George Phippen (July 11, 1915 – April 13, 1966) was an American sculptor and painter from Arizona. He was the co-founder and first president of the Cowboy Artists of America. He is the namesake of the Phippen Museum in Prescott, Arizona.

Early life

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Phippen was born in 1915 in Charles City, Iowa.[1][2] He grew up as a cowboy in Kansas,[2] and he received no formal art education.[1] When he was serving in World War II, he taught himself to paint. After the war, he briefly worked with artist Henry Balink in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[1]

Career

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Over the course of twenty years, Phippen did approximately 3,000 works in his brief career.[3] He was a sculptor and painter in representational style of western genre, figures, horses and cattle.[2][3] His work included the bronze sculpture Cowboy in a Storm.

Phippen was a member of the Mountain Artists Guild.[2] He was also a co-founder of the Cowboy Artists of America, and he served as its first president.[1][4]

Personal life, death and legacy

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Phippen married Louise Goble.[2] They had five children,[2] and they resided in Skull Valley near Prescott, Arizona.[5]

Phippen died of cancer in 1966 in Skull Valley, at age 50.[4][5] The Phippen Museum was established in 1975.[5][6] His widow authored a book about him in 1983.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "George Phippen". Cowboy Artists of America. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Butcher, Harold (July 15, 1951). "To Please Cowboys Is Cowboy Artist's Aim". Arizona Republic. p. 30. Retrieved December 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "George Phippen Retrospective September 11 – December 30, 2004". Traditional Fine Arts Organization. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Cowboy Artist Dies". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, California. April 16, 1966. p. 8. Retrieved December 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c Wayman, Ken (May 25, 1975). "Friends pay homage to cowboy artist". Arizona Republic. p. 130. Retrieved December 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Nilsen, Richard (May 23, 2004). "Phippen celebrates anniversary with art". Arizona Republic. p. 71. Retrieved December 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.

Further reading

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