Robert "Shoofly" Shufelt (Arizona / New Mexico, b. 1935), "A High Trot", pencil on paper, signed and dated lower right, 2007

sight: 9 x 12 in., frame: 19 x 22 in.

Provenance: Property from a collector in Claude, Texas

Robert “Shoofly” Shufelt developed his artistic skills through formal fine-arts study at the University of Illinois, where he attended on a football scholarship, and through two decades of professional experience as a freelance illustrator in Chicago, which he regarded as essential training in drawing and draftsmanship. Although his avant-garde professors did not necessarily encourage his interest in Western subjects, he continued drawing American Indian scenes and ultimately shifted from commercial illustration to easel art. Working primarily in pencil, Shufelt is known for highly detailed depictions of Southwestern cowboy life, portraying the independence, character, and daily work of ranchers as well as the often-overlooked lives of ranch wives. His art reflects a strong commitment to documenting a vanishing way of life threatened by development, informed by his long residence in Wickenburg, Arizona, and his firsthand engagement with the working West. His work was featured in Southwest Art in 1979 and Artists of the Rockies in 1981.