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by Dave Paulley
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Wyoming History Paintings by Dave Paulley
David Paulley, western, aviation and sculpture artist, was born in
Wyoming, where he has spent most of his life. Raised in the small town
of Osage, Wyoming, in the northeastern part of the state, Dave was
surrounded by the look and feel of the old west. Art was of great
interest at an early age and through his growing years.
The art of Charles M. Russell has had a tremendous influence on Paulley's art. Dave considers Russell the one "who knew the west and could illustrate it accurately." Dave's father was an early day pilot, hence, his first exposure and love of airplanes. After high school and college, he entered the U.S. Navy serving with Air Transport Squadron Five, (VR-5). After serving in the Navy, he returned to Wyoming and went back into aviation as a pilot and A & P Technician in Cheyenne. Later, he took a correspondence course available at the time and studied under a well-known German artist, Pawel Kontny, in Denver, Colorado.
In 1968 Dave began painting professionally. For years he painted the western scene. However, his love of aviation later provided an additional outlet for his brush. He finds the combination of old airplanes and the cowboy a subject matter that works well for him. His artwork belongs to many individuals and hangs in corporate offices in many parts of the United States, including Hawaii. Among the foreign countries, Paulley's paintings can be found in Japan, Soviet Union, and several others. For the Wyoming Centennial, Dave painted a total of 31 paintings for the "Wyoming History in Art" project. He has recently finished several paintings that portray Lewis & Clark and the "Corps of Discovery," as they made their way across the west to the Pacific Ocean.
In recent years Dave's art has brought several awards, including "Honorable Mentions, Excellence" and "Par Excellence" at the prestigious EAA art competition on in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Most of Dave's work is commissions, leaving him the luxury of being able to be his most creative. You can visit the Web site: Dave Paulley Editions to contact the artist or for more information.
The Wyoming History in Art Project was a centennial project of the Wyoming State Historical Society. In 1986, the Wyoming State Historical Society entered into an agreement with Wyoming artist Dave Paulley, a native of Osage, Wyoming, to develop 35 original oil paintings that depicted events in Wyoming's history. Seventeen of the paintings pertain to scenes relating to Wyoming trails and are presented here.
The images are derived from high-resolution TIFF files that were scanned from 35 mm slides using a Nikon Cool Scan LS 8000 by Dave Miles Photography. PLEASE NOTE: Due to additional digital processing and variations in personal computer displays the images do not necessarily show the true colors and quality of the original paintings.
You can click on a title below to view a larger image in a new window.
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Sweetwater Stage During the mid-19th century up until the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, travel by stagecoach was an essential means of travel, even though it was uncomfortable. Stages carried mail, travelers, and gold. |
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Jedediah Smith Jedediah Smith epitomized the early mountain man that explored the West. He was part of the culture that trapped fur-bearing animals in the winter and traded pelts at the rendezvous for entertainment and the next winter's supplies. |
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Wilson Price Hunt Expedition Little Missouri River August 1812  Wilson Price Hunt lead an expedition, the first to follow the route of Lewis and Clark, in 1811 that wended up the Little Missouri River in Wyoming near Devils Tower. |
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Whoop-Up Canyon Plains Indians occupied the area of Wyoming known as the Powder River and the Black Hills. For about a hundred years, 1775-1875, the Native Americans were the "Lords of the Grasslands." |
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Verendrye Brothers 1742 The Verendrye Brothers, Francois and Louis-Joseph, and two other Frenchmen traveled from Canada in 1742 through the northeast corner of Wyoming. They were some of the earliest of white explorers of the West. |
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Portugee Phillips Arrives at Old Bedlam, Fort Laramie December 25, 1866 When Indians laid siege to Fort Phil Kearny in 1866, Portugee Phillips carried a request from Fort Phil Kearny in northern Wyoming to Fort Laramie in southeast Wyoming requesting reinforcements of the United States Army. |
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Pony Express Delay - Register Cliff The Pony Express operated about one year, 1860-1861, and carried mail from the Mississippi River to California. The firm of Russell, Majors, and Waddell was credited with carrying the news to California of Abraham Lincoln's election. |
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John Colter Enters Jackson Hole John Colter, a mountain man and adventurer in the early 19th century, is credited with being the first white man to see Colter's Hell, Jackson Hole, and Yellowstone Park. |
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Independence Rock 4th of July 1847 Independence Rock was an important landmark along the Oregon Trail. Many travelers painted or carved their names on its gray granite rock. It was also known as the Great Register of the Desert. |
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Green River Crossing of the Overland Trail Crossing rivers with a wagon was dangerous because of deep and wide rivers. Along the Overland Trail in southern Wyoming, one such crossing was through the Green River. |
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Custer's Troops in Floral Valley, July 1874 In July 1874, Lieutenant Colonel George Custer explored the Black Hills of what was to become Wyoming and South Dakota. His orders were to take him through unmapped territory that had been granted to the Indians by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. |
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Bridger's Ferry on the North Platte 1857 Ferries were made to assist emigrant travelers get their wagons across deep and wide rivers along the emigrant trails to the West. Jim Bridger was an entrepreneur and operated a ferry on the North Platte River. |
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Bridger's Era Jim Bridger was an adventurer of the West during the 19th century. He was a mountain man, explorer, guide, and entrepreneur. |
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The Horse Drawn Freight Wagon - Jerkline Freighters Freight wagons would carry supplies to forts or mining towns for the United States Army or for enterprising businessmen in the frontier country of the West. |
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Rising from Bedground - Bozeman Trail Crossing and Pumpkin Buttes The Bozeman Trail, leading from Fort Fetterman through the Powder River Basin into the Montana gold fields, passed just to the west of Pumpkin Buttes, a prominent landmark on the horizon in the Powder River country. |
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Father DeSmet at Lake DeSmet On July 5, 1840, Father Jean Pierre DeSmet, a Jesuit priest and one of the first white men to Wyoming, celebrated the first Catholic Mass overlooking the Green River in what would later become Wyoming. |
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First Passenger Train Entering Wyoming 1867 In 1867 the first passenger train arrived in what would become Wyoming Territory in 1869. |
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