Biographies,  North Dakota History,  The Cowboy Chronicle

Western Artists: Preserving our History

December 17, 2022 /

Published in The Cowboy Chronicle December 2022.

Following is a more detailed version that was not published.

Stories and art have always been part of human history. The written word evokes powerful images and emotions. The visualization of a story brings new clarity and a sense of reality.  When Theodore Roosevelt chronicled his life in North Dakota with the book Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail, Frederick Remington was commissioned to do illustrations for the book. Roosevelt wanted the artwork to bring his experiences to life. The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame has recognized North Dakota artists since its inception with the Arts and Entertainment category. Since then, five inductees have been for the visual arts.

Photographer Raymond Erhardt was inducted in 2022. Born in Center in 1938 he brought us reality and beauty with his photographs of all things rodeo. He had an eye for detail and found a special view of everything he photographed. While never a competitor himself, Erhardt was truly part of the action. He was well known for his documentation of the rodeo world with “Ray’s Rodeo Photos.” Erhardt was active for 25 years and was the official photographer for the North Dakota Home on the Range Match Ride from 1987-2001.  Ray snapped thousands of photos from local barrel racing, to amateur rodeo, to PBR events and other pro rodeos. If there was rodeo action it is likely Erhardt was there with his 35mm camera. In addition to the action, he took still shots of rodeo folk and spectators.

Erhardt’s work has been featured in various publications including My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys by Fran Armstrong and ND Rodeo History by Kathy Lagemo. He honed his skills both behind the camera and in his basement darkroom to truly practice the art of photography. His contributions to documenting and preserving the history of N D rodeo are enormous. He gave his copyright of the North Dakota’s Six Pack photo from the first NDCHF induction ceremony to the Hall of Fame. While he sold many of his pictures, he also regularly donated photos for the historical documentation they would provide.

Ted Cornell paved the way for future artists with his induction in 1999. Cornell was born in 1918 in Belfield and raised on a ranch.  He spent most of his adult life in law enforcement including 30 years as Billings County Sheriff.  In all his time as sheriff he never pulled a gun on anyone, although he recognized the danger many situations put him in.   Cornell said, “You could get shot if you get in the middle of a family fight, but when you are big, you can bluff.”  It was said he “rules the Badlands with a paintbrush”.  The area around Medora provided Cornell with much material for his artistic endeavors.

From the time Cornell was a kid, drawing and painting came to him naturally.  Cornell said he painted what he knew, and he knew the west. In the evenings you would find him with his paintbrush or pencils. In addition to his many stand-alone pieces, Cornell illustrated seven books on the West, and the cover for Echoing Trails, the Billings County history book. He also designed the Billings County memorial. His painting and sketches have been displayed at the University of North Dakota and many art shows. 

Einar Olstad in front of his artwork for the TRNP entrance sign

Einar Olstad was inducted in 2004. Born in Norway in 1876, Olstad came to the United States with his parents as a baby.  He began to paint as a teenager inspired by a trip to the National Art Gallery in Oslo when visiting relatives.  Olstad’s father died in 1899 and he was left to support his mother and younger siblings. “When I was a youth, I let everything go and just painted. After my father died I had to support my mother and family.” Olstad’s father had a blacksmith shop which he continued to run until 1919 when he and his wife headed west to ranch.  It was another 16 years before he picked up his paintbrush again. During the drought years of the 1930’s he had a lot of time on his hands. “There was no sense in trying to ranch during the drought. You forget your troubles when you paint. There’s something about working with colors that takes you right out of yourself”. 

He was again employed as a blacksmith for the Works Progress Administration in 1935. In 1937 Olstad was asked to make a rough cut out of a silhouette of a rearing horse and rider for the entrance of the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and was then asked to do the iron work for the park’s South Unit. Olstad’s work appeared in the Third National Exhibition in New York and at the New York World’s Fair. In 1951 Olstad was featured in National Geographic magazine.  Olstad’s paintings have been displayed in many venues including Pembina State Museum, the North Dakota State Historical Society. His unique signature was a cowboy hat in a ring with the initials EO.

In 2001 Frank Fiske became the first photographer to be inducted.  Fiske was born in 1883 in the Dakota Territory when his father was stationed at Fort Bennett.  In 1888 his family moved to Fort Yates where his father became a civilian wagon master. When Fiske was seven years old, he looked out a window and saw the procession with Sitting Bull’s body go by in a wagon.  As a young boy Fiske had actually met Sitting Bull when he came to his family’s home to visit his father. Another famous visitor was Buffalo Bill Cody. Fiske found his passion for photography while working as an apprentice for the fort photographer. Fiske lived almost his entire life at Standing Rock and admired the history and the culture of the Sioux Nation.  He documented the many aspects of their lives with his photography.  He also wrote about the people with the Taming of the Sioux published in 1917 and in 1933, Life and Death of Sitting Bull.

