Pointe of Art

Western Roundup - 10/04
by Robert Maniscalco

Although the age of herding cowboys only lasted about sixty years, their impact on American culture is timeless. Jim Binson, of Binson's Home Health Care Centers, has amassed one of the largest Western Art Collections of the United States. He picked up his enthusiasm for collecting from his father, George Binson, who put himself through pharmacy school by drawing cartoons.

Jim befriended Dan Muller in the Artist's later years and developed a passion for the genre. Muller at that time was a one-legged diabetic, confined to a wheelchair. Muller asked Binson to publish his two books, "Trailing of the Yesteryear" and “Sketch Book.”

Fortunately for those of us with a soft spot for the old west, Jim Binson is now opening and sharing his personal collection to the public for the first time. The exhibit, at the Maniscalco Gallery until November 20, will feature legendary masterworks by Dan Muller, Dennis Anderson, Charles Sultan and others from the extensive Binson collection.

Dan Muller lived between 1888 and 1977. His father, Carl, was one quarter Blackfoot who scouted for the Calvary with the legendary Buffalo Bill Cody. Dan Muller was a member of Buffalo Bill's wild west shows touring through North America and Europe on and off for 18 years. After the wild west shows Muller emerged to become one of the greatest frontier artists of his time. Jim Binson befriended Muller in the Artist's later years. Muller at that time was a one-legged diabetic, confined to a wheelchair.

A highlight of the exhibit are Charles Sultan’s lush canvases, which are highly coveted by Cowboy afficionados. George Binson discovered his work and purchased it years ago in a hotel room the artist was using as his studio in California. His painterly, ambitious canvasses, depicting battles, stampeads and bank robberies, are always full of action and drama.

Bronze artist, Dennis Anderson was born in 1940. His work eloquently expresses the movement and emotion of Animals in action. When he became older, he regularly went through the motions of hunting, but chose to shoot with a camera instead of a gun. He was awarded a Gold Metal from the National Academy of Western Art among many other awards.

The exhibit is free to the public and is intended for the whole family to enjoy. Maniscalco Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10-5 pm. So grab your boots and spurs and get hip to the wild wild west.

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