THE CODE OF THE WEST
The late Michael Kammerer, founder of ITN Networks, formed the Code of the West Foundation. He commissioned Herb Mignery to create a sculpture embodying the beliefs of the foundation. The Code of the West features two cowboys on horseback facing each other and shaking hands. Cowboy poet Red Steagall, who was Poet Laureate of Texas, serves on the board of the foundation which presented full-size casts of the sculpture to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. The foundation had a number of smaller versions made, which are given to people and organizations across the country. Steagall explains that although Kammerer was brought up in the east he came west and admired the values that inspired and continue to guide the people of the west. “The people who get the sculpture conform to the regulations of the foundation, the heritage of the traditional values of taking care of your neighbors, taking care of your family, common decency, being loyal and honest with a good work ethic and letting your handshake be your bond. The board decided that Mike Ingram exhibited that more than anybody we ever knew.” The Code of the West is one of Mike’s favorite pieces.
bought a Brad Schmidt painting. We still own both today.
“We do know most of the artists very well and they are the Cowboy Artists of America,” she says. “We are honorary members of their organization and attend all their events, including the CAA art sale, the Prix de West and a few other shows. We attend their annual trail ride and they have become some of our closest friends.” Mike concurs, “We have gotten to know most of the artists very well.”
Mike explains, “Sheila tends to buy more Native American art and works that depict that lifestyle where I tend to buy more works of the American cowboy and that lifestyle.” The couple’s Spur Cross Ranch is home to Ingram Quarter Horses, which has been breeding, raising and training quality American quarter horses for more than 25 years. Mike adds, “I have always enjoyed anything that had to do with horses, cattle and cowboys. As I matured, I became fascinated with the works of Charlie Russell and some of the Cowboy Artists of America. I definitely look for art that looks authentic from my understanding of ranching and a Western lifestyle.”
The collectors don’t miss an opportunity to look for art. Sheila says, “We have worked with dealers, auctioneers, artists, fairs, art schools, charity events, galleries and museums. We have attended a lot of different auctions and in different states—oklahoma, Montana, Wyoming, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Canada—to collect a lot of our art.” They say, “We have had a lot of great pieces of art get away that we would love to have had on our walls, but we realize that sometimes it’s all in the luck of the draw.”
The luck of the draw brought them Almost There by Joe Abbrescia (1936-2005), a painting of a scene in Glacier National Park. It won both the People’s Choice and the Juror’s Best of Show awards at the 2004 C.M. Russell Auction of Original Western Art.
Although Sheila admits to being attached to everything they collect, Mike claims a favorite in Cow Horse Country by Tim Cox. It was painted on the Wagonhound Ranch in Casper, Wyoming, which also raises quarter horses.
Although he is a real estate developer, Mike still goes with his gut when acquiring art. He says, “My advice to beginning collectors would be to go with what appeals to your taste, rather than make a purchase as an investment or purchase something that might appreciate in value.”