Description: Oil | Image Size: 26”h x 36”w; Framed Size: 36”h x 48”w

Reynolds did not flinch from portraying difficult subjects that were true to the history of the periods he depicted. This masterwork oil painting shows three Indians coming upon a warrior’s lance stuck in the ground with an unlucky soul’s hat atop, an indication that death was done here, without witness, in the silence of the sage. The rather bleak subject matter is emphasized by the parched and barren landscape captured in a muted palette, but one that employed many colors in subtle shadings. The figures of the horses and Indians are exceptionally well-drawn.

Description: Oil (1977) | Image Size: 24”h x 36”w; Framed Size: 35”h x 47”w

Viewers are drawn into this particular scenario with a single glance showing ranch hands changing the wheel horse on their wagon. It is a fine example of James Reynolds’ storytelling ability as well as his authentically detailed execution of the hands’ tools and clothing, the rigging for the horses, and the depiction of the wagon.

Premiering at the 12th Annual Cowboy Artists of America Show & Sale at the Phoenix Art Museum in 1977, it subsequently was loaned and exhibited for the “Rendezvous 1993 Exhibition” at The Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History & Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Description: Oil | Image Size: 36”h x 48”w; Framed Size: 47”h x 59”w

Firearms were superior in battle to the warrior’s traditional hand lance. A prized rifle might be captured from a fallen foe or obtained in a trade for horses. These traders are a horse apart from making a deal.

As one of James Reynolds’ major paintings … it is large, tells a compelling story, and illustrates his skill as a landscape painter who can master lighting and color as well as his talent for realistically depicting figures in an impressionistic style. Here a group of Plains Indians are examining a rifle that an Indian from a distant tribe has brought to trade. The group is arranged in a triangle with the trader at the point while a group of mounted Indians and a pony form the top side. The group is shown on a vast prairie with brilliant pink clouds, a Reynolds’ hallmark, in the center background. The pink light seems to wash over the entire background, while the foreground containing the figures is painted in cooler tones. We see the participants mid negotiation; the trader is pointing out the finer details of the rifle while his potential customers look on in rapt attention. Such a scene was most likely played out on these plains hundreds of times and Reynolds has perfectly captured the nuances of the potential deal and given the viewer a great sense of time and place. In this painting, Reynolds very effectively combines his talents as both a painter and storyteller.

Private collections, museums and galleries abound with James Reynolds work as well as the work of numerous other artists of the Western American genre. To find a museum in your area, visit www.museumswest.org for a complete listing!

Description: Oil (1991) | Image Size: 28”h x 48”w; Framed Size: 38”h x 58”w

In this painting, Reynolds has depicted prairie warriors examining the wheel ruts left by the passing wagon trains of Anglo immigrants. Their faces reflect concern and foreshadow the despair and tragedy for those who follow the buffalo and their way of life on the plains.

“Unwelcome Tracks” is a very good example of Reynolds’ mature style and is consistent with his known subject matter, palette, draftsmanship, execution, and sense of strongly narrative compositions. He has utilized a triangular grouping of figures and horses in the center of the canvas that serves to continuously redirect the viewers’ focus to the figures anchored in the landscape.

Description: Oil (1981) | Image Size: 28”h x 40”w

Working cattle can be a difficult and often dangerous business. It requires skill as a horseman, dexterity as a roper, and a thorough knowledge of animals that change direction and speed in a matter of seconds. “Winter Pasture” is an effective oil painting of the mechanics and potential drama inherent in this work.

Under a looming dark sky, Reynolds presents a cowboy working his herd and moving them into winter pasture. The cows occupy the middle ground of the painting and fill up the canvas presenting the viewer with a glimpse of the difficult tasks cowboys face such as commanding a herd of animals that may be spooked by an approaching storm or may stubbornly refuse to move. And since the cows are moving in and out of the scene, there is the sense that the cowboy is managing a far larger herd than is depicted. While the action of the painting is not frenetic, we do get an impression of constant motion, of being in the middle of a situation that could turn dicey.

Description: Oil (1985) | Image Size: 28”h x 40”w; Framed Size: 37”h x 49"w

Artists often say that one of their intentions in producing a painting is to give the viewer a sense of being there, to make them feel the scene as well as see it. This painting of a small cow outfit heading out on a cold morning achieves that goal. The cowboys, horses, and wagon are bathed in the pink glow of the rising sun; the chill of the air is communicated by the snow covered ground and the glow of the cook fire warming the coffee. Reynolds set just the right tone for his story to unfold in the viewer’s imagination.

