When I met the Cowboy Artists of America at the Phoenix Art Museum in 1976, I couldn't get over how different they were from one another.
They ranged from Eastern dudes to ranchers and cowboys. They had one thing in common -- all of them were vitally interested in using their artistic talents to portray the lifestyles of the American West and the American cowboy.
The CAA was formed in 1965 in Sedona, AZ. by four artists, Joe Beeler, Charlie Dye, John Hampton and George Phippen. It grew quickly to 74 members, including Fred Harmon, creator of the popular “Red Ryder” comic strip, Gordon Snidow, and Howard Terpning.
I was working as a staff writer for the Phoenix Gazette when the CAA held its annual art exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum. My editor Vic Thornton loved western art and he knew I appreciated anything that had a cowboy touch to it.
One morning he stopped by my desk and asked me if I wanted to meet some colorful characters who painted the West.
“Sounds great,” I said. “How do I meet them?”
Vic drew a map and handed it to me. He said the CAA members were on horseback and had camped out in the desert north of Phoenix. They were on their way to the Phoenix Art Museum for a four-day art exhibit at the museum.
“You'll find them to be a friendly bunch,” he said. “They play poker, grill steaks over an open campfire, and swap tales. It'll make a good story for the Gazette and you'll have fun.”
That afternoon I drove to the site where the artists were camped. It wasn't hard to find. They were gathered just outside Black Canyon City about 30 miles north of Phoenix. A herd of horses were tethered in a makeshift corral and they were surrounded by pickups, stock trucks and tents.
When I arrived, they were serving dinner. A camp cook wearing an apron greeted me with a powerful handshake and asked me how I liked my steak cooked.
“Make it fresh and make it medium rare,” I said.
Beeler was a friendly robust man whose artwork sold in the high thousands of dollars. He introduced me to his daughter, Tracy, an attractive blond in her early 20s. We talked about art, I took notes, and he asked me if I played poker. I said I did and he invited me to sit in on the game after dinner.
That night there was a lot of drinking, a lot of storytelling, and a lot of poker. One of the artists strummed a guitar and some of them sang songs beneath the Arizona moon. In the distance coyotes howled mournfully. It was quite an evening.
The CAA's first art show was held at the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, OK. In 1973 it was moved to the Phoenix Art Museum where it stayed for a number of years before being relocated to the Scottsdale Museum of the West in Scottsdale, AZ.
I asked Beeler how much their paintings sold for. He pointed to Howard Terpning and said: “Talk to Howard. One of his paintings sold for $305,000, right, Howard?” Terpning just grunted and nodded.
I covered the auction at the Phoenix Art Museum over the next couple of days. Art buyers had traveled to Phoenix from all over the country, including Dallas and Ft. Worth, Texas. When they saw a painting they wanted, they placed a request to purchase inside a box. Some of the paintings were so popular the box in front of the artist would be filled with purchase requests.
One of the paintings was listed for sale at $27,000. Within 10 minutes after he had bought it, the purchaser sold it for $40,000 to a buyer from Dallas.
Joe Beeler passed away in 2006 at the age of 75. Today his daughter Tracy is a successful sculptor who has studios in Santa Barbara, CA. and Sedona, AZ. She adored her father and his art and said he encouraged her to learn sculpture.
“I started when I was 11 and it has been an incredible life ever since,” said Tracy, who recently celebrated her 62nd birthday.
