Additional Information
George Phippen is widely celebrated today as one of the founders of the Cowboy Artists of America, and its first president, and yet Phippen barely had time to enjoy the group’s success before he died in 1966, a year after the CA’s founding. Phippen’s larger career stretches back much further: he was a combat artist for the U.S. Army during World War II, he worked in illustration after the war and then, in 1948, he started making oil paintings for Christmas cards and calendars. He was also instrumental in bringing bronze foundries into the Prescott area of Arizona, where he lived and worked.
Horse Wrangler comes with a signed letter from Mrs. George Phippen, dated 1975, that notes the painting was created in 1955 for Brown & Bigelow Calendar Co.