Description: Oil | Image Size: 30”h x 48”w; Framed Size: 44.5”h x 62”w

It is evident from much of James Reynolds’ work that he had a strong connection to the American Southwest—it’s history, landscape, and people. All of those elements are on display in this painting of a group of mounted Chiricahua Apaches shown in bright sunlight against the rugged high desert landscape of their native land. The Apache and their horses are painted in vivid colors with authentic late nineteenth century details of dress and weaponry. The harsh, yet beautiful environment is depicted with a true impression of the arid climate. Reynolds has placed his subjects on a downward slope in the center of the painting poised in the shade cast by a large boulder behind them. He effectively contrasts the coolness of the shadow with the heat and brightness of the surrounding desert. In this painting, Reynolds’ talent as a landscapist and figure painter are on equal display.

Description: Oil on Board (1979) | Image Size: 18”h x 24”w; Framed Size: 28”h x 34”w

Once again, James Reynolds demonstrated his mastery at conveying a mood through a vivid depiction of a winter landscape. However, in this painting of a mare and her colt, the mood is not somber or desolate. The ground is covered with snow, but the horses are standing in a patch of bright sunlight and the mother’s protective stance appears to be shielding her colt from the coming chill of the night. There is definite affection between the two.

Description: Oil (1973) | Image Size: 28”h x 40”w

James Reynolds used a simple, but very effective, compositional device to focus the viewer’s attention on the heart of this painting, a triangle. The point of the triangle is formed by the wagon and team of horses and the sides are formed by the gully, which leads from the wagon to the foreground, and the wagon and two riders who are moving toward the upper right of the canvas. The cowboys’ yellow slickers also serve to keep our attention on the action at hand. As always, Reynolds set the action of the painting against a compelling landscape that created a palpable atmosphere, placing the viewer in a specific time and place, and exacting a genuine feel of working in inclement weather to get a difficult job done.

“A Helpin’ Hand” made its debut at the 8th Annual Cowboy Artists of America Exhibition & Sale held at the Phoenix Art Museum in 1973.

Description: Oil (1998) | Image Size: 36”h x 48”w; Framed Size: 46”h x 58”w

James Reynolds captured the drama, excitement, action, and even the chaos of a buffalo hunt by a group of mounted Plains Indians who display both their horsemanship and prowess as hunters using bows and arrows. Reynolds has created a scene of intense action and movement, but he has also been careful to include authentic details of the period, such as the hand print on the leading Indian’s white horse, a sign that this individual has touched an opponent in battle. The action is set against a parched and rolling prairie landscape underneath a cloud filled blue sky. While the dust cloud from the riders and herd obscure the trailing Indians and animals, the leading players are shown in clear detail.

Like many of his predecessor artists, most notably Charles M. Russell, Reynolds found in the buffalo hunt a subject that has universal appeal illuminating both the bravery and skill of the hunters and the magnificence of the hunted.

This piece was first exhibited at the Prix de West Invitational held at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and subsequently found its home in The Eddie Basha Collection.

Description: Oil | Image Size: 12”h x 16”w; Framed Size: 25”h x 29”w

Color, light, shadow, and texture are all essential elements of a finely done landscape. James Reynolds shows his expertise with all in this vista. The shadows and deep colors of the forested foreground gradually lighten as the viewer’s eye is lured upward by the alluring mountains in the background. Though a small image, it manages to project a sense of grandeur.

The Chiricahua Mountains are a large mountain range in southeastern Arizona; the range is part of the Coronado National Forest. The highest point, Chiricahua Peak, rises 9,759 feet above sea level, approximately 6,000 feet above the surrounding valleys.

Description: Oil (1991) | Image Size: 16”h x 20”w; Framed Size: 19”h x 23”w

Throughout much of James Reynolds’ career, he was known for his narrative paintings about the West, but those paintings also revealed his amazing talent as a landscape painter. Toward the end of his career, much of his time was spent painting the landscapes he was passionate about: deserts, prairies, mountains, lakes and rivers, forests, and seasonal changes upon those terrains. He found solace in the beauty and bounty of nature.

Description: Oil (1977) | Image Size: 30”h x 48”w; Framed Size: 40”h x 58”w

Commerce in the early west rolled upon iron-rimmed wagon wheels. Lured westward by the promise of profit in far flung outposts of civilization, tough men took up the challenge of danger and distance. And James Reynolds told the story well and provided the narrative elements of the cowboys, the team of six horses and the freighter on their frozen journey, but he also added visual details that contributed to the drama unfolding. The band of gray sky above the snowcapped mountains gives way to the bluish white snow of the terrain providing viewers with a realistic feel for the weather and the atmosphere of the day. The riders make their way toward the sun which casts a glancing light that is reflected off the wagon and the white horse at the center of the wagon team—that subtle addition serves to fix the viewer’s eye on the center of the painting. The entire canvas is covered with cool colors that emphasize the cold and winter weather. All of these visual elements move the story along, but also inspire an emotional response.

