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Herb Mignery 1937 -
A Retrospective
Lyman Bxybe 1886-1980
Fred Payne Clatworthy 1875-1953
Richardson Rome 1902-1981
Birgen Sandzen 1871-1954
Celebrating the Collections of:
Herb & Sherry Mignery
Dave Tanton/Old Estes
In the tradition of previous exhibitions, the Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park Fine Art Gallery opens its third annual Estes Park Legends & Lore to celebrate the lives and work of artists that have made significant contributions to the evolution of the Estes Park art scene. Estes Park Legends & Lore III will focus on the work of the late artists Fred Payne Clatworthy (sepia/silver photographic prints, modern reproductions), Lyman Byxbe (aquatint and etched prints), Richardson Rome, (woodblock and etched prints, pencil drawing) and (Sven) Birger Sandzen (watercolor, lithograph and linoleum block prints). This portion of the exhibition features art on loan and for sale from Dave Tanton/OldEstes Collection.
The show will also feature a retrospective of renowned sculptor and Cowboy Artist of America member, Herb Mignery. Mignery’s work will include bronzes created from 1974 to 2003, as well as drawings, objects and other items on loan from the artist and his wife Sherry. . Many of the art works in the exhibition have never been seen in Estes Park.
"It is always a pleasure and honor to work with time honored artists and their work", explains Lynda S. Vogel CAC director adding, "the Estes Valley is rich with cultural heritage and history. The goal of the Arts Council annual exhibition is to share the traditions, stories and art of local artists' current and past, so the legends and lore will continue to foster and grow with audiences of all ages".
Estes Park Legends & Lore III will open with a public reception on Friday July 17 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Musical entertainment will be provided by Cynthia Hoyle on the CAC’s 1930 Baldwin Grand Piano. Refreshments will be served. The exhibition will run through Sunday August 2, 2009.
The CAC Fine Art Gallery is located at 423 W. Elkhorn Ave. on the west end of downtown Estes Park. Gallery hours are 12 noon to 5:00 PM daily. There is no admission to view the exhibitions. For more information call 970-586-9203 or e-mail:info@estesarts.com. The Cultural Arts Council is 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts agency with a mission to enhance the quality and accessibility of visual and performing arts for people of all ages.
HERB MIGNERY (b. 1937)
Biography Source - AskArt.com
Raised on his family’s working cattle ranch near Bartlett, Nebraska, Herb Mignery comes from a family who has ranched for over 110 years. Rather than follow tradition and become a cowboy himself, he expanded his love of drawing into a successful career as a commercial artist before deciding to focus full-time on fine art. In 1973 he cast his first bronze and from that time on, bronze sculpture became his chosen medium. As an award-winning member of both the National Sculpture Society of America and the Cowboy Artists of America, he creates classical sculptures depicting the lives of the men and women of the American West. Mignery’s small scale and monumental sculptures reside in corporate and private collections throughout the country. In his words, "One of my goals in life, as a chronicler, is to tell the story of people like those I grew up with. I see myself as a vehicle to let their stories be known. I also want to show the world that the cowboy is not dead. There are cowboys today, just like there were cowboys yesterday."
FRED PAYNE CLATWORTHY (b. 1875-1953)
Biography Source - AskArt.com
Fred Payne Clatworthy was born in Ohio. While in his early twenties, he took a cross-country bicycle trip from Chicago to California, passing through Estes Park on his way. In 1905 he returned to settle here for good. Clatworthy was a self-taught photographer and a regular contributor to National Geographic magazine. He was known for his work with the Lumiere Autochrome, which was the first really successful color photographic process. Clatworthy’s Estes Park studio, which he called Ye Lyttel Shop, sold hand-colored photographs and Western items. In addition to traveling the country and lecturing on the autochrome process and completing his assignments for National Geographic, he was involved in the local Estes art scene, exhibiting works of other photographers and painters at his studio. Clatworthy’s gorgeous color photos document the Western U.S. as well as Mexico, New Zealand, and Hawaii.
