Wilfred Henry Stedman (American, 1892-1950), Aspen Ranch Road

Oil on masonite, 1936, signed and dated at lower right, presented in a later frame.

Panel 24 x 20 in.; Frame dimensions 27 1/2 x 23 1/2 in.

Wilfred Henry Stedman was a painter, sculptor, architect, illustrator, and educator with a wide-ranging career geographically and professionally. Born in England, he moved to Canada at age fourteen and apprenticed with a Winnipeg architect while attending St. Mary's College. In 1914, he became a practicing architect in Wisconsin before shifting to fine art painting. He studied at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Art Students League in New York from 1916 to 1917 under Frank DuMond, Francis Mora, Harvey Dunn, and Birger Sandzen. During World War I, he served with the U.S. Army Expeditionary Forces in France on General John Pershing's staff, remaining afterward for self-study at the University of Besancon. Upon returning to the United States, he worked as a freelance illustrator in New York before moving to Colorado Springs to serve as Director of Industrial Arts at the Broadmoor Art Academy and Director of the U.S. Veterans Bureau Art School.

In 1925, Stedman moved to Houston, Texas, where he opened a studio and gave art lessons. In 1928, he married one of his students, Myrtle Kelly, and in 1934 the couple moved to Tesuque, New Mexico, where they operated a fruit orchard and restored adobe structures. During World War II, he worked as an architectural draftsman at Los Alamos. After the war, he served as Art Director for New Mexico Magazine from 1935 to 1950 and worked for Adobe Architecture magazine. He illustrated several books including Cattle Trails of the Old West and Rails That Climb. His work is held in collections including Rice University, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Denver Art Museum, and Santa Fe Museum of Fine Arts.

Good estate condition; no condition concerns to note.