LOT Davis Brothers Auction  /  Memories of the Frontier  / 

688

Ben Cooper Work's Done Bronze

Currency:USD Category:American Indian Art Start Price:10.00 USD Estimated At:100.00 - 150.00 USD
Ben Cooper Work's Done Bronze
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4" by 6" on base. 14" tall. Marion Ben Cooper 05/30/1930 – 05/21/2014 Ben was born and raised in a rural Texas community. He was interested in drawing at a very young age. One day his grandfather who saw Ben drawing, admonished his mother that Ben would never learn to "plow a straight row" by doing that. His formal art education began with private lessons from Ms. Henderson (paid for by the sale of eggs) and then on into high school where he earned several awards. Later, he enrolled in an art correspondence course taught by a group of outstanding and famous artists including Norman Rockwell. Sadly his grandfather and Ms. Henderson never lived to see him make a living from his artwork. Ben moved to Colorado in 1947 with his family and began working on a large cattle ranch. In 1952 he married Jeannie Stringer and moved into the city. That was the first time he had ever lived in a house with electricity and running water. That same year he started building their first house with just a hand saw, hammer, and square. By 1956 Ben and Jeannie had 3 sons and a new home. He started working for Public Service Company (PSCo.) in Denver as a commercial artist in 1957. His detailed paintings of wildlife, rural and western scenes became part of a very successful advertising campaign. At one point these ads graced the pages of a 140 different publications including the Denver Post’s Empire Magazine. In 1969 while he was making his living with artwork that consisted mainly of oil, watercolor paintings, and pen & ink work, he became interested in sculpting. In the 1970’s he was commissioned by several companies to create bronze sculptures to be used as employee recognition and incentive awards. In 1984 he entered a bronze sculpture in the National Sculpture Society competition and was awarded the National Sculpture Society's 1st place award for "Action". The sculpture depicted a running Russian Wolfhound. He and his wife traveled to New York City to accept the award. Ben retired from PSCo. in 1986 after working nearly 30 years. He continued to do artwork for about 12 more years. He was a true master of his craft, and his legacy as one of Colorado’s most celebrated artist artists lives on to this day.
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