Robert "Shoofly" Shufelt
New Mexican cowboy artist ROBERT "SHOOFLY" SHUFELT'S graphite drawings have become an important thread in the fabric of Western Art, earning world wide recognition. His work illuminates the bare bones of an artist's craft and portrays the physical evidence of his perception. They are celebrations of a dreamer who has allowed his dream to become reality with all its grit and honesty, yet he still finds the work endlessly interesting and satisfying. He has an artist's vision of cowboys as they can only be around another cowboy, unposed and unself-conscious. They are men who practice their vision of superiority in whatever they do, leaving it up to the rest of us to determine whether they're working or playing. These disciples of the "cowboy way" are Shoofly's top hands and his work is forever honored by their friendship.
"At an age when many retire ... I'm enjoying a calm within. That catch-up-have-to-do scramble that bounced around in my subconscious for decades has subsided. Notions about achievement, reputation, goals and results have disappeared. The real milestones are less prepossessing and come to memory unannounced. The longer I work the more I understand my kinship and response to graphite. I have no intention to lay down my pencil, but aim to hold off Father Time long and hard. If I can keep my hand steady and find that little hole in the pencil sharpener.... I'm good!"
...............................................................................................--Robert Shufelt
(Photo by M Holzwarth)
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BIOGRAPHY
BORN: February 16, 1935, Robert Stratton Shufelt in Champaign, Illinois
Christened "Shoofly" by his brother-in-law on a Verde Vacquero's Ride 1967;
Sunflower, Arizona
EARLY EDUCATION:
Private studies DeWitt Whistler Jayne
The Art Institute of Chicago
COLLEGE:
Lake Forest College and The University of Illinois
EXPERIENCE:
An illustrator l 5 years competing in national commercial art markets
Competing in the southwestern fine art market since 1975
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Scottsdale Artists School 1985-1995
Peppertree Ranch Workshops for 3 years
GALLERIES / SHOWS:
Settlers West Gallery, Tucson, AZ (settlerswest.com)
Legacy Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ., Jackson, WY. (legacygallery.com)
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
(nationalcowboymuseum.org/prix de west)
Mountain Oyster Club (mountainoysterclub.com)
MUSEUM EXHIBITS:
TAHONO-CHUL MUSEUM,
Tucson, AZ.
[Retrospective 1989]
OLD WEST MUSEUM, Cheyenne, WY.
DESERT CABALLEROS WESTERN MUSEUM, Wickenburg, AZ. [Retrospective 1996, Detailing the West 1998]
SANTA DE CRISTO ARTS CENTER, Pueblo, CO.
THE TUCSON ART MUSEUM, Tucson, AZ.
PRO RODEO HALL OF FAME, Colorado Springs, CO. [Retrospective 1987]
COLORADO SPRINGS FINE ART CENTER, Colorado
NATIONAL COWBOY & WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Prix de West Art Show
EXPRESS RANCHES GREAT AMERICAN COWBOY AWARD 2005
GENE AUTRY MUSEUM OF WESTERN HERITAGE, Los Angeles, CA
ALBUQUERQUE MUSEUM "Covering the West", New Mexico
MUSEUM OF THE BIG BEND, Sul Ross State University, Alpine Texas
FARM AND RANCH HERITAGE MUSEUM, Las Cruces, New Mexico [on going retrospect of lithographs 1997-2010]
HALEY LIBRARY AND HISTORY CENTER, Midland Texas
THE PHIPPEN MUSEUM, Prescott, Arizona [2007 WITH BILL NEBEKER]
ACADEMY OF WESTERN ARTISTS - ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2007
PUBLISHED BOOKS:
"DRAWING FROM EXPERIENCE" 1995 Settlers West Gallery / Robert Shufelt 1997
"RAISED ON GOOD PASTURE" Western Images Ltd / Robert Shufelt; Drawings by Shoofly. Poetry by Audrey Hankin 2002
"THE POINT OF MY PENCIL" Western Images Ltd / Robert Shufelt
TELEVISION:
ABC Night Line "The Cowboy Way" July 2003
MAGAZINE COVERS:
WESTERN HORSEMAN: JUNE 1990, JULY 1996, FEBRUARY 2001, APRIL 2003
SOUTHWEST ART: DEC 1989 Editors Choice: Dream Collection, OCTOBER 1996, 2008 Legends in Western Art
MAGAZINE ARTICLES:
SOUTHWEST ART: OCTOBER1979, DECEMBER 1989, OCTOBER 1999, MAY 1992, JULY 1995, OCTOBER 1996, APRIL 1998
WESTERN HORSEMAN: JUNE 1990, SEPTEMBER 2007
ART TALK: numerous times--- LATEST OCTOBER 2005
ART OF THE WEST: NOV/DEC 1987, NOV/DEC 1988, JAN/FEB 1993
JUL/AUG1995, SEPT/OCT1997, MARCH/APRIL 2007
COWBOYS AND INDIANS: JUNE 2004
VENTANAS: WINTER 2008
AMERICAN COWBOY: NOV/DEC 2007 "From the Soul" by JPS Brown
SOUTHWEST ART : DEC 2008; "Legends of Fine Art"
WESTERN ART COLLECTOR: FEB 2009
NUMEROUS "AWARDS" THAT ARE IN THE CLOSET OF MY STUDIO
*
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