Mustang Ballet

Charlie Dye was born in Colorado in 1906 and raised in the American West. As a youth, he spent much of his time amidst horses and farm animals; his father was a Texas Trail cowhand. Dye began making art after recovery in the hospital from an injury sustained from falling off a horse. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academy of Art. He became a painter of the western genre inspired by the work of the great cowboy artist Charles Russell. In 1936, Dye moved to New York City where he became a very successful illustrator working for magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post,Argosy,American WeeklyandOutdoor Life. In 1957, the artist returned to Colorado and became a partner at the Colorado Institute of Art. While teaching, his paintings were exhibited and sold at galleries in New Mexico and Arizona. When his work became more widely accepted, the artist gave up teaching and illustrating and relocated to Sedona, AZ. There he met Joe Beeler, John Hampton and George Phippen: all founding members of the Cowoy Artists of America. Dye was also a founding member of the Cowboy Artists of America in 1965 and remained a member until his death. In 1967, Dye won the first gold medal for his oil painting Through the Aspens, which is now part of the permanent collection at the Cowboy Hall of Fame. The artist died in 1972 in Sedona, AZ. Dye’s works are in the collections of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City and the National Center for American Western in Kerrville, TX.