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Buffalo Bill Center of the West

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    • Current HoursDecember 1–February 29: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursday–Sunday
    • Hours & RatesPlan your visit to the Center of the West.
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    • Facility RentalsThe Center is the perfect place for your next event.
    • Visiting YellowstoneYour best stop on the way to or from Yellowstone.
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    • Pre-K ProgramsSet up a guided tour for your preschool class.
    • Field TripsInvestigate outdoor adventures for adults and children.
    • Highlights MapsDiscover collection highlights in each of our museum.
    • Games and InteractivesLearn about the collection through online interactives.
    • Lectures & FilmsPlan for future talks and view past program videos.
    • Western EssaysDelve into historical information on western topics.
  • Shop
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    • Prints
    • Media
    • Baskets
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    • Digital CollectionsExplore our extensive photo and manuscript collections.
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    • The Papers of William F. CodyDiscover scholarship on the man and the myth.
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    • Buffalo BillUncover in-depth information about William F. Cody.
    • Greater Yellowstone Natural HistoryLearn more about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
    • Western ArtDelve into the lives and works of western artists.
    • Plains IndianDiscover more about Plains Indian tribes and collections.
    • FirearmsFind a firearms bibliography, glossary, and more.
    • ConservationFind out how we preserve Center collections.
    • Rights and ReproductionsLicense or reproduce images from our collections.
  • Support
    • Planned GivingLeave your legacy with a bequest or estate gift.
    • Patrons BallAttend our annual gala fundraiser.
    • MembershipBecome a supporter and receive great benefits.
    • VolunteerSupport the Center with your time and talent.
    • Our next raffle car: a 1967 Pontiac GTOBuy your tickets online for this amazing prize!
    • Give TodayMake a donation to programs and operations.
    • Why I SupportSee what motivates donors to give to the Center.
    • We have a winner for the car raffle for 2019Winner: from Lusk, Wyoming, with ticket #0553
    • Raptor ExperienceHelp provide care for our avian friends.
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Home > Points West Online > Points West Online: John Clymer “Winchester” paintings reunited

Points West Online: John Clymer “Winchester” paintings reunited

August 9, 2014 by Nancy McClure

From Points West magazine
Originally published in Summer 1995

Clymer “Winchester” Paintings Reunited

By Howard Michael Madaus
Former Curator, Cody Firearms Museum

Contemporary western art sometimes comes from unexpected sources. In 1969, Olin Corporation, parent company of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, commissioned noted western artist, John Clymer (1907 – 1989) to create three large paintings that represented the lever-action Winchester rifles that the company’s advertising had described since the 1920s as the “guns that won the West”—the Henry repeating rifle, the Winchester M1866 rifle, and the Winchester M1873 rifle.

John Clymer (1907 – 1989). "The Gold Train," 1969 – 1970. Oil on canvas, 60 x 120 in. Gift of Winchester-Western Division, Olin Corporation. 27.70

John Clymer (1907 – 1989). “The Gold Train,” 1969 – 1970. Oil on canvas, 60 x 120 in. Gift of Winchester-Western Division, Olin Corporation. 27.70

Clymer began preparations for the works in 1969 by visiting three western locales. For the depiction of the Henry rifle, Clymer chose Mosquito Pass in then-Colorado Territory, shortly after the 1859 gold rush. In The Gold Train, He painted a mounted column of gold-laden mules descending under the watchful guard armed with a Henry rifle.

John Clymer (1907 – 1989). "The Cattle Drive," 1969 – 1970. Oil on canvas, 120 ¼ x 60 ¼ in. Gift of Winchester-Western Division, Olin Corporation. 26.70

John Clymer (1907 – 1989). “The Cattle Drive,” 1969 – 1970. Oil on canvas, 120 ¼ x 60 ¼ in. Gift of Winchester-Western Division, Olin Corporation. 26.70

The second locale chosen was near the Rawhide Creek crossing of the Platte River in then-Nebraska Territory during the last half decade of the 1860s. Sioux warriors confront a trail boss, armed with a Winchester M1866 rifle, as he leads a herd of Texas longhorns toward the Montana grazing pastures first exploited in 1866. Clymer titled this painting The Cattle Drive.

Clymer’s last western depiction represented the third wave of white expansion into the Rocky Mountain Northern Great Plains, the coming of the settler. Choosing the Big Horn Mountains near Sheridan in Wyoming Territory, Clymer represented in The Homesteaders, three generations of a family of settlers searching for a new life in the West. The family head leads with a Winchester M1873 rifle in one hand and the reins of a horse in the other.

John Clymer (1907 – 1989). The Homesteaders, 1970. Oil on canvas, 120 ¼ x 60 ¼ in. Gift of Winchester-Western Division, Olin Corporation. 25.70

John Clymer (1907 – 1989). “The Homesteaders,” 1970. Oil on canvas, 120 ¼ x 60 ¼ in. Gift of Winchester-Western Division, Olin Corporation. 25.70

All three paintings, each of which measures nearly five feet by ten feet, were completed during the winter of 1969-1970. In March 1970 they were dedicated at the famous “21” Club in New York City and placed in the care of Buffalo Bill Historical Center Board Member Peter Kriendler for transfer to the museum.

The paintings were first displayed in the area between the Buffalo Bill Museum and the Whitney Western Art Museum. Later they were moved to the south end of the Buffalo Bill Museum.

When the Plains Indian collection was moved from its former home below the Buffalo Bill Museum to the new Plains Indian Museum in 1979, that area was converted for the display of the Winchester Gun Museum’s collection, loaned to the Historical Center in 1978. Only one, however, was relocated to the entry of the new Winchester Arms Museum. When the Cody Firearms Museum was installed in 1991, the same Clymer painting was initially displayed.

Click here for Points West magazine, Summer 1995 issueIn 1994 the three paintings were finally reunited in the museum entry. They now occupy a dominant position in the Cody Firearms Museum.

Filed Under: Points West Online
Tagged With: contemporary western art, Henry repeating rifle, The Cattle Drive, The Gold Train, The Homesteaders, Winchester M1866 rifle, Winchester M1873 rifle, Winchester Repeating Arms Company

 

About Nancy McClure

Nancy works in the Center of the West's Public Relations Department in electronic communications. Her work includes writing and updating website content, publicizing events, updating electronic signage, working with images, and producing the e-newsletter Western Wire. In her spare time, Nancy enjoys photography, reading, and playing the flute.

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