Rodeo exhibit pays homage to cowboys

Standard Democrat

SIKESTON, Mo. -- People have ridden horses as long as recorded history, but the image of a cowboy on a bucking bronco's back is pure American.

"The Artist and The Bucking Horse," on display through Aug. 25 at the Sikeston Depot, pays homage to that image with 40 interpretations rendered in colored pencil, oil, watercolor, and pen and ink.

"The exhibit is from the ProRodeo Hall of Fame," said Jaycee member Rob Clay. "This is the first time that any sort of art display has been brought here by the PRCA."

ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy is located next to the national headquarters of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Bringing the exhibit to Sikeston was "a coordinated effort," Clay said. He credited Janice Matthews and Judy Bowman of the Depot and Bill Burch, a long-time Jaycee who has been active in the rodeo over the years, with making it happen.

"It's an unusual and outstanding exhibit," said Burch. "It's quite a coup for Sikeston to be able to get it."

The core collection was acquired by the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy in the early 1980s when its board members found an opportunity to obtain "a collection of art directly related to our mission statement," according to Pat Hildebrand, executive director of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

Some are the work of prolific and well-known painters; others are the artist's only work ever. The exhibit on display at the depot includes the entire collection except for six bronze sculptures.