Fred Fellows (Arizona / California, b. 1934), cowboys and wagon, oil on canvas

sight: 20 x 30 in., frame: 27.5 in. x 37.5 in.

Provenance: Property from the estate of a prominent San Antonio, Texas businessman

Fred Fellows grew up in California where he worked as a cowboy and was apprenticed for four years to a saddlemaker. He also roped calves and steers on the rodeo circuit. Without formal art training, he spent 10 years as a commercial artist and as an art director. In 1964, he moved his family to Big Fork, Montana to devote himself to painting. There his studio contained an exensive collection of early Western guns, Plains Indian artifacts, cowboy gear, and a research library as a part of his study of Western history. Fellows also has a firsthand knowledge of modern ranch life. He spends much of his spare time roping on the big Montana cow outfits. In his painting and sculpture, he specializes in cowboys, Indians, and the West. He is said to consider color and draftsmanship the keys to painting. Of his work, he says: "Certainly the development of technique and style of painting is most important to me, but I find that I paint to please myself."