LYMAN BYXBE (b. 1886—1980)
Biography Source - AskArt.com
Lyman Byxbe was born in Pittsfield, Illinois and taught himself to draw at an early age. He achieved success as a commercial artist in Omaha, Nebraska, where he also learned the art of printmaking from architect Mark Levings. Byxbe first came to Estes Park as a summer visitor and by 1930 had a flourishing summer studio which created etchings of local cabins for Christmas cards and similar items for the tourist trade. By the mid-thirties he was receiving national attention and was accepted to the Chicago Society of Etchers. After his one-man show at the Smithsonian in 1937-38, his reputation was set. He moved permanently to Estes Park in 1938 and set up a shop on Elkhorn Avenue, which he ran for many years. The majority of his available works are small etchings he created for visiting tourists of scenes in and around the Estes Valley. He sold them for very little, saying "I have set my prices according to their pocket-books". Byxbe worked primarily in aquatint, drypoint, and etching, but also did the occasional piece in mezzotint, conte crayon, oil, pencil, and watercolor. Larger etchings and paintings are quite valuable today and difficult to find.
(Sven) Birger Sandzén (b. 1871 - 1954)
Biography Source – OldEstes.com/D. Tanton
"...it was in 1922 that Birger Sandzén's star reached its zenith. The American-Scandinavian Foundation sponsored a large exhibition of his work at the Babcock Galleries in New York. Sandzen received enthusiastic critical reviews...." The Foundation was ecstatic, and wired the artist to come to New York. They offered to send a plane. Sandzén's reply was "I am sorry. I have classes and cannot leave."
—Southwest Art - April, 1983
"The art of Birger Sandzen is beautifully adapted to the interpretation of the American Rocky Mountains. Our Rockies are stark, strong, ruthless things.... Birger Sandzen knows the mood of nature. He goes to it unafraid. And comes back triumphant, capturing it, subduing it, translating it into human terms. He grapples with its joy. He translates its terror and dread without compromise, without understatement.
—William Allen White
"In Sandzén's biographies it often says something like: 'His style was after van Gogh.' This always caused the teacher-artist to chuckle and point out that he did not see a van Gogh until 1924."
—Southwest Art - April, 1983
Birger Sandzén was born in Sweden in 1871. He studied art in Stockholm and Paris, and at the age of twenty-three came to Lindsborg, Kansas. He remained in the United States the rest of his life, most spent in Lindsborg. He died in 1954, at the age of eighty-three.
Like many great artists, Sandzén was multifaceted. He spoke six languages, including Latin, and sang solos with the nationally famous Bethany Oratorio Group.
Sandzén spent a great deal of time in the Estes Park area (see A Mountain Studio below), and produced many works in oils, watercolor and prints from this area. He served as a guest art instructor at the Broadmoor Art Academy (later the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center), the Denver Chappell House School of Art, Utah State College, and the University of Michigan.
Richardson ROME (b.1902 - 19??)
Biography Source – OldEstes.com/D. Tanton)
Listed Davenports
Richardson Rome worked, and painted in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park as well as Boulder, and other locations. He was a multifaceted man, working at McGraw Ranch as a wrangler, and working with fellow artist Dave Stirling and Harriet Peters to produce several humorous works.
About OldEstes
Dave Tanton grew up in Estes Park in the 50’s and 60’s, and attended school there from Kindergarten through High School. And although he left for 30+ years to seek his fortune in the corporate world, he never forgot Estes Park. Retired now, Tanton splits his time between Estes Park and Southern California. His love for Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park and its history, has him spending the last several years acquiring items that reflect that heritage.
Tanton’s family has been in The Park since the very early days. His grandfather Francis Atwell Somerville first came to the Park between 1905 and 1910 where he built a small summer home. Later Grandmother Alpharetta Lemmon Somervilla bought a parcel of land on the Big Thompson River near town from F.O. Stanley personally, where she and “Frank” built their second summer home in 1917. After her husband died in 1925, she converted “Somervilla” to an early version of a bed and breakfast which she ran for many years. After her death, the property passed to Tanton’s Mother Elaine Somerville Tanton who through hard work and sacrifice managed to keep and preserve the property even through hard times.
In addition to Estes Park Legends & Lore, the CAC Fine Art Gallery is also exhibiting the fine contemporary paintings of Estes Park artists, Karen Scharer.
Landscapes from the World Within will run currently with Legends & Lore in the Back gallery through August 2.
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Herb Mignery working on the Hungry Loop
Herb Mignery - When Matter Matters, Bronze 21"X14.5"X21"
Photo/Mel Schockner Photography
Clathworthy's Ye Lyttel Shop in Estes Park
Colorado Historical Society
Lyman Byxbe as a young man at the press.
Photos: Byxbe at the press &, the Byxbe Art Gallery in Estes Park courtesy Bob Crump/OldEstes Collection
Richardson Rome - Dream Lake, Woodblock
Dave Tanton/OldEstes Collection
Karen Scharer - Bloom, Oil
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