Old N D Highway sign
Frank Fiske in his studio

It is his photography that has remained the most impactful of his work. Fiske documented the people and events at Standing Rock during a time of great transition, when the Native Americans were forced to abandon their old ways and learn to be farmers, ranchers and tradesmen.  One of Fiske’s photographs, of Red Tomahawk, Sitting Bull’s assassin, was later used in 1923 to make the silhouette of the Native American who adorned North Dakota highway markers for almost a century.    Over his lifetime Fiske produced almost 8000 photographs, mostly of Native Americans, creating the most outstanding collection of Sioux photographs in existence.  In 2021 a book was released with Frank Fiske’s photography from a century ago titled, The Standing Rock Portraits.

The Hall of Fame honored Walter Piehl and his interpretation of the west displayed through his vibrantly colored paintings in 2019. Piehl, born in Marion in 1942, pioneered contemporary western art. His father was a rancher and raised rodeo stock. Rodeo culture was a part of his life from the beginning and he always had a love for the horse and was a fan of the rodeo. He worked as a rodeo announcer for thirty years and was a competitor himself, riding bareback horses and team roping.   As a young man Piehl went away to school and earned his bachelor’s degree and then both a MA and a MFA.  He inspired and mentored students as an Art professor at numerous schools, including Minot State University for 47 years where he was able to pursue his love of painting, teach and share his love of art.

Piehl with his lifelong experiences and talent brought a new style to western art. He never wearied of his subjects but always sought to bring freshness to how he portrayed them. His style blends traditional western art with a very contemporary flair. His colors and images command attention. His paintings are mostly acrylic based, and in his words express his love for “paradox, anomaly, contradiction and paint – but not necessarily in that order.”  Piehl’s work is nationally and internationally known. It has been showcased at numerous shows and is the recipient of many awards and prizes. Piehl was featured in the January 2020 edition of Cowboys and Indians magazine.  They described his art as: “Virile and vibrant, his work thrums and thuds, jolts and jars. Cowboys say that’s exactly how rodeo feels”.

Western art is an essential part of the tale of the West, and will continue to play an important role at the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is proud of its inductees in Arts and Entertainment and what they bring to the western story.

For more information on these artists:

References and longer version of article following

There are six known remaining Native American rock art sites in North Dakota. There are undoubtedly many more that have been lost over time through erosion and vandals.  Humans have always expressed themselves through stories and art. The written word evokes powerful images and emotions, but the visualization of a story brings new clarity and a sense of reality.  When Theodore Roosevelt chronicled his life in North Dakota with the book Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail, Frederick Remington was commissioned to do 83 illustrations for the book.  It wasn’t enough to just have Roosevelt’s descriptions; he wanted illustrations to bring his experiences to life for the reader.

The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame has recognized North Dakota artists since its inception.  Arts and Entertainment was one of the original four categories of inductees. Since then, five inductees have been for the visual arts. Most recently, photographer Raymond Erhardt was inducted in 2022. Born in Center, North Dakota in 1938, he brought us reality with his photographs of all things rodeo. He was the official photographer for the North Dakota Home on the Range Match Ride from 1987-2001.  He gave his copyright of the North Dakota’s Six Pack photo from the first NDCHF induction ceremony to the Hall of Fame. While he sold many of his pictures, he also regularly donated photos for the historical documentation they would provide.

The first visual artist inducted, Ted Cornell, paved the way for future artists with his induction in 1999. Cornell was born in 1918 in Belfield and raised on a ranch.  Although he worked as a ranch hand after school, he spent most of his adult life in law enforcement.  Cornell started as a Dickinson police officer, was the Belfield Chief of Police for three years, and then served as Billings County sheriff for thirty years. In all his time as sheriff he never pulled a gun on anyone, although he recognized the danger many situations put him in such as in family disputes.  Cornell said, “You could get shot if you get in the middle of a family fight, but when you are big, you can bluff.”  It was said during his days as sheriff, he “rules the Badlands with a paintbrush”.  The area around Medora where Theodore Roosevelt once called home provided Cornell with much material for his artistic endeavors.

