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Craig Sheppard (1913-1978) "Coffee", 1974 Original

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Craig Sheppard (1913-1978)  Coffee , 1974 Original
Featured in this lot is an Original Signed Craig Sheppard, "Coffee", 1974, a watercolor on paper in a rustic wood frame, signed and dated on bottom left corner. Provenance: the Owen D. Mort, Jr. Collection. Owen David Mort was an American engineer who amassed an impressive collection throughout his worldwide travels. His collection has included art, artifacts and other historical items from which he has donated to museums at the University of Utah and the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame. Sheppard (1913-1978) is known primarily for his Western theme oil and watercolor paintings, though his range of graphic expression is diverse, and his work was acclaimed in numerous national and international exhibitions. He joined the Art Department at the University of Nevada in 1947, serving as the department chair before retiring in 1973. Sheppard's works are on display at the John & Geraldine Lilley Museum of Art at the University of Nevada, Reno. Sheppard learned to rope and to ride from his father. As a young man, he was a cowboy and rodeo rider, even riding bulls, and the cowboy mystique was to stick to him for the rest of his life. The Nevada desert was a challenge as well to this painter familiar with the brighter colors of the landscape of the Southwest. Free time away from the university found him exploring the Nevada desert landscape, learning to appreciate and paint its subtle colors, strong contrasts of light and dark, and, most of all, its immensity of space. Watercolor is the medium for which he is most noted and in which he worked exclusively toward the end of his life. A transparent medium, difficult if not impossible to rework or correct, it seemed to suit his temperament. Two cowboys sit resting against a fallen tree while drinking coffee, the pot on the hot coals while the fire alongside. It doesn't appear the cowboys are in any hurry to get back to work. Unlike other paintings of Nevada mountains or desert scenes, this is focused on an image of a hardworking Western cowboy life. The matted rustic wood frame is striking. Visible art measures 12.75"L x 9.75"W. The frame is 23"L x 20.75"W x 1.5"D.*