It is an interesting paradox that our famous Old West gunfighters had not been painted until Lea McCarty went to work on them to set down authentically in oil these characters as they actually appeared.

A great deal of effort and care has been expended to make these paintings possible, and material was given by Mr. Frank Bonnell, Frank Coe's grandson, Lincoln, New Mexico; the late Mr. Marvin Hunter, Bandera, Texas, co-author with N. H. Rose of "Album of Gunfighters"; Cattleman Mr. Claude Collins of San Angelo, Texas, and Wyatt Earp's old deputy, Mr. A. M. King (very much alive, 1959), and Mrs. Edna Landin, President, Tombstone Restoration Commission.

Mr. A. M. King, Wyatt's old deputy, writes;  "I worked with Earp at the turn of the century as a law enforcing officer in both California and Arizona Territory and in my opinion, Mr. McCarty has done a magnificent job on the Old West paintings, -- perhaps as outstanding as anything yet painted on the Old West.  He has done Wyatt Earp in a true likeness and the cold blue of the eyes is remarkable, for it was this that made many gunfighters back down."

Mr. Raymond Carlson, editor of "Arizona Highways", said: "It seems to me that Mr. McCarty has done a splendid job on this series and that the paintings will eventually truly cherished documents.

Thomas Thompson, 1958, President of Western Writers of America, author of some 14 novels and Saturday Evening Post stories, and who has also just finished a picture with Metro Goldwyn-Mayer, has this to say:  "Now that television has discovered the romance of the West I sometimes wince at the distance we have traveled from the true facts, which has always been the background of good western fiction.  Lea McCarty, the artist, in his dedicated effort to present a true picture of famous and infamous men of the west, has not only added a fine chapter to western art, he has also rendered a real service to the many writers and students who love one of the most glamorous chapters of our American past."

The Gunfighters Joaquin Murrietta Jesse James Wild Bill Hickok Bill Longley Ben Thompson King Fisher Jim Courtright John Wesley Hardin Wyatt Earp Doc Holliday Clay Allison

Bat Masterson Luke Short Old Man Clanton John Ringo Curly Bill Dave Mather Pat Garrett Billy The Kid Calamity Jane OK Corral Other Gunfighters Artist - Lea Franklin McCarty