Poster artist had never seen a race
Painted chucks from video, scale model
As the artist commissioned to paint the 2015 Stampede poster, Oleg Stavrowsky knew he needed to get the details right.
But until he arrived to see his poster auctioned Thursday night, he’d never seen a race in person.
“I never saw one in my life. These guys are really serious; I had no idea. I knew they ran around fast,” said Stavrowsky, 83.
“You have to see one. When you see one, you’re hooked, they’re fantastic.”
The Austin, Texas, artist’s chuckwagon-themed poster fetched $105,000 at Thursday night’s Western Art Auction.
Incoming Calgary Stampede president Bill Gray commissioned Stavrowsky to create the showstopper.
When Stavrowsky arrived in Calgary Wednesday, he was whisked into the president’s suite to watch the chuckwagon races from the best seats in the house.
“He had never actually seen a chuckwagon race until that night. It was quite an experience for him. He couldn’t actually believe how fast they went,” said Gray.
“I was pretty happy to see him so excited.”
Since 2007, the Stampede has commissioned original fine art for its posters to promote the 10-day show.
Gray said he wanted the Stampede’s 91-year chuckwagon history honoured on canvas, and he wanted Stavrowsky, a renowned western artist, to do it.
“This year, I wanted to insert some action into the poster — and nothing speaks of action more than the chuckwagon races,” he said. “Once I decided that chucks was going to be the theme, I simply started looking for the right artist, looking through art magazines, trying to find the artist in the style I was looking for,” he said.
“Oleg had the style. Those horses look like they’re jumping off the canvas.”
The design was a labour of love for the meticulous Stavrowsky. Gray sent him videos and photographs of Stampede chuckwagon action. The artist created pencil sketches and then built a wooden scale model of chuckwagons. With an accurate reference for the rigs and wheels, he added figures and horses painted from life.
“He’s a fanatic about getting everything right,” said Gray.
There’s a good reason, Stavrowsky says. “You try to sell a painting for a lot of money and some guy who knows about them says that thing didn’t have those kinds of nuts on them. You have to be careful.”
To distinguish his work from the rest, Stavrowsky wanted to paint from a different vantage point. In this case, it’s similar to the view he later experienced from the president’s box.
“Mostly everyone has done it at eye level coming at you. I did what I liked, and it’s simple.”
Gray said an artist with Stavrowsky’s reputation will help shine a light on Stampede among western art collectors. He was one of the first to become a member of the Russell Skull Society of Artists, a new elite group of contemporary western artists.
Stavrowsky, who was born in 1927, was 30 when he got his start as an advertising illustrator and a draftsman.
He quickly became a rising star.
He’s known for his storytelling paintings of working cowboys and native life.
While the subject matter of chuckwagons is new to him, the spirit of the west is not.
“Western art is my passion; there are so many aspects of western heritage that I could capture. I chose to paint the chuckwagon to represent the spirit and the action of the Calgary Stampede.”
Traditionally, the poster is unveiled at the Western Art Show opening.
But this year, Stavrowsky’s work was revealed as a surprise at the GMC Rangeland Derby Canvas Auction in May to increase exposure to collectors.
Original art has played a starring role in Calgary Stampede promotion since the work of renowned American artist Charlie Russell was featured on the first poster in 1912.