Description: Oil | Image Size: 18”h x 24”w; Framed Size: 26 ¾”h x 32 ¾”w

Reynolds’ skill as both a figure painter and a landscapist are on full display. Naturally, the bison group is painted harmoniously with the surrounding landscape. The good grass of the painting’s title composes three quarters of the painting while the rest of the canvas is composed of bands of colors in the background; a dark, green line of trees is placed behind the buffalo and is topped with a bluish mountain chain and a pale blue sky filled with white clouds completing the scene. All of these disparate colors blend together to form the perfect backdrop for the grazing animals.

Description: Oil (1976) | Image Size: 28”h x 40”w; Framed Size: 39”h x 51”w

A stagecoach stopped on a snow covered route under a dark, overcast sky captures the harsh realities of a winter’s aura as well as the extraordinary capacities of both man and mammal that went into moving a stage across difficult terrain. The front wheel position, the coachman’s angled footboard, the slackened reigns, and the well placed horizon speak to not only the authenticity of the era, but are a testament to the artist’s expertise. Lighting, landscapes, and history… James Reynolds was indeed a triple threat.

Description: Oil (1991) | Image Size: 18”h x 24”w; Framed Size: 28”h x 34”w

James Reynolds was born in a Standard Oil lease house in 1926 and raised in Taft, California. He spent summers at his grandmother’s Nevada City hotel which was situated just beyond the infamous Donner Pass and literally above the south fork of the Yuba River. During those formative years, he heard many stories of the old West and developed a lifelong fascination with western history. Although he dabbled in art during grade school, Reynolds didn’t investigate being an artist seriously until after his service in the World War II Pacific theatre.

He enrolled in the Kann Institute of Art in Beverly Hills, CA, for one year and then attended the School of Allied Arts in Glendale, CA, for four. Following, he found work in Hollywood. For a decade and a half he sketched storyboards and sets for most of the major studios. After a particularly grueling assignment designing and helping to apply a body of tattoos on actor Rod Steiger for the film version of “The Illustrated Man,” which was photographed by Life Magazine, Reynolds moved to Sedona to devote his time painting images of the historic and contemporary West.

Few artists ever receive the honor of becoming known as a “painter’s painter.” Reynolds is one such artist. A master colorist and born storyteller, Reynolds is often cited by other artists as one who consistently combines all the elements of composition, color and atmosphere into masterful paintings. Reynolds is as adept at painting cowboys working a herd of cattle as he is at capturing the beauty of an Arizona sunset. One of his fellow artists said, “Any painter who wants to learn how to really nail a picture of the west, whether it is the Old West or a scene right out of yesterday, would do well to take a hard look at James Reynold’s work. He gets all of the ingredients right and he does it with a style that is his alone.”

Reynolds often said that great art is born of a keen sense of observation. An artist, he said, has to be adept at truly seeing the landscape around him. As is clear from his work, Reynolds was committed to painting the strong vibrant colors of the West, but he was also adamant that those colors match the exact values that are found in nature. Reynolds was so successful in achieving these goals that his work has become a model for contemporary artists.

Reynolds became a member of the Cowboy Artists of America in 1968 and received top honors the same year he left Hollywood. He was the first artist to win the Prix de West Invitational award, the Buyer’s Choice award, and the Gold Medal for painting at the National Academy of Western Art in Oklahoma City.

Description: Oil | Image Size: 20”h x 30”w; Framed Size: 29 ¼”h x 39”w

Description: Oil | Image Size: 28”h x 40”w; Framed Size: 38 ½”h x 50 ½”w

While Aunt Zelma and Eddie were visiting James Reynolds in his studio one day, this piece was on his easel. When Eddie inquired as to what it would be titled, Jim, the occasional curmudgeon barked, “I don’t know” and later flippantly said he would call it “Aunt Zelma’s Friends.” It was a gesture of friendship and in appreciation for her admiration and support of him that Jim Reynolds titled this piece accordingly since Aunt Zelma made no secret of the fact that he was her favorite of the contemporary Western artists.

Description: Oil | Image Size: 20”h x 30”w

Description: Oil on Panel | Image Size: 14”h x 11”w

Description: Oil on Panel | Image Size: 14”h x 12”w

Description: Oil on Panel | Image Size: 14”h x 12”w

Description: Oil on Panel | Image Size: 14”h x 12”w

Description: Oil | Image Size: 12”h x 9”w