Communications Division
State Capitol
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105

For Immediate Release: April 21, 2004

Senator Charles Ford announced the unveiling of a portrait of “The Buffalo Skinner’s Cart,” by Gordon Snidow, is the latest in a series of paintings commissioned by the Oklahoma State Senate Historical Preservation Fund, Inc.

Snidow has been the foremost storyteller of the contemporary cowboy for over forty years and is one of America’s outstanding fine artists.

“A lot of people have a stereotypical image of the West of cowboys and their way of life. However, I paint the West not in the typical manner, but how it really was during the era – rough, dirty, warts and all,” stated the acclaimed artist.

In 2003 the artist was honored with a retrospective exhibition at the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building in Washington D.C. The exhibition featured more than 100 works of Snidow’s art that spans over four decades of his career.

Snidow spent most of his childhood in Oklahoma. He received private art lessons from a teacher in Enid and was enrolled in the Famous Artists School and graduated from Tulsa’s Webster High School. He received a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, California. Snidow is also a charter member of the Cowboy Artists of America.

“Gordon Snidow is a talented artist that truly knows how to depict the reality of the West. He is an accomplished artist and I am very pleased with the quality of this painting,” said Senator Ford, President of the Senate Historical Preservation Fund, Inc.

Snidow had his first art show in the second grade and after visiting the Gilcrease Museum at the age of twelve, decided he wanted to become a cowboy artist. The famous artist participates in the Prix de West Show at the National Cowboy Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, as well as other nationally known art shows.

“Gordon Snidow has dedicated his life to the art world, in particular to the Western art world. This is the first painting he has done for from our foundation and I am more than pleased with his true depictions of the buffalo skinners,” Ford said. “I look forward to further working with this fine artist.”

The painting is a gift of the Harold C. Stuart Foundation, which is a charitable foundation based in Tulsa.
Snidow is also participating in the Gilcrease Rendezvous taking place in Tulsa this weekend.

This and other art commissioned by the Oklahoma State Senate Historical Preservation Fund, Inc. can be found on the Internet at: http://www.lsb.state.ok.us/senate/welcome.html.

For more information contact:
Senate Communications Office - (405) 521-5774