From the time Cornell was a kid, drawing and painting came to him naturally.  Cornell said he painted what he knew, and he knew the west. He was a prolific artist. In the evenings you would find him with his paintbrush or pencils. In addition to his many stand-alone pieces, Cornell illustrated seven books on the West, and the cover for Echoing Trails, the Billings County history book. He also designed the Billings County memorial. His painting and sketches have been displayed at the University of North Dakota and many art shows.  Cornell often downplayed his talent. He told the Bismarck Tribune in 1981, “Pen and ink is very easy. It’s like writing, if you scribble a lot, try to make a lot changes, it don’t look good. But if you get loose and just whip it out, you’ve got something.”

Einar Olstad was inducted in 2004. Olstad was born in Norway in 1876 and came to the United States with his parents as a baby.  Olstad began to paint as a teenager.  During a visit to Norway, an uncle took him through the National Art Gallery in Oslo and he was inspired.  When he returned home he sold copper, lead and rags to buy his paints.  Olstad’s father died in 1899, and like for so many, it was left to him to support his mother and younger siblings. He burnt his paint brushes so he would not be distracted by painting when he should be blacksmithing.  “When I was a youth, I let everything go and just painted. After my father died I had to support my mother and family of six.” Olstad’s father had a blacksmith shop which he continued to run.  He was able to tap into his artistic side in the shop through the ornamental iron work he produced. His first commercial piece was made for the Heilemanns Brewery Company when he was 21. The years in the blacksmith shop began taking a toll on his hearing so in 1919 Olstad and his wife headed west to Marmath and then Sentinel Butte.

It was another 16 years before he picked up his paintbrush again; the work of ranching gave him no time for art.  During the drought years of the 1930’s Olstad got back to painting. He found he had a lot of time on his hands. “There was no sense in trying to ranch during the drought. You forget your troubles when you paint. There’s something about working with colors that takes you right out of yourself”.  Olstad painted on just about anything he could find including sheetrock, plywood and cardboard. He painted drought scenes that showed the human and animal suffering of those years. He had come to love the Badlands and its people and this was reflected in his work through paintings of cowboys, cattle drives, flocks of sheep and pioneer gatherings. He received little initial recognition because he kept his finished work in an old machine shed. 

He again found employment as a blacksmith for the WPA. The Works Progress Administration was created by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 to provide employment and build infrastructure during the Great Depression. In 1937 Olstad was asked to make a rough cut out of a silhouette of a rearing horse and rider for the entrance of the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. He did not have a picture to go by and so made his piece by remembering Will Rogers as a rider.  He not only “roughed it out”, he completed it. His work made such an impression that he was asked to do the iron work for the parks South Unit east entrance.

 Olstad entered his most productive period in his sixties. His first solo exhibit was at the St. Charles Hotel in Dickinson, and many exhibits followed. Olstad’s work appeared in the Third National Exhibition in New York City and at the New York World’s Fair. On a visit to Milwaukee in 1940 he studied at the Layton School of Art.  He went back to Layton in 1942 saying, “honest criticism certainly helps; the raving of friends doesn’t help a bit.” In 1951 National Geographic Magazine featured Olstad in the article “North Dakota Comes into its Own.” He was awarded an American Artists Professional League Citation.  Olstad’s paintings have been displayed in many venues including Pembina State Museum, by the North Dakota State Historical Society and at the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. Olstad signed his work with a unique signature; a cowboy hat in a ring with the initials EO.

Eight years after Olstad was inducted, Frank Fiske became the first photographer to be inducted into the NDCHF.  Fiske was born in 1883 in the Dakota Territory when his father was a soldier stationed at Fort Bennett.  In 1888 his family moved to Fort Yates where his father got a job as a civilian wagon master. Fiske’s surroundings as he grew up made an unforgettable impact on his life.  When Fiske was seven years old, he looked out the trading store window at Fort Yates as the procession with Sitting Bull’s disfigured body was went by in a wagon.  Fiske wrote later in life, “An old Indian, on his pony, moaned a death song, and as they passed the store, the women wailed a sad accompaniment, while an escort of mounted policemen in blue uniforms rode along in grim silence.”  As a young boy Fiske had actually met Sitting Bull when he came to his family’s home to visit his father. Fort Yates was on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Another visitor to the Fiske home when he was a boy was Buffalo Bill Cody.

Fiske found his passion for photography while working as an apprentice for the fort photographer Stephen Fransler.  Fansler abandoned his studio and went back East to his family with his sickly infant daughter after his wife died in childbirth at the fort.  Fiske, then 17 years old, convinced the commanding officer at Fort Yates to allow him to set up his own photography studio there which he continued to operate this studio until his death in 1952. 

