Fred Harman and Red Ryder Exhibit

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Many people may associate the name Fred Harman with the famous “Red Ryder BB Gun” in the movie “A Christmas Story.” Some may remember the “Bronc Peeler” comic strips. But many people do not know that Harman, along with George Phippen, Charles Dye, Joe Beeler and John Hampton, founded the Cowboy Artists of America. Fred was an accomplished, self-taught artist who began to draw at an early age and published his first picture in a St. Joseph newspaper when he was only 6 years old. He was selling his paintings off horseback to tourists when he was just 16. And of course, he was also the creator of the long-running comic strip “Red Ryder and Little Beaver.”

Fred grew up in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where his father homesteaded in 1891. He was raised around Ute, Navajos, Jicarilla Apache, Piute Indians and ranch cowboys. These people were a great influence on Fred’s art.

He began working in Kansas City print shops in 1920 and learned to create comic strips that portrayed the Western life he loved.

However, he was cowboy at heart and returned to Colorado periodically to saddle up for some ranch work. He said, “I worked on a number of ranches. They were all great places, and I rode some salty horses that gave me lasting impressions in assorted ways.”

His first professional job as an artist was working for a Kansas City film company with two other artists, Ubbe Iwerks and Walt Disney. Fred and Walt even tried a short independent film venture that ended up costing them both their jobs. That job did lay the groundwork for Fred’s career. The company was a pioneer in animation, and Fred’s time there served as the foundation for his cartoon strip production.

He created “The Bronc Peeler and Red Ryder,” which led to a contract illustrating books for the Whitman Publishing Co. This evolved into creating “Red Ryder” and a 10-year contract with the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain to produce a cartoon strip for dailies and Sunday papers. In 1938, the strip was carried in more than 750 papers to 40 million readers. A radio show, 38 movies and 40 memorabilia products came from the cartoon creation. Fred and his family moved to a ranch in the San Juan Mountains known as the Red Ryder Ranch, which became a popular tourist attraction.

During World War II and again in the Korean War, Fred used the Red Ryder and Little Beaver characters to participate in war bond drives and support of the war effort. He traveled the world making appearances promoting the war effort abroad as well as at home.

Fred retired “Red Ryder” in the early 1960s. His interest in the history of the West plus a growing family and a desire to slow down inspired Fred to turn to a new career as a Western painter. When he completed his first series of Western oil paintings after retiring, every painting sold, even the preliminary sketches. By 1965, Fred was one of the best-known Western artists in the country.

Pictures of the Exhibit

This exhibit made possible by Sandia Construction and Linda Davis of the CS Ranch.

Copyright © 2003, National Ranching Heritage Center