West in its many facets – historic places, historical events, the everyday lives of mountain men, cowboys, and Indians, the wildlife of the west, and western landscapes. The genesis of the collection was the purchase of a game ranch in the Hill Country of west Texas, where today about half of the collection resides. However, as the collection has grown it has spread to 10 locations in three states that include the various homes and offices of the collector and the homes of several family members.

Within the first few years, the collection became focused primarily around subjects set in winter environments. And, as with nearly all collectors and collections, as the collection grows it continues to be refined.

Of course, art and artist are inseparable, thus the more one knows about the artist and his or her experiences and motivations, the more one tends to appreciate the art – the whole, as Aristotle noted, being more than the sum of its parts. The life stories of the artists represented in this catalogue collectively chronicle the history of the art of the American West, from its earliest origins as primarily a form of documentation of a rapidly disappearing culture and frontier, through its mid-twentieth century period, characterized by romantic illustrations for magazines, pulp novel covers, and movie posters, to its maturation and popular acceptance as a fine art genre.

The work of the 72 artists represented in the collection is predominately from the last third of the 20th and first decade of the 21st centuries, though the collection does include a few works from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most often, the artists represented in this collection are military veterans, who started working first as commercial illustrators before striking out on their own, usually in their thirties, as fulltime fine artists. Not surprisingly, most of the artists grew up in the west, though a number of them were raised in the east or even in Europe. A surprising number of the artists are self-taught or were mentored by another artist, but equally surprising is the outsized influence that The Student Art League of New York City and the Famous Artists School in Connecticut has had on Western artists. Likewise, the Mormon church and its strong ties to the history of the American West has produced more than a few excellent Western artists.

Though as a group their styles range from impressionistic to hyper-realistic, they are unfailingly careful to research their subjects, often maintaining large personal collections of artifacts and reference materials that help insure the accuracy of their paintings. Many attend annual rendezvous of artists and re-enactors known for their careful attention to the accuracy of their costumes and accessories. For this collector, the attention to detail and accuracy is critical and the common thread running throughout the collection.

Special thanks to all those whose assistance made this catalogue possible – the many artists and artist family members who took time to talk with me, the designer, photographers, and color-correction technician listed on the title page, Sherry Kindred and Tom Hansen at the Relgalf Office, Lewis and Mari Ann Scherer at the Flagler Ranch, Darrell Beauchamp, the director of the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas, Betsy Matthews, George G. Matthews, Jr. and Elizabeth Matthews, and of course, my editor in life and in print, my wife Rena Blades. But most of all, special thanks to collector George G. Matthews, who has been a pleasure to work with, on this and many other projects over the last quarter of a century.

John M. Blades June 2021