ABOUT KEN LAAGER

 
 

BACKGROUND


Like many western artists, I enjoyed a long career as an illustrator before

turning to gallery painting.


As a child I was enamored with the art of illustration, particularly work

from the era known as The Golden Age.  I collected prints of artists Frederic

Remington, Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth and Phillip R. Goodwin, and of the heirs

to their legacy Tom Lovell and Frank Frazetta.  


After completing a certificate course at New York's School of Visual Arts,

I settled in rural Pennsylvania to concentrate my studies on the work of

Howard Pyle, and his Brandywine school proteges.


I broke into the field a short time later, with a reputation for portraying

western and adventure subjects that rang with authenticity.  Freelancing to

major New York publishing clients produced a demand for book and magazine

illustration that actually exceeded my ability to supply.  


I was appointed Artist-At-Large for Outdoor Life magazine, where my work as

featured monthly.  Bantam Books coined the term "western fine art look" to

describe the scores of cover paintings I created for their frontier

historical novels.


Naturally, I was aware of the burgeoning western fine art market, and of

the superb illustrators who were transitioning westward.  In 1989 pioneering

gallery founders Allan and Sheila Husberg invited me to exhibit at Husberg

Fine Arts in Scottsdale.


Initial successes encouraged me to devote increasingly more effort to

gallery painting -- now, the exclusive focus of my work.


In recent years my work has shown at Settlers West in Tucson, and at

Astoria Fine Art in Jackson Hole.


I'm honored to have my work included in many private and museum

collections.      

 

Ken Laager

In the Galleries

Legal Notice

All Rights Reserved on all images appearing within these web pages. All images are copyrighted Ken Laager, except where noted. No part of these images may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including but not limited to photocopying and scanning, whether now known or hereafter created without written permission from the artist, Ken Laager.

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