Olaf Carl Wieghorst (California / Denmark, 1899-1988), "A Much Needed Repose", pen and ink drawing on art board, signed lower right

sight: 10 x 8 in., frame: 21.5 x 17 in.

Provenance: Property from a Florissant, Colorado collection

Olaf Wieghorst was largely self-taught as an artist, drawing on his extensive firsthand experience with horses and the American West rather than formal academic training. His early life as a performer, cowboy, U.S. Cavalryman, and mounted New York City policeman gave him an intimate knowledge of horses, riders, and Western life that became central to his art. After settling in California in 1944, he developed a distinctive Western style characterized by detailed, naturalistic depictions of cowboys, Native Americans, horses, and Western landscapes, including carefully observed portraits of individual horses and their personalities. His work was exhibited through the Grand Central Art Galleries at the Biltmore Hotel, and he became particularly noted for paintings of famous horses such as Roy Rogers' Trigger and Gene Autry's Champion.