Painting, "JA Ranch"

The JA Ranch near Palo Duro Canyon is the oldest privately-owned cattle operation in Texas. It was founded in 1877 by legendary Texas cattleman Charles Goodnight in partnership with John George Adair, an English aristocrat and financier. By 1887, the JA Ranch had developed one of the largest and finest herds of beef cattle in existence.

This oil-on-canvas painting by Harold Bugbee features a chuck wagon, an invention credited to Goodnight to keep his drovers fed during the cattle drives. The artist grew up near the JA Ranch and contributed illustrations to J. Evetts Haley’s 1936 classic book, “Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman.”