Published on August 13, 2024
The Museum received a gift of Western art entitled Early Texas Ranger by Clyde Heron. It depicts a Texas Ranger during the years of the Frontier Battalion (1874-1900) looking toward the horizon. The Ranger is standing with a Winchester 1873 resting on his leg and a Colt Single Action revolver on his hip. He is wearing typical western clothing.
The oil painting on canvas was created in 1985 by Clyde Heron (1929-1999). Heron’s work is in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. He was a founding member of the American Plains Artists and the Oil Painters of America.
The painting was generously donated by Kedren Scales in honor of her husband, Joe Harris Scales, a supporter of the museum.