From April 29 to September 10 the Phippen Museum presents Home Range Humor: Cartoon Art of the American West. This fun and informative exhibit examines the lighter side of the West through comics and illustrations. The exhibit will feature the work of Fred Harman, creator of Red Ryder; J.R. Williams, author of the Out Our Way comics; Ace Powell; Herb Mignery, CA; Bob Boze Bell; George Phippen, CA; Jim Willoughby, and Jimmy Swinnerton.
Cartoons may seem like an odd subject for a fine art museum, but cartoons can become higher art if motivated by urges greater than rattling off an easy gag or beating the next deadline. The mass-consumption newspaper cartoons created by some of these men come from a font of artistry and inspiration as deep and personal as anything that drives more traditional artists.
If you really think about it, Charles Russell (1864-1926), was the most famous and perhaps the most gifted western cartoonist. One look at Russell's illustrated correspondence at the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, proves that point. So any perceived barriers between such an accomplished master as Charlie Russell and a journeyman cartoonist like J. R. Williams proves irrelevant.
James R. Williams (1888-1957) may not be the most famous western cartoonist, but he certainly is the most influential. Williams' single panel comic, Out Our Way, ran from 1922 until 1977. His comics weren't like most; he wasn't interested in going for big laughs. He was striving for a smile tinged with a little nostalgia. Williams quit school early to become an apprentice machinist. He then spent six years drifting around Oklahoma and Texas, laboring as a chuck line rider and cow puncher. It was these experiences that he drew upon to create his comics.
"It was just this little knack I'd developed for drawing things," Williams told The Saturday Evening Post in 1953. "Nobody outside the bunkhouse or the machine shop had ever seemed to want my style of small-town humor, but I was too stubborn to give up." Out Our Way was clipped and saved by more people than most comics series of its time, according to comics historian Coulton Waugh. It has also been sited as a major influence by Charles Schultz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip, and Bill Keane, creator of Family Circus.
Fred Harman (1902-1982) was the creator of the most successful western comic strip in history, Red Ryder and Little Beaver. Red Ryder ran from 1938 until 1964 appearing at its height in over 750 newspapers with over 40 million readers. The Red Ryder comic strip also spawned a syndicated radio program, 38 films, and over 40 commercial products including the famous Daisy Air Rifle. Fred Harman was also an established sculptor and painter.
A gregarious and generous man, Fred lived and worked in various parts of the U.S. but his heart was always in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. In his early years he worked in Kansas City as an illustrator for a moving picture company as one of two commercial illustrators employed by the company. He later worked for Walt Disney in Hollywood.
Asa Lynn "Ace" Powell (1912-1978) was a well know painter, sculptor, and etcher. He attended school on the Blackfoot reservation in Montana and studied with Charles Russell at Bull Head Lodge. He had a profound respect for nature and Native American culture. He was a prolific artist, creating between 12,000 and 15,000 paintings and sculptures. He considered oil to be his best medium although he was especially skilled at etching. Powell's trademark signature was the ace of diamonds, which became his nickname. Herb Mignery and George Phippen (1915-1966), both past presidents of the Cowboy Artists of America, dabbled in illustration along with sculpture and painting. Their subjects often depicted the difficult lives that people in the West led. Both Mignery and Phippen infused their artwork with authenticity and a raw energy based on first hand experience.
Asked about the philosophy behind his art, Mignery put it this way, "I feel that our attitude and our view of our future can only be determined by an examination of our ancestors, and the society they created."
Mignery's comic character, Clyde, may strike closer to home than some would like to admit. Sometimes life can place people in some difficult and thought provoking positions. Mignery places Clyde in these positions for us. Sometimes Clyde comes out ahead, sometimes behind, but always with the wry wit and good humor common in the west.
What the artists we have selected for this exhibit have in common is their deep love and appreciation for the American West and a lifestyle that is quickly disappearing. Each one drew on his own background and personal experiences. They were able to tap into the common place happiness of everyday life, like growing up in a small town or working on a farm. They found beauty in the imperfect, like the earthy humor that can lighten the rigors of ranch life.
"My subjects encompass much more then cowboys," says cowboy artist Herb Mignery. "My themes are taken from the everyday life of our society both past and present."
See the official Press Release for this exhibit.