Fiske grew up listening to the stories of old warriors. He attended school with the Lakota children who became his lifelong friends. Fiske lived almost his entire life at Standing Rock and admired the history and the culture of the Sioux Nation.  He documented the many aspects of their lives with his photography.  He also wrote about the people, his first book called the Taming of the Sioux was published in 1917. In 1933 Fiske published his second book, Life and Death of Sitting Bull. He was working on a never published history of the Standing Rock reservation when he died.  

It is his photography that has remained the most impactful of his work. Fiske documented through his pictures the people and events at Standing Rock during a time of great transition. He caught images of powwows, rodeos, ceremonies and gatherings. He made detailed studio portraits of the people.  He documented the years when the Native Americas were forced to abandon their old ways and learn to be farmers, ranchers and tradesmen.  One of Fiske’s photographs was of Red Tomahawk, Sitting Bull’s assassin. This photograph was later used in 1923 to make the silhouette of a Native American that adorned North Dakota highway markers for almost a century.  In 2016 the silhouette was replaced with an outline of the state.  Over his lifetime Fiske produced almost 8000 photographs, mostly of Native Americans, creating the most outstanding collection of Sioux photographs in existence.

While Fiske will be remembered for his photographic art and its contributions he never made much money from it. He would work on river steamers during the spring and fall to pay the bills. He served as the Sioux County Auditor, and was elected to a term as County Treasurer. He found the “indoor work” to be confining however. In 1929 he took over the Fort Yates weekly newspaper.

In 2021 a book was released with Frank Fiske’s photography from a century ago titled, The Standing Rock Portraits. Rod Slemmons, American photography expert says of the portraits, “They show a proud people during a period of difficult and often painful transition. Through the glass Frank Fiske’s negatives lies an abundance of information and understanding.

The Hall of Fame next honored Walter Piehl and his interpretation of the west displayed through his vibrantly colored paintings, with Piehl’s induction in 2019. Piehl pioneered contemporary western art, and through his art the viewer sees another interpretation of the cowboy and rodeo culture.

Piehl was born in Marion, North Dakota in 1942. His father started as a rancher and then raised rodeo stock and so that culture was a part of his life from the beginning. He always had a love for the horse and was a fan of the rodeo. He worked as a rodeo announcer for thirty years and was a competitor himself, riding bareback horses and team roping.   He served as president of the Roughrider Rodeo Association for 12 years.

As a young man Piehl went away to school and earned his bachelor’s degree from Concordia College.  He then earned both a MA and a MFA from the University of North Dakota.  He went on to inspire and mentor students as an Art professor at numerous schools, including the University of Minnesota, Valley City University and Minot State University for 47 years. He went into teaching to be able to pursue his love of painting, and to and to teach and share his love of art. Piehl donated 45 of his original paintings, prints, and drawings to the Minot State Permanent Art Collection. Many are on display at the Northwest Arts Center Walter Piehl Gallery which had its grand opening in 2019.

Piehl has taken his lifelong experiences and talents and with it has brought a new style to western art. He has never wearied of his subjects but is always seeking to bring freshness to how he portrays them. His style blends traditional western art with a very contemporary flair. His colors and images command attention. His paintings are mostly acrylic based, and in his words express his love for “paradox, anomaly, contradiction and paint – but not necessarily in that order.”  Piehl describes his early work in graduate school as, “lame and insipid landscapes.” He was advised to paint what he knew, what occupied his time on the weekends, and so the imagery of rodeo made it into his artwork.   “He was looking to produce something more “flowing, more dynamic in a painterly kind of way, and his work was “invigorated.”  His is more of an expressionistic style rather than the traditional western art. Piehl’s paintings are not only of the rodeo. He embraces a variety of western themes in his artwork.

Piehl’s work is nationally and internationally known. It has been showcased at numerous shows including at The Capital Gallery in Bismarck, where he was the number one selling artist. Piehl has had numerous exhibitions of his work in many venues including at Department of State, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Art, the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, the Museum of the American Cowboy, Boise State University Gallery, the Art Museum of Missoula, Museum of Art in Minneapolis, Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody Wyoming, and the Yellowstone Art Museum.  Piehl has been the recipient of many awards and prizes, including an inaugural 2008 Bush Foundation Enduring Vision Award.

Piehl was also featured in the January 2020 edition of Cowboys and Indians magazine.  They describe his art as: “Virile and vibrant, his work thrums and thuds, jolts and jars. Cowboys say that’s exactly how rodeo feels”.

Western art is an essential part of the tale of the West, and will continue to play an important role at the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is proud of its inductees in Arts and Entertainment and what they bring to the western story.

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