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J. K. Ralston

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J. K. Ralston
Born
James Kenneth Ralston

(1896-03-31)March 31, 1896
Choteau, Montana
DiedNovember 26, 1987(1987-11-26)(aged 91)
Billings, Montana
NationalityAmerican
EducationChicago Art Institute
Known forPainting
Notable workCall Of The Bugle,Crossing the Redwater,Custer's Last Hope,Sacajawea At The Portage
MovementOld American West
SpouseWillo (1923-?)
AwardsGold Medal,National Cowboy Hall of Fame

James Kenneth "J.K." Ralston(March 31, 1896 – November 26, 1987)[1]was an Americanpainterof theOld American Westwhose primary topics were the American West and images ofcowboysandAmerican Indians.He also did commercial artwork.[2][3]

Life and career[edit]

Ralston's family moved toColoradofromIndependence, Missouriin 1859 by ox team, thenIdahoin 1863, and finallyMontanain 1864, seeking gold each time.[1]Ralston's father, William R. Ralston, "arrived in Highland, a settlement onAlder Gulch"on July 4, 1864, settling on a ranch" about 12 miles "fromChoteau, Montanain 1877.[4]Ralston was born in 1896 in Choteau, Montana. His family moved toHelena, Montanabefore he was 10 years old. When he was 10, in 1906, they moved to the Capital P ranch inDawson County, Montanain northeastern Montana. He spent his early adult years as a cowboy in easternMontana.In 1917, after completing high school, he "rode a cattle train to Chicago," where he attended theChicago Art Institutefor three months before joining theUnited States Armyin spring of 1918.[4]He served in the 62nd Infantry,Eighth DivisioninWorld War I.This unit served overseas but did not see combat. Ralston returned to the Chicago Art Institute in the fall of 1920.

In 1923 Ralston married his wife Willo and they lived on the Pacific coast for seven years. They returned to Montana in 1930 and took over the Roman E, his father's ranch, nearCulbertson, Montana.TheGreat Depressionforced them to move toBillings, Montanain 1935. Ralston opened a studio in Billings and worked as a professional full-time artist. His works includeTreasury Section of Fine Artsmurals at theRichland County CourthouseandGeneral Sully at Yellowstonein 1942 for the post office inSidney, Montana[5]as well as apost office mural,The Fate of a Mail Carrier - Charloie Nolan - 1876inSturgis, South Dakota.[6]He earned He also createdpublic artfor the First National Bank in Billings, and for the Westerners Club in Las Vegas.[4]

Ralston died in 1987 in Billings.[2][7]

Legacy[edit]

The MonDak Arts & Historical Society, which is located inSidney, Montanaand was founded in 1967, opened the J. K. Ralston Museum and Art Center in 1972. This operated until 1984 when the Center was moved to the newly completed MonDak Heritage Center in Sidney.[8]Ralston's works are on display at theBuffalo Bill Historical CenterinCody, Wyoming,theWestern Heritage Centerin Billings, theMontana Historical Societyin Helena, theLittle Bighorn Battlefield National MonumentnearCrow Agency, Montana,and theGateway Arch National ParkinSt. Louis, Missouri.[2][7]In 1946 Ralston and his son built alog cabinart studiofor him to work in.[9]After his death, Ralston's log cabin studio was first moved toRocky Mountain Collegein Billings and then to theWestern Heritage Centerin 2005.[9]

In 1978, Ralston was awarded a Gold Medal by theNational Cowboy Hall of Fame,which inducted him into theHall of Great Westerners.He was inducted into theMontana Cowboy Hall of Famein 2012.[7][10][11]

SacajaweaAt The Portage,sample of Ralston's painting style

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"James Kenneth Ralston (1896 - 1987)".Askart.Retrieved2010-06-06.
  2. ^abc"Permanent Art Collection - J.K. Ralston - A few more examples of J.K. Ralston's work".MonDak Heritage Center. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-09-22.Retrieved2010-06-06.
  3. ^Mentzer, Elizabeth (Autumn 2003)."Made in Montana Montana's Post Office Murals"(PDF).Montana The Magazine of Western History.53(3). Helena, MT: Montana Historical Society: 44–53. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2016-03-20.Retrieved2010-06-06.
  4. ^abcSmith, Jeffrey J (2003).The Montana book of days: the short course in Montana history.Missoula, Montana: Historic Montana Publishing. p. 93.ISBN9780966335569.
  5. ^Murals."Living New Deal".livingnewdeal.org.p. 1.Retrieved11 December2014.
  6. ^Park, Marlene and Gerald E. Markowitz, Democratic vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal, Temple University Press, Philadelphia 1984
  7. ^abc"J. K. Ralston (1896-1987)".Meadowlark Gallery.Retrieved2010-06-06.
  8. ^"About Us".Sidney, MT: MonDak Heritage Center. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-09-22.Retrieved2010-06-06.
  9. ^ab"J.K. Ralston: History on Canvas".Western Heritage Center. 2008.Retrieved2010-06-06.
  10. ^"Hall Of Great Westerners".National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.Retrieved2014-03-22.
  11. ^"J.K. Ralston".Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame.Archived fromthe originalon 2014-03-22.Retrieved2014-03-22.

Further reading[edit]

  • Popovich, John A. (1986).The Voice of the Curlew.Billings, MT: J. K. Ralston Studio.—J.K. Ralston's story of his life as told to John A. Popovich
  • Ralston, J.K. (1969).Rhymes of a Cowboy.Billings, MT: Rimrock Publishing.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=J._K._Ralston&oldid=1174852748"