There are parts of the Old West that intrigue us all. The
expanses of the Great Plains, rugged cowboys, and
Native Americans. It is because of these
images that the Western and Southwest heritage lives on so vividly
for those who love the West. Truly one of the greatest modern day stories
of our Western heritage is personified in the art and person of Jim
Stuckenberg, who many call “The Western Enigma.”
Jim Stuckenberg is one of the most widely recognized and sought
after Western artists since Frederic Remington, and C.M Russell;
yet, this fact alone does not make him a mystery. It is the amazing
fact that Jim Stuckenberg is one of the last true “Cowboy” Artists.
Jim Stuckenberg was born in 1943 in St. Louis, Missouri. Like many children, he grew up on a farm with horses, but Jim was also
born deaf. However, this has never stood in his way. When he
was just four years old, Jim learned to read lips and after high
school, he graduated from Fresno State University with a B.S. in
animal science. He loves to be around horses and livestock, so as
a young man he decided to start riding bulls & broncos on the
college rodeo team. To be competitive, Jim arranged to have the
clowns throw him signals so he would know when eight seconds
had passed. Jim was gifted with horses and was soon hired by
racehorse trainer D. Wayne Lukas, well known for his multiple
Kentucky Derby winners while working for Lukas, Jim began
to doodle and dabble a bit with watercolors. When people saw
Jim’s work, the response was always as it has been among his
collectors, a universal, “I’d like to have that.”
Even as Jim’s work became more and more sought after, he never
neglected to spend time around the things that gave him the greatest
inspiration his sons, Will, David, and Daniel; and his horses. Many
art critics realizing the rarity in Jim’s work suggested he set
aside his love for horses and focus exclusively on his art career.
However, Jim soon proved his merit in the horse world too as the
owner and trainer of many champion horses. Jim’s horses have set
multiple racetrack records, become AQHA Champions, NCHA futurity
winners, and one horse, “Peanuts,” was even inducted into the Rodeo
Hall of Fame.
Jim’s love of the West does not end at the paddock; he loves the
lifestyle, too. As a frequent guest of the Rancheros Vistadores
trail-riding club and the Western White House (Rancho De Cello), he
often spent time with one of his earliest collectors, Ronald
Reagan. As word of Jim’s talent and artistry spread, his art became
almost unattainable, and remains so today. So, why doesn’t Jim
produce large quantities of his works like many of today’s well-known artists? Jim said it best himself, “No one else can finish my
work for me because each piece has to be as good as the original, I
do
all of the work myself so nothing is out of place.”
Today, the quality found in a Stuckenberg is unheard of and it
shows. Jim has won or displayed at some of the most prestigious
Western Art shows and museums in the country including the George
Phippen Memorial, Gilcrease Museum, Woolaroc Museum, and many
others. Since the mid-eighties, the phrase “quality investment” has
become a familiar phrase when discussing Stuckenberg’s Art. As
companies and private collectors receive word of Jim’s work, his
pieces continue to grow in fashion and rarity with most clients
ordering pieces before they are even created. Jim’s art has long
been coveted by various Fortune 500 Companies like Wells Fargo and
Leggett & Platt, who enjoy it not only for its one of a kind
quality, but for its investment appeal as well. Jim’s works have
also adorned the homes and ranches of many notable families like the
Hurst’s, Cleberg’s, Russell’s, and Rogers’; and the homes of
Hollywood stars like Ben Johnson, Fess Parker, Duncan Renaldo and
many others.
Emphasizing accuracy, Jim’s works are known for their true realism
and factual content. He does do his homework; one of Jim’s recent
trips took him through the Southwest to study an Indian tribe he was
painting, and then to some favorite spots in Texas and Arizona to
take pictures of mesas for use in the background of a painting. Jim
loves what he does so much it is not uncommon for him to personally
drive across the United States with a piece of art just to see the
delight on someone’s face when it is finally delivered.
So, to what do we attribute Jim’s genius talent, undeniable
attention to detail, down to earth ways, and absence of commercial
production? Does he see life more clearly without the distractions
of sound? Is it true that “the outside of a horse is good for the
inside of a man” as some have said? His work is the answer we have,
for that is the “Western Enigma” Jim has become, and it will forever
be his lasting legacy. In the words of the great art critic George
Batten, “One day Jim Stuckenberg’s works will be compared to the
great artists of yesterday and today. But the fact is that it is
already happening.”
ART SHOWS
& MUSEUMS
EXHIBITED
American Indian and Cowboy Art Show (AICA)
Silver Medal in Bronze (Second Place)
Phippen Cowboy Art Show
Gold Medal in Bronze (First Place)
Silver Medal in Bronze (Second Place)
Bronze Medal in Bronze (Third Place)
Phippen Foundation Award
High Desert Art Festival
First Place in Bronze
Second Place in Bronze
Third Place in Bronze
Third Place in Bronze
Founder’s Best of Show
Galleries, Shows, and Museums Exhibited Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta (Canada)
Metal Arts Gallery, Paso Robles, CA
California Classics, Templeton, CA
De Silva Gallery, Montecito, CA
Pepper Tree Show, Santa Ynez, CA
Southwestern Art Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
Kyle Gallery, Los Olivos, CA
Mecate Gallery, Temecula, CA
Gilgrease Museum, Tulsa, OK
Cambria Coast Art Gallery, Cambria, CA
Texas Art Galleria, Dallas, TX
J.D. Challenger Gallery, Taos, NM
La Quinta Show, Palm Springs, CA
Natl.Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, OK
Reagan Ranch Center, Santa Barbara, CA
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, CA
San Dimas, CA
1988
Prescott, AZ
1986
1987
1988
1997
Hesperia, CA
1989
1988
1987
1990
1987
Permanent Exhibit
Current
Current
1969-1978
1978
1986-1988
1986-1988
1986-1988
1987
1987-1992
1987
1988-1990
1999
1990-1992
Permanent Exhibit
Seasonal
Media
Sculpture, Oil, Watercolor, Pen & Ink, and Pencil.
Magazines Featured
The Quarter Horse Journal, Western Horseman, Southwestern
Horseman, Santa Barbara Magazine, The Pacific Coast Quarter Horse,
America’s Horse, Eastern / Western Quarter Horse Journal,
Continental Horseman, Speed Horse, and Cowboys & Indians.
Illustrated Books
“California Bits and Spurs”
“Bandana Country”
“Borderline Lady”
Jim Stuckenberg
Ronald Reagan as
Governor shown receiving a painting from Jim at Hope Ranch,
September 29, 1969.
Jim and son David at the
Rancheros.
Jim drawing a traditional style pen & ink while at the Los Alamitos
track.1972.
Jim and sons Will & David.1986.
Jim and his son Will
Jim
riding the famous saddle bronc Whiz-Bang. Reno 1968.
Jim
riding Red Eye. Tucson 1967.
The win
picture above is one of the first horses Jim both owned and trained.
Jim has won over 90 races to date.