Cowboy and Wildlife Artist William Herbert “Buck” Dunton Paintings and Life Story

Learn about New Mexico Artist life's journey whos was a founding member of the Taos Society, Herbert Buck Dunton, narrated by Dr. Mark Sublette.
William Herbert (WH) Dunton, know later in life as "Buck," was born in Augusta, Maine, in 1878. His lifelong passion for the outdoors was nurtured from an early age by his grandfather, who taught him about hunting and fishing.
Drawing the outdoors followed naturally. As a child, Dunton was self-taught, developing a precise style that would lead to a successful career as an illustrator. He first sold drawings to a magazine at age 16, then quit school to work as a professional illustrator.
Dunton attended classes at the Cowles Art School in Boston, and at the Art Student's League in New York City and soon begin illustrating top magazines like Harper's Weekly, Collier's, Woman's Home Companion, Scribners, and Cosmopolitan. He also illustrated numerous books, including several of the classic cowboy stories of Zane Grey.
It was the search for subject material for illustrations of western life that first brought Dunton out west to Montana in 1896. For the next 15 years, he spent every summer traveling the western states, doing sketches that would become the basis for his magazine illustrations. It was during this period that Dunton began to grow weary. He became fed up with the pressures of deadlines and the demands of editors.
In 1912, Dunton was enrolled at the Art Student's League. His teacher, Ernest Blumenschein, was the well-known western painter who would be instrumental in establishing the artist colony at Taos, New Mexico. Blumenschein suggested that Dunton would be happier living out west, in Taos. That summer, Dunton left the pressures of New York behind in order to focus seriously on his painting. He would remain in Taos for the rest of his life.
Settling in Taos, Dunton pursued his favorite subject matter: the open range, hunters, cowboys on horseback, and scenes representing native life. He seemed particularly concerned with recording the ways and appearances of the Old West, a lifestyle that he felt was significant and was fading before his very eyes.
"The West has passed - more's the pity. In another 25 years, the old-time westerner will have gone too - gone with the buffalo and the antelope. I'm going to hand down to posterity a bit of the unadulterated real thing…"
The precision of his painting, along with the hint of drama each painting contained, were the hallmarks of Dunton’s work. In addition to painting, Dunton also executed lithographs of animals, a technique he had acquired in New York when the Depression made it necessary to produce less expensive artwork.
Dunton remained in Taos as the society grew. Dunton sought painting instruction from the renowned Russian-born Leon Gaspard, and in turn advised him on the best places for hiking and fishing, as they shared an intense love of outdoor activities.
Dunton attracted many prominent collectors including Douglas Fairbanks, Franklin Roosevelt, and H.J. Lutcher Stark. The Stark Museum in Orange, Texas houses the largest collection of Dunton's work in the U.S.
In 1922 Dunton resigned from the Taos Society of Artists, likely due to a personal conflict, and from then on arranged solo exhibitions of his work. For the next 13 years, he exhibited in several states, from New Mexico to New York. In 1923 he was commissioned to do a three-paneled mural for the Missouri State Capitol.
Dunton's health began its long decline in 1928 when he was injured by a horse, and he began suffering from ulcers. He continued to deteriorate and was finally diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1935. Buck Dunton died in Taos in 1936 at the age of 57.
Special thanks to the Couse-Sharp Historic Site for providing images of the Taos Society of Artists and the Couse-Sharp Historic Site.
Couse-Sharp Historic Site Information: couse-sharp.org/
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