I wish we had that designation here: I and many others here in Washington state would jump to nominate Washington’s own living treasure, Fred Oldfield.

Construction worker, boxer, soldier, cowboy – Fred has seen a lot, and the paintings, drawings and other works by this celebrated and much-loved artist and son of Washington state reveal much: about land desolate and beautiful and about the hard-bitten people who herd on or scratch their living from it.

Fred’s work – along with wagons, a pioneer cabin, Native American baskets and other artifacts of the West – can be seen and enjoyed at The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center, located at the Puyallup Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Wash.

Born in Alfalfa, Wash., in 1918, Fred is living Americana. He grew up riding and doing a variety of jobs, from ranching (cattle, hogs, turkeys) to placer mining for gold to prizefighting, He found himself stranded and broke in an Alaskan inn after being evacuated from a construction site in Sitka at the start of World War II; with nothing else to do, he started painting scenes of mountains, cabins and fishing boats on discarded linoleum tiles, which his landlady sold for $10 apiece. (“Somebody said she was my first agent,” he quipped.) While in the Army, he painted the backs of bomber crews’ flight jackets, remarking that “the leather was good and it took the paint well.”

After the war, Fred attended art classes on the G.I. Bill, painted murals in Seattle and began selling his work at sidewalk shows. “That kind of took off: People started buying my paintings,” he recalled. “Of course, I was born and raised on the Yakima Indian reservation, I’d rode all my life and worked on cattle ranches and stuff, so I started doing Western art.”

Fred depicts, not only stark and majestic landscapes familiar to many in the Northwest, but human images – Indians, cowhands, prospectors – whom he has known over his nearly nine decades. He pointed out one painting of three men on a trail drive warming themselves by a campfire; painted from memory, they are real people, one of whom has passed away. When the deceased man’s daughter visited The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center, “I said, ‘You want to pick which one of those guys was your dad?’ ” Fred recounted. “And she said, ‘That’s him,’ ” correctly identifying her father.

Fred is an artist in the tradition of Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. We who may never gaze across the rocky reaches of Washington’s backcountry while on horseback can feel the majesty, distance and stark beauty of Fred’s landscapes, the camaraderie of his campfires and the loneliness his mountain cabins.

Nor is he stingy with his talents: In fact, Fred is deeply involved in teaching children and adults to paint via the art program at The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center, where more than 10 percent of the kids are on scholarships. At “mural camps,” teams for four children learn to exchange ideas and respect each other as they plan and execute large-scale paintings together.

“Some of our kids are shy and backward, and if we can instill confidence in them, it’s a big plus,” Fred told me. “They get in there and paint and show some ingenuity, and it makes them feel good about themselves.”

John and Mary Catherine Manley, patrons of the The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center, said of Fred: “He has a unique sense of color, a deft hand with a palette knife, and he eloquently tells a story of the West in his paintings.”

In short, Fred Oldfield has lived the cowboy life and renders it with heart. Small wonder that Washington governor Christine Gregoire declared March 18, 2008 – Fred’s 90th birthday – Fred Oldfield Day in the state (the Washington State Senate had honored him a month earlier).

The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center is a must-see collection of art and artifacts, especially if you’re anywhere near Puyallup. For information and to see more of Fred’s art, visit FredOldfieldCenter.org.

At The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center Fiddle and Pickin’ Contest

Fri. and Sat., Nov. 13 and 14, 2009

This year The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center will again proudly host the Fiddle and Pickin' Contest!

The two-day event will consist of the contest, workshops and – new this year – the raffling off of a pair of Alaskan Airlines coach tickets to anywhere they have a route.

Visit our events page for more details.

All images courtesy of The Fred Oldfield Western & Art Heritage Center, FredOldfieldCenter.org.

While riders on the lonesome trails may have morphed into truckers (pickup and long-haul) on the lonesome highways, the West of today is still rooted in the romance of the cowboy. Call him a stereotype: There was a reason why “Gunsmoke” and “Bonanza” were two of the longest-running TV series of all time; why the Marlboro Man is one of the most iconic of advertising images; and why country-and-Western music and clothing are as popular as ever. They speak of hard work; of facing down adversity – both natural and manmade; of rugged individualism and the pioneering spirit …

… or maybe Americans just love horses, guns and Stetsons.
Whatever: Those with a love of art and/or the American West won’t want to miss viewing the paintings, prints, photos and bronzes in Heritage Auctions’ 2009 Signature July Art of the American West & Texas Auction, which ends on Thurs., June 16. As always with Heritage art auctions (as opposed to other collectibles), most lots are expected to fetch in the thousands – which makes me offer some observations:

1. It’s like the lottery: You gotta buy a ticket – or, in this case, bid – to have a chance of winning, and you may get lucky. The various collectibles market is pretty iffy these days, and that means there are good deals to be had if you’re in the right place at the right time.
2. If you’re going to get a great piece of Western Americana, why not get one good, authentic one than five cheap knockoffs?
3. Don’t invest: Bid on what you really love and want to own for a long time. If you set yourself a budget (remember the buyer’s premium, tax and shipping) and you win, it’s worth it!
4. If you don’t have enough bread to bid, why not buy a catalog for $50? They’re really as beautifully produced as good art books – and if you do bid and win, Heritage knocks fifty bucks off the top, making the catalog a freebie.

There are 308 lots in this auction. Just a few of my personal favorites: the Edward Sheriff Curtis photogravures of Indians; the Robert William Wood Texas landscapes; and the Oleg Stavrowsky cowboy portrait titled “Seattle Sunset.”

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com.

Based in Dallas, Heritage Auctions is an auction house I have dealt with many times over the years, and I have always had positive experiences. Check out this and other Heritage auctions online at www.ha.com