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RAY RENFROE
Ray was born on April 25, 1918, to Joseph and Gertrude Renfroe in the small town of Lake Providence, Louisiana. Growing up, his family, friends and teachers knew Ray had a great talent for art and invention. Ray was often asked by his teachers to complete projects that included painting murals for school events.
Eager to discover what the ‘Good Lord’ had in store for him, Ray left home at the age of 15 taking with him an insatiable thirst for adventure. Among the many jobs he had, life guarding, journeyman blacksmith, and carpenter, the real turning point for Ray was traveling out west and working with the CCC’s (Civilian Conservation Corps) in Yellowstone National Park. He came to love the west and life of the cowboy.
After Ray married and began his family he moved his wife Jeannetta and four daughters, Janet, Linda, Susannah , and Nancy to Jacksonville, Florida. Ray and his father started a company, JC Renfroe and Sons, making clamps that would load large pieces of steel onto and off of ships. Ray and his father designed these clamps and had them patented. JC Renfroe and Sons to date has plants in Germany, Japan and the far east manufacturing the same clamps that were designed by Ray and his father.
Ray and one of his clamps
While successful in business, Ray had a yearning in his soul to head back to the west. In 1966 he moved his family from Jacksonville, Florida, to the mountains of Grass Valley, California, where he began to pursue his artistic talents full time. He could see the miraculous color and majesty of the mountains, deserts and plains, capturing them in his oil paintings and bronze sculpture. It was in 1970 that Ray moved his family to Prescott, Arizona, where he continued to paint and sculpt.
Ray had several horses in his life time and he loved to show them off. He entered many horse shows with his dearly beloved “Sonny Boy”. He would have Sonny Boy shining like a new penny. Ray and Sonny Boy had a bond that only a cowboy could understand. He would tell of a time when a rattlesnake spooked Sonny Boy while on an evening ride. Ray fell off and lay unconscious for several minutes. Sonny Boy did not leave his side.
While Ray was an avid horseman his daughters were not. He tried everything he could think of to get one of us to take an interest. I can remember one time his quarterhorses needed a work out and he had no cows to practice on. Ray called one of his neighbors to see if he could borrow some of his cows. Well, he employed his daughters to stand by and herd the cows from the neighbors property to ours. The cows came running and the daughters ran away. Thus, the birth of the mechanical cow. Like they say, “Necessity is the Mother of Invention”. The mechanical cow worked great. It would run back and forth while one of his daughters worked the controls. Ray’s horses got the workout of their life.
It wasn’t long before the name Ray Renfroe was well known in the Western and Cowboy Art circles. Ray is known for his meticulous attention to detail. Every object included in his art was researched and produced by Ray to be authentic and to scale. Ray says of his work, “My father instilled in me at a very early age that anything worth doing was worthy of my best effort! When I am painting or sculpting, time is of no essence, and I will never allow quantity to rule over quality.”
In the “Arizona Cowboy 1899” Ray depicted the Arizona cowboy of the late 1800s. While doing the necessary research he said he was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet Mr. Bill Porter, grandson of the renowned saddle maker Mr. N. Porter of Phoenix, Arizona. Ray discussed with him at length his ideas. Bill went through his files and found a catalogue his grandfather printed before 1900. From this catalogue he selected the saddle, chaps, cinch, spurs, and daisy bit used in the “Arizona Cowboy 1899”. The cowboy depicted in the bronze is a “Range Boss” and is sitting his favorite “hoss” which has the conformation, disposition and cow sense to do anything that is required of him. This bronze was presented to President Ronald Reagan on February 23, 1981, by Ray, his wife Jeannetta and Senator Barry Goldwater on behalf of the People of the state of Arizona.
Pictured from left to right are Jeannetta Renfroe, Ray Renfroe, President Ronald Reagan and Senator Barry Goldwater. Ray remembers President Reagan meeting him at the front door of the Oval Office of the White House, taking the bronze out of his hands and carrying it into the Oval Office for the presentation. The “Arizona Cowboy 1899”, remained in the Oval Office throughout President Reagan’s term in office and is now in his presidential library in California. President Reagan’s presidential portrait hanging in the White House includes a portion of the “Arizona Cowboy 1899”. The bronze is also included in the 1984 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia, Volume P - Presidents of the United States.
Ray passed away in April of 1989, leaving his mark in the history books and in the art world as one of the best in his field.
Articles and Photographs of Interest
The “Lone Star Cowboy” depicts cowboy art at its best.
Closeup of some of the intricate detail in the “Lone Star Cowboy”.
One of many Time Magazine photographs of President Reagan in the Oval Office with the Arizona Cowboy at his side.